I have found that on any topic in genealogy, you will find
people with their own perspective. This is great because you can weigh the pros
and cons of how they are doing something. Then decide on the best method for you!
Such as, I recently saw a Facebook post that asked about
using ALL CAPS for surnames. Another post asked about how to input unknown
names, whether first or last name.
My advice is to think about the pros and cons for you on how
you are going to input your data into your genealogy software. Another thing,
be consistent. Make some personal rules when it comes to your data.
On the subject for ALL CAPS for surnames, yes this was the
standard when we only had paper forms. I still do this when using a paper form,
because it is easier to see the surnames. However, before you just start keying
in ALL CAPS, check out your software program, can it convert surnames to ALL
CAPS when it generates reports? If so, then you may not want to do it while inputting
your data. Reading ALL CAPS on a computer screen is much different than on
paper.
However, I have heard of other ways people use ALL CAPS on
surnames. For their direct line ancestors only. It makes it easier to see them
in the list of index of individuals. Again, can your software handle this in a
different way? My software program can color code all my direct ancestors and I
can see that color in the list of index and thus I can see my direct ancestors.
This comes in handy when the descendants of your direct ancestor have the same
name as your direct ancestor. So you are not sure which John Smith is your
direct ancestor. However, if you like
seeing your direct line ancestor in ALL CAPS on a descendant reports, then
color coding might not help you. Thus you might need to put in ALL CAPS.
However, are you going to be sharing your data in the future as a book and thus
your direct line will be in ALL CAPS? While your direct line may not be the exact
same line as say your distant cousin.
Some use ALL CAPS to show someone they haven’t proven, they put the entire name in as all CAPS and thus they know at a glance they need to do more work. Once they have cited some sources, they change the name. Again, my genealogy software program allows me to color code individuals and thus I could always flag them as RED or whatever color I choose. Some use all lowercase for the surname of women where they don’t know their maiden name and thus type in their married name as all lowercase.
This brings me to unknown names; I heard a funny story where someone typed in UKN for unknown names. Someone else came upon this tree and got excited because the surname was found and it appeared to be UKN. I use to put in parentheses the wife’s married name when I didn’t know the maiden name. Unfortunately, when I looked at the list of individuals, those unknown maiden names didn’t jump out at me.
A genealogy standard is to use five underscores, I
personally use seven because when I print a report, it leaves just enough space
for me to print a name or allow other’s to print a name, if they know it. I use
the seven for all unknown first names and seven for all unknown last names.
These unknown surnames will show up at the top of my list of individuals.
For inquiring minds, the software program I use is Family Tree Maker, however many packages offer similar features. So explore your existing program and see what it can do for you. As the saying goes, “Work smarter not harder”. What I love about software programs such as FTM, it offers features that allow me to customize it for how I want to record my data. My advice is to “Think before you leap”. Try a small experimental tree and turn on and off features, look at reports you might want, see if you can customize reports so you can get the data you want.
Have fun researching!
