Months into my brick wall genealogy project I realized it was easier to create some research-related documents digitally. I first looked into note-taking applications like Zoho and Evernote to keep research logs or notes.
Then, as I needed to create charts related to research findings, I had to find an application for spreadsheet creation. I tried some platforms for that purpose but didn’t like them.
I do know how to use Microsoft products like Word, OneNote and Excel, but I didn’t want to invest in purchasing them. I didn’t want to limit myself to one computer operating system. I have both Mac and Windows laptops. The Windows laptop is set up with dual monitors in my genealogy workspace.
I finally chose Google Drive to manage my genealogy research. Why?
- I can access it on any laptop regardless of its operating system type provided there is Internet access.
- I can access it on my phone using the Google Drive app.
- I don’t need USB drives for my on-the-go Mac laptop.
- It’s easy to use and allows me to create Word-type documents with Google Docs and Excel-type spreadsheets with Google Sheets.
- I can easily create folders and subfolders. I can even assign colors to the folders.
- It allows me to upload digital files like PDFs.
- It automatically saves my work as I go.
- I have the ability to search for a document if I need information quickly.
- I can get a lot of storage at the start for free.
What’s Really Great About Google Drive
Besides those perks I listed above, I can add content to my genealogy reference folders like articles I find on the Internet. I learned this trick from a blog post by Alice Childs describing step-by-step how to set up a research reference guide (https://alicechilds.com/creating-a-research-reference-guide-in-google-drive/).
Basically, you do a command to print and choose the “Save to Google Drive” option. You have to choose “See more…” under the Destination to find this option way at the bottom of the option list. Once the article is saved in Drive, it can be moved to a folder.
The “Save to Google Drive” option can be used also if you have an email with documents attached to it in a Gmail account. I have a Gmail account that is dedicated just to genealogy-related email. My Google Drive for genealogy is based off of this Gmail account.
If you don’t have a Gmail account, you can create one. Click here to create an account.
https://www.google.com/gmail/about/
If you’re not familiar with Google Drive, check this blog post out to help you get started:
I found this blog post by Family Locket to be helpful when I first set up my Google Drive for genealogy: https://familylocket.com/organize-your-research-with-google-drive-by-nicole-dyer-at-rootstech-2019/ It’s about a class presented by Nicole Dyer at RootsTech 2019.
Check out the link for the PDF that is a class syllabus with great info.
At first I created folders similar to what Alice Childs created but eventually came up with a folder system that worked for my particular research project. I narrowed down folders into basic categories to make finding documents and spreadsheets easy.
Here’s what I created for folders:
- Family History Book Projects with subfolders by surname with subfolders within each for each grandparent couple for research logs and spreadsheets
- Family History Research Reference Guide with subfolders
- Country
- DNA
- Immigration
- Locality Guides
- Quick Reference Sheets
- Record Types
- Research Methodology
- State
- Family Tree Maker Software for notes from a class taken for the software and chats with software support
- Genealogy Courses for notes from courses I’ve taken along with PDFs for future reference
- Genealogy Planning to keep info regarding family history book project processes and research templates.
These are just a few ideas of what you can do with Google Drive to manage your genealogy research and anything else genealogy or family history related.
What’s Next?
Check out my blog post about how to manage digital source citations using Google Drive.
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