Organizing Files

[Jodian]

I have my Reunion 9 information in 4 separate files, one for each grandparent. It usually works to find or add the information I want, although cumbersome when I am in current generations who might be related to all four grandparents. I feel one file might be more effective. Anyone have thoughts on their own experience? I want to decide before I load my information to Reunion 10.
Thanks.

[Kathy C]

Re: Organizing Files

Well, this is very much a personal choice that each of us makes when we start out with our research. In my case, I decided to have ALL of my ancestors in one family file. That way, I see all of any ancestors and related folks together and see how they relate to each other. That makes sense to me.

I also chose to have my husband's family file be separate from my own. We both have Azorean and Portuguese ancestry and so many of the names are the same (but different people) that I wanted to be sure when I saw a name in the index it belonged either to MY ancestry or to my husband's ancestry ...... no wondering about it. I realize that there were other ways I could have accomplished that, but this is how I chose to do it.

Kathy

[donworth]

Re: Organizing Files

I did it the same way Kathy did. Works well for me.

[Sue McCormick]

Re: Organizing Files

Following advice frequently given on the ReunionTalk for Reunion9, I initially set up all my people in one file. I have even included some currently non-related people who are "possibles." This works fine for me. You can look at a single family, look only at the "possibles," etc., by marking all your relatives, all his relatives, etc. and saving the marked sets. Work on a marked set and save it again; your marked set is always up-to-date.

[Bob White]

Re: Organizing Files

My philosophy is that for the purposes of genealogy, I am the center of my universe (a privilege accorded me in no other venue) and that I am recording anyone who came before or follows me that is somehow related to me either by blood or legally. Thus, I'm a single file guy.

I have several common last names, two or more with the same name is not overly unusual. But I have no within Reunion confusion because of this. Besides, how else would I have found out that a third cousin on mom's side is a second cousin to a fourth cousin on dad's side.

[rodrigue]

Re: Organizing Files

My philosophy is that for the purposes of genealogy, I am the center of my universe (a privilege accorded me in no other venue) and that I am recording anyone who came before or follows me that is somehow related to me either by blood or legally. Thus, I'm a single file guy.

I have several common last names, two or more with the same name is not overly unusual. But I have no within Reunion confusion because of this. Besides, how else would I have found out that a third cousin on mom's side is a second cousin to a fourth cousin on dad's side.

Exactly.

I am also a single file guy, for the same basic reasons.

[bsayer]

Re: Organizing Files

What was your rationale for going with four files? Have the circumstances that once warranted the approach changed?

For what it's worth, I'm a single file guy too.

[Keith Bage]

Re: Organizing Files

Just to add to this - I run a one-name study where I am researching all instances (every family in the world) of the name BAGE. I do this all in one file (including my own family genealogy).

[sdengle]

Re: Organizing Files

...how else would I have found out that a third cousin on mom's side is a second cousin to a fourth cousin on dad's side.

I discovered a few years ago that I am my own 8th cousin! My mother's line included a KNAPP ancestor, and when a KNAPP researcher e-mailed me several Reports, there was one for "Lt. William PALMER" - my dad's line! (My grandfathers lived three blocks apart on the outskirts of Portland, Oregon, and descended from two REYNOLDS brothers born in Greenwich, Connecticut.)

A few weeks ago I completed one of my husband's lines back to Rev. Obadiah HOLMES and subsequently discovered each of his parents have him as ancestor! Not only that, but my husband and I are related as distant cousins through Richard BOWEN.

Had I stayed with four files (when I first started with Reunion about 10 years ago) or two files (my side, husband's side), I would never have found all these relationships!

Susan D. Engle

[David Moody]

Re: Organizing Files

Just to add to this - I run a one-name study where I am researching all instances (every family in the world) of the name BAGE. I do this all in one file (including my own family genealogy).

I, too, am a one file guy. In addition to my extensive family genealogy, the same file contains numerous unrelated and unattached genealogies that I have been doing for years gratis for people who ask our local Heritage Society for information about their forefathers. I am doing this in a community of 411 people whose ancestors are primarily Native American, French, Swede and Norwegian. It is amazing to watch the inter relationships grow, and if I live long enough, I will have a complete genealogy of the town for the Heritage Society's future reference. As you can probably deduce I am retired.

[ttl]

Re: Organizing Files

Let me throw in here now that there have been so many people extolling the benefits of a single file.

Are there any drawbacks? None that I can think of. Every reason you'd have to keep separate files can be reproduced in a single file using Reunion's filtering, marking, and flagging capabilities.

Once upon a time, a person might have been able to make a case for splitting files to keep the file size manageable, but with today's computers and hard drives, you'd have to have a honkin' big file to make that an issue now.

My 2

[Jodian]

Re: Organizing Files

Thanks for the input everyone. I started out with Reunion 6. I am wondering if I haven't understood how the different tools worked to manage the files. i.e. marking the lineages wanted for reports (excluding other lines), etc. and just kept using the same approach as versions changed. I am now preparing to merge these files - yelp! -
And to add to that I need to merge them with my laptop!
Thanks again.