The Family Tree
By Terence L. Day
Terence L. Day, genealogist and journalist, is on the Washington State University faculty. He welcomes e-mail at genealogy@moscow.com, or regular mail in care of the Tri-City Herald City newsroom, P.O. Box 2608, Tri-Cities, WA 99302-2608.
Genealogical tools ease research
This column was published March 17, 1996
Genealogists who were good Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts keep a genealogical tool kit handy for those quick trips to the library, courthouse or archive.
I gather from electronic mail exchanges with other genealogists that contents vary. Some had novel and useful ideas that hadn't occurred to me in nearly 40 years of genealogy research.
In fact, one of my failings is I haven't been a good Boy Scout. I can't begin to tell how many times I've hurriedly thrown a few things into an attache case, briefcase, satchel or even a tote bag and rushed off on a research expedition only to wish I'd remembered to bring ...
In compiling this list of tools, I've had to keep in mind a fundamental requirement. I've got to be able to lift the tool kit, even carry it a few blocks. Well, genealogist and Texan Joanna Dunn has found a way around this requirement.
"I just returned from Salt Lake City, where I did research on all my families for a nine-day stay. My briefcase probably weighed in at 50 pounds. If I had taken my laptop and accessories, I would have had to hire an extra person just to go along and carry it.
"I think the best investment I have made lately is in a catalog case that is on wheels and has a retractable handle plus extra pockets for carrying the extras. The next time I go to ANY library, I'll be pulling that baby instead of carrying it! I got it at a major office supply depot here in Dallas."
LaVere Peters prefers to travel a little lighter. His genealogical tool kit consists of a legal pad, 3x5-inch cards, pencil, pen, eraser and quarters. I hope he also takes along information on the lines he plans to research. It tries the patience of librarians when genealogists come in looking for information but don't have any names or dates with them. Nothing to guide their search.
I'm somewhere between Dunn and Peters. My basic kit includes printouts of information I already have on lines I plan to search, notebook, magnifying glass, an assortment of pens and a mechanical pencil, one or more formatted computer disks and a camera that focuses on objects up to 12 inches from the lens.
If I'm planning to work with microfilmed census records, I also carry blank census forms and sometimes blank Soundex forms as well. Sheets of yellow acetate in two or three different densities can be eye savers when reading poor-quality microfilms, sometimes even enabling me to read the otherwise illegible.
Always carry pencils or mechanical pencils because some libraries, especially archives, don't cotton to pens. They may even limit the type of lead you use.
Several genealogists who respond ed to my Internet query on genealogical tool kits suggested:
A supply of large plastic paper clips for marking places in books, or - alternatively - a supply of book marks made by cutting lengthwise strips from sheets of paper.
Stapler.
Calculator for figuring ages.
Ruler/protractor for duplicating survey lines on property maps.
Coins or even dollar bills for copy machines.
Compact three-hole punch.
Foreign-language dictionary if you are working in a foreign language.
Pocket-size cassette tape recorder.
Pencil sharpener.
Spare reading glasses, if you wear them, plus cleaning cloth.
Eye drops.
Tissues.
Clear straight edge to assist the eye in reading wide lines of text, especially in columns.
Pocket radio or CD player with ear phones to help cope with the tedium of skimming endless documents; but only if you can listen and read at the same time.
Laptop computer.
Aspirin.
Decongestant if you are allergic to book dust or other allergens commonly encountered by genealogists.
Special preparedness merit badges go to Bob Doerr, who writes from the beautiful Missouri Ozarks, and Nancy Hugo of Provo.
Doerr's kit includes a lightweight photographer's hood and tape to attach it to a microfilm film reader to block distracting light, and the wrapper from a ream of 8.5x11-inch paper. The latter he uses to kneel on when he has to reach under a table to plug in his laptop computer. Hugo's award is for suggesting every genealogist's tool kit include an extra set of car keys.
"The last time I went to Salt Lake Family History Library, I was so excited I locked the key in the car," she wrote.
And now, for the delicate part. Many genealogists made recommendations I cannot endorse. Indeed, librarians and archivists will want to kiss me for warning against the inclusion of Post-its, or similar sticky things, and pens for highlighting text. Of course, genealogists wouldn't dream of using these things on library materials because they will damage them, but just seeing them on the table beside you could give an archivist a heart attack.
Post-its leave minute traces of glue on books and microfilm. It may take a long time to become evident, but eventually the acids in the glue damage the paper or microfilm.
And this brings us to the question of what to carry all these tools in. Suggestions range from attache cases to fanny packs, from Pentaflex file crates to carts with wheels.
Whatever, I'd just suggest it close securely so nothing will fall out and that you not put anything in it you couldn't afford to lose. This applies not only to laptop computers, but also to the only copy of irreplaceable documents or articles.
Copyright 1996 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.