Organizing files using JL Beeken MRIN system - questions.
I've been trying to organize my files using JL Beeken MRIN system. On my paternal grandfather's side, I have 12 8th-great-grandparents, some of which are maternal x-great-grandparents. Problems (1) I follow maternal lines as well as paternal lines. Don't know how to set up those file folders to save birth, marriage, death records. (2) I have (x)great-grandparents who are 7th if you follow one line and 6th if you follow another. How in the world do I set up those file folders?
Oooh, I love talking about the MRIN filing system.
ReplyDeleteI don't have that kind of split from paternal to maternal line, but my maternal line is so tangled up with cousins married to cousins, I'm alway surprised when a married couple isn't.
First of all, don't worry about how many times they're cousins. I'm related to some of my cousins over 20 times.
Second, make a rule of thumb, or how ever many rules of thumb you need to handle your particular situations. I made mine up as I went along.
Say, I have a 7th cousin married to a 6th cousin. When a cousin is married to a cousin, I always follow the male line. So the folder for that marriage goes under the MRIN of his parents. On the wife's side, I file an empty folder named [MRIN]W under her parents. If, in my travels, I come across a W folder, that points me to where the files actually are. They're filed under HIS parents.
I use the Windows 7 operating system so if I search for, say, 1027 in the little search box, it brings up folders 1027 and 1027W.
Set up your Direct Line folders first. Everything else is filed under them. And two specific ones for Inlaws.
On my mother's side, what looks at first to be Inlaws often turns into cousins upon further research. So that keeps me busy renumbering and refiling. All in a day's work.
Once you get the hang of the filing, it's really quite smooth. Basically you're creating a filing tree that follows your database tree. And you can search all your files by number or by keywords, captions or whatever else if you're putting metadata in your images.
This should work for you even though you have maternal X great-grandparents who are also paternal X great-grandparents. You've got two choices here; file under the male line or file under the female line. As long as you do what you choose consistently, it should work out fine.
Thought you might like to know how I finally set up my paternal grandfather's line - where I have 70 direct line ancestors (all with documentation). I used the generation number (I am generation 0), then the MRIN, then the first 3 letters of husband's name and first 3 letters of wife's name. Example: 00_0001 Nis-Gus, 01_0411 Gus-Stein, 02_0290 Gus-Joh through 12_1111 Nie (no wife's name there). Generation numbers were the only way I could think of to put them in order and add additional people in the middle as I find them. I have 3 of my 4 branches set up. Now - on to the 4th!
ReplyDeleteDonna Nissen
ReplyDeletePerfect!
That's almost how I do it myself. Except on the direct lines I spell out the surnames. For example, 06_0063 Harris-Nessle
For everyone else I use the MRIN followed by the initials. For instance John E. Smith married to Ophelia Jane Brown, with an MRIN of 1284 would be 1284 JES-OJB. Otherwise all the folders filed within folders make the file paths so long at some point (7 or 8 generations down) Windows can't handle it.
Anyway, those direct lines are the top folders. I keep my 90 of them in another folder called MRIN. It's an important folder; almost 19,000 files.
Carry on. It sounds like you're doing fine. Let us know.