Renaming sources

[BRC2023]

I have been gathering data for a long time, and my sources are, frankly, a mess. I want to rename all of the digital images (birth certificates, draft cards, census documents, etc.). What is the most efficient way to do this? All I can imagine is making a list of everyone in my database and going through them one by one, renaming associated media and relinking it?

[I J Prince]

I had a similar problem which I overcame by making one source for each census or parish register reference number and linking every image to the one reference. When I use that source I reference the image in the detail column of the Source citation

[BRC2023]

Thanks! That is helpful.
I'm still experimenting with the way I'll organize if I do end up redoing everything. There are so many questions I have about the right way to do things. For example, I have one 1900 census listing a great-grandfather of mine, and it references 9 people. This particular census was difficult to find because the last name is mis-spelled in Ancestry. So it leaves me with a few questions:
1. I plan to rename each source image as LASTNAME Firstname PersonID TypeOfRecord Year. Ie, "SMITH David 27 federal census 1900". Is this the right approach?
2. I don't want to make 9 copies of that image to link to the 9 people it refers to, but I do want them to be saved in an easy way for future people to view. So my plan is to reference them in the Reunion file, but ALSO make an Excel sheet that cross-indexes the source with each person mentioned in it. Is this overkill? I'm cautious about saving all my info in one format, which won't necessarily be readable by others if they don't have a genealogy program.
3. Given the difficulty locating some sources, I'd like to include a link to the record in Ancestry. Can I just cut and paste the browser url? Are those considered permanent?
4. I'm also saving a text file with each source, that has the citation info from Ancestry. Again, I'm not sure if this is more effort than I need to go to, but if I'm going to redo everything, it seems worth it to be thorough. The idea is that these source files would be labeled and organized in such a way that others could potentially use them, independent of the genealogy file.

[Michael Talibard]

In my opinion, a source like that should never be named after the people you find listed in it. The source is that particular page of the 1900 Census, and one should so name it, attaching its image. The source can then referenced as often as you wish - say, once for each of those nine people.

[KirkS]

... source can then referenced as often as you wish - say, once for each of those nine people.

I agree with Michael. It will also come in handy five years from now when you discover the people living two doors down were the wife's sister and her children.

[Blaise A. Darveaux]

I do the same as Michael and Kirk.

When I get a new census image, say, a 1950 US Census page, I first make a new Reunion source filling in the pertinent data about that source. Then I rename the image file. For this example it would be named Src 1021-1950 US Fed Census, then I put that file in a folder named Digital Sources (see image below). Finally, I attache the file to the source.

If the particular family runs over onto the next page, I add an a to the first page and a b to the second page and attache them both to the source.

Digital Sources folder.jpg

[thomprod]

The previous posters have given you good advice. Create a source once, attach the multimedia file to it, then cite that source for each event/person that source backs up. The name of the image file you save doesn't really matter to Reunion, but if you ever want to just browse or search your folder that contains your images outside of Reunion, you may want to choose a descriptive name that will help you locate the file you're looking for without opening Reunion.

For Census records, I use a title like "Ed Mirman and family 1920 Census", where Ed is the head of household on the Census page. I also fill out the other source fields (Locality, Date, Location of Source and Date Viewed), since these will be shown in footnotes on a Register Report or Book. These footnotes help others (who don't have access to Reunion) verify the source for an event or fact listed in the body of the Report/Book.

...3. Given the difficulty locating some sources, I'd like to include a link to the record in Ancestry. Can I just cut and paste the browser url?...

The Census and Vital Record source templates don't have a URL field included by default, but you can add one by clicking the + sign in the top right of the source window, then copy and paste the URL as you mentioned. I also download the image file and attach it to the source, so a future researcher doesn't have to duplicate your efforts to see the image. The Web Site template already includes the URL field. I use this template for Ancestry data that doesn't have an associated media file, like a listing in a Birth or Death Index, or a memorial from FindAGrave.com.

[BRC2023]

Thanks again! Digesting this...

[Michael Talibard]

At first, Thomprod seems to be agreeing with previous posters on this thread, but actually he's not (sorry) - because he names census sources after the people in them and he speaks of browsing sources outside of Reunion. What we were recommending was to name them just as particular pages of a particular census. For example 'Census: 1841, England, Essex, HO107/332/5, Halstead, f. 45, p. 27.' This makes them perfect for browsing within Reunion when you want to make a new one, to find the nearest 'lookalike' before duplicating and adjusting the final numbers.

[BRC2023]

I have to admit, some of this discussion is going over my head, though I think I see what you are saying here.

But in a slightly separate question, because any naming system is going to be incomplete in one way or another: Let's say that I name a census as described above, and it lists three people in my Reunion file. I link that source with each of those three people: Tom, Harry and Sally, and do the same with all my sources, in Reunion. So in my Reunion file, I can click on "Sally" and see the census she is listed in, along with any other documents.

But if I later want to create an index of everyone in my family file with the sources each person is linked to, is it possible to do that using the Reunion software? I'm not talking about footnotes, which I might also want, but just a straight list of people, each followed by the documents in which they are mentioned. The reason I want to do this is so that I can pass on the digital images of all the census documents, ship manifests, marriage certificates, etc that I have gathered to younger family members. I want them to be able to find all the documents associated with any given person. I'm not sure if Reunion can produce this kind of index (though I'm still looking), so it seems worth it to manually create this index as I organize the sources. This is the sort of index I'd like to produce:

Sally Sparrow
Census: 1841, England, Essex, HO107/332/5, Halstead, f. 45, p. 27.
Census: 1851, England, Essex, HO107/332/5, Halstead, f. 20, p. 35.
Marriage: 1852, etc., etc., etc.
Obituary: 1975, etc., etc., etc.

Harry Harlow
Census: 1841, England, Essex, HO107/332/5, Halstead, f. 45, p. 27.
etc.

(I will also be working on a printed book, which could have a list of citations as well, but my question above is specific to the digital files.)

Thanks!

[kyuck]

If you go to Lists on the LH side of Family View and then go to Citations, All people, All Sources, you will get a list that you might use.

Kevan

[BRC2023]

If you go to Lists on the LH side of Family View and then go to Citations, All people, All Sources, you will get a list that you might use.

Kevan

YES!! That's exactly what I'm looking for. I wonder if there is a way to export that list, in that format.

[KirkS]

is a way to export that list, in that format.

Yes, just follow you instincts -- at the bottom of that window, click the Share Menu ..

share.jpg

[KirkS]

There's a good section on Citations, including exporting, in the manual. Help-->Contents and search for Citations

cite.jpg

[BRC2023]

Yes, that works brilliantly, thank you!! Apparently, I have no instincts, because I was looking for a menu item that exported and failed to notice the icon. Thanks for all the help -- this is very useful.