On going through my grandmother's belongings a couple years ago, we found a yellowed, crumbling notebook written at ~1910 of my family tree. What is really interesting to me are the stories in it and the handwriting. I've since expanded it by about 2x, both vertically and laterally and it's a cumbersome affair! Many of the branches run back into the 1500's and earlier.

I'd like to transcribe it into a moleskin or something similar for my brother as a wedding/Christmas gift. At first glance it looks like a mammoth task.

My question is how should I go about structuring it so that it's navigable? Each page in the notebook (minus subscript/superscript generation indecies) is laid out like this:



I think I would like to make a fold-out "tree" as a roadmap, then have individual pages for each person in the direct lines. But I don't know who to put on page 1 and where to go from there. Currently, it's top-down.

I've got it on the PC now in the Legacy software. Since the original notebook does not use a conventional notation, I'm going to use a datadump and transcribe from that rather than work directly from the "source" which has already proven to be questionable in some places. This brings up the question of what do I do with conflicting data? My first guess is to use a different colored ink for my additional findings and remarks and generally try to preserve the original content.

Then I get into detailed issues like what color(s) ink to use, what size book, etc. Once I begin, I'm pretty much committed. I'll be doing well if I can transcribe 4-5 pages in an evening, so I'll need to get busy in the next few weeks.

It's been quite amazing to find out who I come from and the stories that may or may not be entirely true! The Mayflower, witchcraft trials, indian abductions, wars, excommunication, plague, poverty and many many dead ends. This man is a g-g-g-g-g... grandfather of mine:
http://www.sgnhs.org/Augustus%20SGaudens%2...eal/Puritan.htm

Any ideas or recommendations would be very useful!

Thanks,

Ty

Maybe just to simplify things:

What notebook? 8" wide would be about the minimum practical based on my writing style.

What inks? I'd need a primary color for text, color for subscript/superscript notations and one for additional remarks. The only hard requirements would be that it be good for readability (at least the primary text) and for longevity.

Ty

As you are finding, this can be a lot of fun but also a lot of work.

I would strongly suggest you use acid-free paper, so that it lasts. There are often journal style books that can be purchased with acid-free paper. Or, it might be easier and/or better to use acid free printing paper and then have it bound in some way at a printing shop, office supply store or Kinkos. The paper is not expensive, unless you go for Crane's Thesis paper or one of the other high end products. Hammermill and Staples have reasonably priced acid free paper.

You can either organize it top down or bottom up (starting with the first family member, or your generation). The problem with the former is that you will then have multiple starting points (all the various lines that go back). A pedigree chart would be good to organize it, if you know what that is (the Legacy software should be able to print this out). Then you could organize the data in family group sheets (this is a standard type format that again Legacy should have). One possibility is to have Legacy print out the formal version and then hand write all the family information from this journal to accompany it.

Have fun!

Ron

I don't have an answer for you on how to set up your genealogy notebook, but I just wanted to congratulate you on taking on such a Herculean task!
I have a family tree that my uncle had researched and it's very interesting to know who you're family members were and it's important to preserve that information.
It will be a wonderful gift that will always be treasured by your brother, especially since it will be in your own handwriting. What a memento!

Oh and btw, I have ancestors who came off the Mayflower too!