Traveling

Pack

written April 19, 2009

As many of you know I have always attempted to find the most economical way to do my researching. I also realize although several persons might have fancy equipment like laptops, not everyone does (I don't). Therefore I look for other ways to get the job done. Winter is FINALLY winding down (for most of us anyway) Therefore it is the best time to be going through your research and finding out all the things you need to find out for your spring and summer excursions. The less that you need to carry with you on a trip I find makes it easier. I have developed for my own usage what I like to call my "traveling pack". It allows for the most information in the most concise format possible for easy reminders. For some reason whenever I walk into a library or archive it seems that all the things I wanted to look for simply vanish from my mind. For this project you will need about- 10 3x5 cards 1 Good Rubber Band A pen or pencil Label each of your 3x5 cards as-- Births, Cemetery, Census, Deaths, Land Record, Marriage, Mortality Index, Obituary, Tax Listings, and Wills Utilize these cards so that on each of them you list the names of the persons that you want this information on. For example on the census card you might put: Robert Freedom- Owen County 1850, 1880 (because those are the years you still need) or on the Obituary card Eliza Smith- about February 3, 1874 Spencer Robert Crutch-- about August 5, 1913 Martinsville Add more 3x5 cards as you need them. When you have all your data on them, rubber band them together and drop them in your research bag or purse and you can easily extract them at the library for a quick reminder. Cross them off as you get the data. You might make a different card for each cemetery in the areas you are visiting to make certain you go to the right one. This is a compact way to still have your information with you when you travel.