Week Six - Time to Sort and Organize

          This week we combine the photos we have been collecting and the family tree that we have been writing.  The task is relatively easy, and doesn’t take any special tools or skills.  All you need are some envelopes.

          We’re playing the matching game!  Match each photo you have to a person on your family tree.  Make an envelope marked “John Henry Tasker” for instance.  Put every photo that you have of John Henry Tasker into that envelope.  Repeat for all of your photos.

          Simple, right?!

          If you have a photo with more than one person in it (and I suspect that you do) make an envelope marked “Group Photos” and put them in there.  If you find that you have a lot of these you might want to make an envelope for each branch of the family: “James Group Photos” and “Tasker Group Photos” would split my family into my dad’s side and my mom’s side.  A third envelope “John and Betty” would take care of those photos with both of them as subjects.

          The reason that we are doing this is two-fold.  One, to start organizing your photographs for making a family history book or a photo album or whatever you end up choosing as your way of preserving and showcasing your family history.  And two, it’s nice to see who these people are that you are writing and researching about.

          Actually, there is a third reason to do this – you might find that you have photos that do not match anyone on your tree.  Or at least the tree you have created so far. 

          Keep these photographs in an envelope labeled “Not There Yet” or “Still to Come” or “More Research Needed”.  You’ll be working on expanding your family tree next week, so soon this envelope should be empty.

          Finally, if you are starting to think about permanent storage of these photos, check out Family Tree Folk (http://www.familytreefolk.co.uk) for a complete line of archival-quality products.  I am not affiliated with this company, but they sure do have everything you need.  Note – this is a British company, so the page sizes are European rather than US, which means paper will be slightly different in size.  If you choose to use their products, you will need to buy all products (paper, binders, photo holders, etc) from them or another UK-based company.

          Next week we start DIGGING into our past!