Using Evernote for genealogy will make you a more efficient and effective researcher.
Genealogists all over the world are harnessing the power of Evernote to organize their family history research. This free software (and website application) can bring all your research materials (text notes, photos and images from mobile devices, video, audio interviews, web content and URLs) together in one place.
Then it goes even further by making all the text items keyword-searchable. So you can much more easily locate that one little piece of information you recall only as “that bit about the fire station he worked for.”
Better yet, Evernote goes with you. With the Evernote software and companion app, your genealogy notes will be accessible from and fully-synced across all your computing devices. Sigh! It’s wonderful!
2. Create your free or premium Evernote account. (Click here to learn more about Evernote account options.)
3. Go to your Account page and make note of your unique Evernote email address. (Help>Go to My Account Page>Account Summary and scroll down to “Email Notes to.”)
5. Download the free Evernote app from the App Store or Google Play and sign in to your account.
Now you’re ready to use Evernote to collect your research content and source citation information!
Here are 5 ways to add content to Evernote
1. The Web Clipper: Pull data from websites with the handy web clipper and Evernote will often automatically capture information about the site you got it from.
2. Drag and Drop: Images, scanned documents and other multimedia content can be dropped right into new or existing notes.
3. Smartphone and Tablet: Snap a photo of a record, tombstone or any other genealogical item. (I like to do a quick photo “Edit” cleanup to get it in the best shape possible). Tap the Share button and send it to Evernote.
4. Email Content: Use your unique Evernote email address to send content from anywhere to your account.
5. Good Old Typing: Click “New Note” and start typing. You can always add other content including merging notes together.
Resources for Success
There’s so much demand for learning to use Evernote for genealogy that I’ve created a variety of helpful resources in video, audio, print and online formats (because everyone learns differently!).
FREE YouTube Video Series: Evernote for Genealogy
I’ve posted two videos so far on my free YouTube series:
Genealogy Gems website Premium membershave a full-year’s access to my popular in-depth video classes, which include The Ultimate Evernote for GenealogyEducation video series. This series includes the following full-length and mini-series classes:
Who else do you know who would benefit from getting organized? I hope you’ll share this page with your friends, relatives, family history buddies and fellow gen society members using the share icons below. Thanks!
We are delighted to share genealogy tech tips with you each week in these new videos. It’s Lisa’s way to share tips and tricks for your genealogy and your overall internet research success. You don’t have to be a lover of all things genealogy to love a good tech tip and we think you’ll agree!
Our Google guru, Lisa Louise Cooke, has been busy creating short, informative tech tip videos for you. You will find these videos first posted to our Facebook page. Be sure to always see what’s new by “liking” The Genealogy Gems Podcast page.
Additionally, you can comment, like, and share directly from Facebook. This is a great way to share these tips with your genealogy friends and society members.
Each week, Lisa will share with you what’s new in the world of technology and especially those tips that will make you a better and more effective genealogist.
Lisa’s first video, Free Google E-Books for Genealogy and Family History, walks you through the steps of accessing free digital books from the comfort of your home. From county histories to family histories, Google e-books are a treasure trove of genealogical information. Using Google e-books helped me find several pictures of ancestors that I had never seen—and that was just the start.
We think you’ll also enjoy our most recent tech tip video entitled How to Use Google Chrome to Identify Old Photos and Images for Genealogy and Family History. Using Google Chrome for your internet browser can be an effective tool for identifying images that are more universally known. While this likely won’t be able to identify an unknown person in your ancestry, you may be able to figure out the location a postcard image was taken.
Join us each week as Lisa shares these great tips for genealogy and more! If you find the information helpful, why not share with your genie friends too!
The Georgia Genealogical Society is hosting an all-day seminar on September 16, 2017 in Marietta, Georgia. I’m the invited speaker–and you’re invited, too! Come learn cutting-edge skills and tools you can start using in your family history research immediately. Register online until September 12, 2017. You can book me for your genealogy event here.
If you can make it to Marietta, Georgia on Saturday, September 16, I hope you’ll join me for an all-day seminar sponsored by the Georgia Genealogical Society. The event organizers have chosen a well-rounded set of classes I’m excited to teach! You’ll get cutting-edge tips on online search strategies, an in-depth newspaper research class, a unique and fun approach to working a “genealogical cold case,” and inspiring, attention-getting ideas to share your family history discoveries with your relatives.
Georgia Genealogical Society Seminar Details
Here’s what you’ll want to know now about this event:
What: All-Day Seminar with Lisa Louise Cooke Where: First Presbyterian Church, 189 Church St., Marietta, GA When: Saturday, September 16, 2017, 9:45 am – 4:15 pm (doors open at 9:15 am for registration) Hosted by: Georgia Genealogical Society; co-sponsored by Cobb County Genealogical Society Registration:Register online via PayPal by midnight on Tuesday, September 12, 2017, to get the regular event price and the class handouts.
And boy oh boy are we going to dig into genealogy!:
10:15 am:Google Books: The Tool You Should Use Every Day! Over 25 million digitized and searchable free books are at your fingertips with Google Books. Learn how to make the most of this goldmine chock full of historical data. (This is a brand new class in 2017 and was a BIG hit at Rootstech,)
11:30: Get the Scoop on your Ancestors with Newspapers. Yearning to “read all about it?” Newspapers are a fantastic source of research leads, information and historical context for your family history. Learn the specialized approach that is required to achieve success in locating the news on your ancestors. Includes 3 Cool Tech Tools that will get you started.
(12:30-2:00 pm: Lunch is on your own)
2:00 pm: How to Reopen and Work a Genealogy Cold Case. Become a genealogical detective in this vital session. You’ll learn to track ancestors like a criminal cold case detective, sniffing out holes in your research and getting missing information on the record with cutting edge technology.
3:15 pm: Inspiring Ways to Capture the Interest of Non-Genealogists. If you are researching your family tree but haven’t shared it with your family in a way that sparks their interest, then you are only experiencing half of the joy of genealogy! And if your descendants don’t grasp the importance of their heritage, your hard work may tragically find it’s way to the city dump when you are gone. Don’t just collect your family history and store it away in binders and files! Learn how creative displays and crafts can capture the imagination of your non-historian friends and relatives, while honoring your ancestors. These projects are guaranteed to inspire your family to ask you to tell them more about the family tree!
Click here for more about the event and to register.
4 More Ways to Learn New Genealogy Skills
If you can’t be in Marietta (darn!) on September 16, check out these free options for learning with me and the rest of my team here at Genealogy Gems:
Subscribe to my free weekly e-newsletter. You’ll get my free Google research e-book as a thank you gift. Simply enter your email address into this box, and I’ll deliver news, how-tos and stories from my blog, including my popular weekly update of new genealogy records online.
Listen to the free Genealogy Gems podcast. My flagship audio show has been delivering in-depth stories, research strategies, tech tips and more for more than 10 years–with more than 2 million times worldwide. Why not listen for yourself?
Subscribe to my YouTube channel. Watch, learn and be inspired with the many genealogy how-to videos I’ve shared on my YouTube channel.
Thanks for sharing this event invitation with your friends. I hope to meet you in Marietta, on social media or as a new listener or email subscriber!
Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode 225 Get ready for a fun and inspiring start to your new genealogy year. I’m not going to lecture you about how to get organized and all that – you get enough of that New Year banter other places. Today I’m going to bring you a talented...
Using Evernote for genealogy will make you a more efficient and effective researcher.
My laminated reference guide is super handy for every day support! This guide includes:
Genealogy Gems website Premium members have a full-year’s access to my popular in-depth video classes, which include The Ultimate Evernote for Genealogy Education video series. This series includes the following full-length and mini-series classes:
Keep up on all my latest Evernote news and Q&As!
