Cousin research tracking tool

JohnDFarmer

I have found a way to use a spreadsheet as a very useful tool for researching my cousins. It is methodical and thorough. I can pick up right where I left off on any branch years after leaving it. I have used it for the last 8 years and it contains about 900 cousins related through one of my great grandmothers. Once someone is found I add them to Family Search along with any spouse and children. The children become a new area of research for their spouses and children. As long as my research is good, no cousins get missed!

Refer to the attached screenshot.

The first column is a key I use that uniquely defines each cousin in my tree relative to a direct ancestor. The first two characters define a direct ancestor in my tree. First number is generation from me. The second character is where they are vertically in the tree for that generation, top to bottom. For example 4.A is my great grandmother, 5.A is her father and 5.B is her mother. Next generation gets 6.A, 6.B, 6.C, and 6.D and so on. The next character is the sibling order of my ancestor and their siblings (my aunts and uncles). After that it's just cousins in birth order, and their kids in birth order where each additional digit moves down the generations toward me.

It sounds complex but it is really very easy once you get going. If I come back to someone in the spreadsheet with this ID: 5.B.4.3 and I find their first child, I just insert a line below and give them this ID: 5.B.4.3.1. Next child gets 5.B.4.3.2. I also enter them in Family Search as I go.

I include their name and birth year so I can quickly find them in the reference. I put the date when I last worked on that person. And I put the reference for the last place I looked. For me this is in Sweden's Arkiv Digital so it is a quick and specific reference that I can get back to in seconds. The comment helps me know what was going on with the research and is color coded. White means they are all done and added to Family Search, including spouse and any children if applicable. Yellow means I got stumped and might come back to it in the future when I am a better researcher and more records are available. Blue means the 110 rule has been hit so I remember to come back to it in a few years. And Green is an active search that can still be pursued.

Has anyone used another method to find their cousins? My experience with Puzzilla is that it is too random here or there and you don't have an inherent record of what you have been doing in it. This spreadsheet is my work record, my relationship, and my tracking all in one.

It seems like this could be made into a tool to give it a slicker user interface, more references, and a better relationship view.

genthusiast

Besides the color coding, 'linear arrangement ' in a compact viewing area - your method duplicates Family Tree (most closely I think the descendancy tree view) and some 3rd party tree management solutions. Your method provides a simple alternative solution (spreadsheet applications are readily available) - and would help many people with FAQ - how do I search my tree?

I find your numbering system interesting - and yes probably easier for on-going research - largely because of the compact/linear view. It would be nice if FamilySearch adopted such a research tool. Thank you for sharing the method - I may want to try it out to see if it helps me organize my research better.

Once you enter a profile into Family Tree - then you just need to Follow them and keep aware of any Changes from other users. Sometimes users may take your vital record profile and morph it into a different person - ignoring your vital research.

It seems like this could be made into a tool to give it a slicker user interface, more references, and a better relationship view.

Sometimes the best tools are the simplest - no more bloat/features needed - just enough to help with the needs of the job.

Gail Swihart Watson

JohnDFarmer I find this very interesting. I too, have used spreadsheets to track my research. Unfortunately I have different research needs. I think serious researchers will find themselves in many different kinds of binds. Consider the all the scenarios below. They are completely real, and this may not be the complete list. It is only what I can think of right now.

1. One of my husband's 3rd greats is a Germans from Russia couple whose identity is in great dispute. At least 3 documented couples are possible, and people are beginning to accumulate their own list of sources with associated interpretations. While I have no time for this now, I feel very compelled at some point to "interview" at least some of them and begin tracking what's going on. (People have been contacting me wanting to open up complex conversations, but this takes time.) There is a discussion forum hosted by a university dedicated to the surname of this couple which is fertile ground for finding new sources, new information, and of course, new opinions. How to track the he said-she said AND who uses which sources as proof of something AND what are different interpretations of same sources. Goal is to objectively look at all the evidence and everyone's interpretations of it so I can "see and understand" where the logic takes me. I also want to add and track DNA to this. At least one woman said she is my husband's 3rd cousin by reason of a document. Fortunately she did her DNA. I have hubby and his sister's DNA, as well as his sister's daughter and grandson. This woman is NOT an appropriate DNA match to them to support being hubby's 3rd cousin, and I want to track this stuff with everyone.
2. Another of my husband's ancestors (and ancestor's siblings) had an extremely disoriented childhood. Abandonment, orphanages, running away are stories that have been passed down. I've got a spreadsheet for pinpointed dates and places a member of the family was found somewhere due to a source documenting it as well as evidence I've gleaned from photographs hubby has inherited. Turns out photos contain a lot of clues and these have been added to the spreadsheet. A picture is emerging which backs most of the stories up. I've redesigned this spreadsheet twice though. Goals: see what I have, tell the story as it unfolds, and highlight gaps in knowledge that persist.
3. More typical scenarios: I have numerous ancestors who have no single document which proves parentage, but rather there is a series of documents which are pieces of the puzzle for a possible proof. I need a spreadsheet with a strategy to organize this in a systematic manner. Goal is to see the pieces, see when all pieces make a complete picture and see when they do not.
4. Future project which I have not yet started. I have African American DNA matches. I also have ancestors who were documented enslavers. I can see from the trees of matches I share with some African American DNA matches who some of the enslavers might be. Thus I have leads on who some of enslaver ancestors could be of my African American DNA matches. However, I do not have an organized process for presenting this "evidence" to people. I also don't have a good understanding of what standard evidence I need to begin gathering. Goal is to come up with a check list of evidence that will assist interested African American DNA matches with research on their end.