Keeping track of genealogy research sources can be daunting if you don’t decide from the start of a project how you’re going to cite them.  Waiting until later to catch up on source citations can become a tedious task, especially when you’d rather spend your time “doing the genealogy.” 

Just like managing genealogy research, there are many ways to manage genealogy source citations.  There are also different ways to actually write out the source citation.  Trust me, I’ve explored this thoroughly.

But, rather than spend a lot of time going genealogy geek mode with this task, I figured out a way that would take care of keeping track of sources and digital documents in one file–a Google Sheets spreadsheet.  Initially I tried using Airtable, but that really messed me up.  So, I settled for sticking with what I know best.  

Here’s how I manage digital source citations:

• In Google Drive, create a new Google Sheets document in a folder or subfolder that contains contents relevant to a research project you’re working on.  Doing so will eliminate the step of having to move it to the right folder later.
• Name it:  [Surname] Index to Documents.
  • Example:  Smith Index to Documents.  
• Create titles for each column on line 1 in bold and adding in a different fill color for each column as follows:
  • Column A:  FILE NAME
  • Column B:  TYPE
  • Column C:  SURNAME
  • Column D:  GIVEN NAME
  • Column E:  DIRECT/INDIRECT
  • Column F:  DATE ACCESSED
  • Column G:  LOCATION
  • Column H:  FOLDER/ALBUM
  • Column I:  COMMENTS
• Rename the tab using surname of one ancestor only or surnames of a grandparent couple.
  • Example:  Smith or Smith/Jones 
• If you want to include in this document source citations for parents, grandparents, 2x grandparents and so forth:
  • Add a tab for each, renaming the tab with the surnames.
    • Example:  Smith/Jones, Smith/Doe, Smith/Buck
  • Copy line 1 column titles and paste to line 1, column A to each tab.

Ideally, you should have this spreadsheet open as part of your digital research workflow.  As you add digital files like documents and photos to where you keep them on your computer, you should be adding information to the spreadsheet.

Here’s how you add spreadsheet information:

• Type in or copy/paste the title of the document or photo under FILE NAME in column A.   For example:  Smith, John & Jane Headstone.jpg
• Under Type, column B, type in what file or category it would be in where you have it stored.  For example:  Death
• Type in the surname associated with it under column C.  Example:  Smith
• For Column D, Given Name, type in the first name.  Example:  John
• Type in either Direct or Indirect under column E to identify if the person is directly or indirectly related to you.  For example, a spouse from a second marriage or partner of a biological relative.
• Type in the date you accessed the source under column F, Date Accessed, as MM/DD/YYYY.
• For Column G, Location, type in where you have the document or photo kept digitally or if you really want to get fancy like me, you can create a drop-down list (check out this YouTube tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INNrCTtXjkE ).
  • For example, if I have it in my ForeverⓇ storage only, I select Forever.  
  • If I have it in both ForeverⓇ storage and my HP computer, I select HP & Forever.
• Under column H, Folder/Album, type in the name of the folder you have it stored in (example:  Death).  In my case, it could be both a computer folder and a ForeverⓇ storage album, so I would type in Death/Album Name.
• It is under column I, Comments, where you make your source citation.  Oftentimes, a website like Ancestry will provide you with the source citation that you can copy/paste into this column.  If not, I go by the simple advice given in this blog post by Devon Noel Lee, https://www.familyhistoryfanatics.com/citing-sources-simplified :  Your source citation should at least include:
  • Who created the source originally
  • The name or title of the source
  • When it was created or published
  • Where it can be found in a book or collection (page number, for example)
  • Where the source is located (archive, website)

That’s all there is to how I manage digital source citations for my genealogy research project.  I’m not saying it’s THE way to cite your sources, but it’s one way of doing it.  If you do a Google search, you’ll see how many options there are.  It’s just a matter of finding what works right for you.