Genealogy Chat

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After reading the "how do you file yours?" thread, I decided it was about time I sorted my stuff into some sort of order. So yesterday I went and bought a box with file dividers in, it has a lockable lid so I can take it with me with everything in it if I go to do research etc, and I can now find everything quickly. However, I discovered that my marriage certificates don't fit in normal plastic wallets cos they are too long. Hmmm. Would it be OK to put sticky back plastic on them? I am not meaning for strength or anything like that, I just want to stop them getting marked or (heaven forbid) wet. Opinions please. Sorry to be a pain cos I know there have been a million and one messages about what to do with them!!

Andrea, I would not have thought the sticky stuff would be a good idea. What about having them photo copied and then use those as travelling/using copies and store the originals in acid free files somewhere very safe and dry. Elisabeth

I agree with Elisabeth Copy your originals and maybe even have them laminated so you can use them to carry about with you .That way they wont get wet, grubby or mislayed and the originals are at home safe Chris

what you need to do is get the originals laminated, most printing store do this while you wait.

I have photocopied mine and then decreased their size so that they will fit into normal folders.

Hi Trish Sorry if this sounds a daft question but how do you do that.I have scanner can I do it on there Chris

It's not recommended to laminate original documents. Poly pockets specifically for BMD certs are available from:- CW & S Parkinson 16 Foxhills Close Ashurst Southhampton SO40 7ER Ph 023 8029 3608 www(.)sirdar(.)demon(.)co(.)uk If you want to carry them about, then scan or photocopy them. Ros

Ros, Just had a quick look at the site you recomended. Thankyou so much for the tip, it supplies several things I've been looking for. Might be worth putting it on the Useful websites thread.

Chris, you can scan certificates OK. With the long ones, I scan them in 2 halves, then join them together in paint shop pro. Remember to overlap the 2 scans, so you have a point of reference when you join them up.

Thanks Ros for the website info, it's just what I've been looking for. I love this site, what members don't know isn't worth knowing! Cathy

I have laminated mine and they look really nice - Janice

Chris, Your scanner will probably only take A4 size, so if you know someone who works in an office, they could photocopy the long ones on A3 size paper and then reduce it down to A4 for you. Although of course you could also do it in two halves and cellotape them together - a bit messy looking though. Kathy

I have found that if I fold my Certificates neatly in half they will fit into an A4 Plastic Pocket. Then I file them in Alphabetical order. Jim

When I read the title of your thread I thought EEEEEK!! Please ask for Xmas pressie of Certificate binder with special document-friendly see-through inserts and acid free paper dividers. The binders cost I think about 15 quid and the innards about another fiver. I did this last year and it is wonderful to be able to look through the certificates knowing they are safe for posterity. Mine came from S & N Genealogical Supplies, but check your fave Fam Hist Mag for ads. Then when you fill one up you can get another for your birthday and keep one for births and one for marriages and deaths or similar. Then when you have filled another ..... !!! Maz. XX

I have had all my certificates photocopied and the copies laminated. The originals are kept safely stored.

I'm with you Jim I fold mine and put them in plastic sleeves. When I go researching I take a form I have designed for each ancestor, showing the information I already hold, the blank areas are the ones to be researched. June

Hi Jim and June - just to say that a fold naturally causes a weakness so please be aware that your certs will fall in half in time. Not nagging or telling you what to do, but just wanted to point this out in case you hadn't thought of it. Some documents I have, from not that many years ago, are already in pieces due to the way they were stored in the past. Maz. XX

June, I do the same - fill out a form for each individual! But last time my family all went to the records office for the day - and it was like preparing for a school trip! "has everyone got their forms?" "has everyone got a notebook?" "has everyone got a pen?" I also fold the documents and keep them in plastic wallets. Marriage certs, birth certs, death certs, letters, military, maps & topgraphical, etc. I have a column of white labels on each wallet which states which documents are inside the wallet. I add to it each time I put a document away. I also scan each cert and keep them on disk in case something happened to the original. -Kat

Thanks for the replies everyone. I think I will just photocopy them for now and keep the originals safe - I don't have that many so it's not worth buying anything as yet - but I will keep the notes for when I need them. Thanks again.