10/19/2026
October is Family History Month! How do you track your family history?
Me, I have color coded different branches of the family. Mom's family is in red (because family crest has red), so 3 ring binders - red; tub with larger items - clear with red lid; photos, documents are in red boxes. Dad's family is in blue, one Grandma's family name was "Rose" and you'll never guess what color I used for that branch of the family tree! I've got lots of dates and am now filling in their lives, what did they do for a living, how did they live, did they go to war, church, did they own land, are there any hidden gems? And my favorite is the unmarked photos or the ones marked "Fun day at the river, 1913" with 20 people in it. No names, but "fun."
I also use many different resources to find out information. Obviously, you can pay for ancestry.com, newspapers.com or fold3.com, but there are SO many free resources available. The BCHS Larry Adams research room has city directories, old cemetery information, naturalization records, yearbooks, plat maps and the list goes on. I even found my great grandfather's naturalization information while I was showing someone else how the naturalization books worked! Using old city directories, I now have a list of some of the homes that my family lived in (rural is harder).
The Boone County Recorder's office has "archived" books on their website https://gov.arcasearch.com/usiabon/ which has been a free, online treasure trove of deeds and documents. The National Park Service has a Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database (free and online https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/soldiers-and-sailors-database.htm ) where I was able to look up relatives that fought in the civil war and exactly which battles they fought in.
What are your tips and tricks for organizing? What free or paid resources do you use to help complete your family history?
