ZongMai Genealogy Revision Guide
Organize documents, old photos, recordings, gravestones, family letters, certificates of merit, obituaries, and genealogy pages into searchable family archives.
Genealogy Revision Practices · Updated 2026-09-22
When receiving a batch of photos or documents, assign a fixed identifier to each item first, such as D0001. Always use this identifier in catalogs and references; it remains unchanged even if the file is moved to another folder. Do not use names such as “Grandpa’s photos” or “final version of the old genealogy” alone, as duplicate names can easily overwrite one another when multiple people are collaborating.
Record the item identifier, medium type, content summary, holder of the original, collection date, and related person identifier. For paper documents, you can also record the number of pages and dimensions; for audio recordings, you can record the duration. Example: D0001, scan of a family letter, sender to be verified, original held by a family member, corresponding person P005. This is only a data-entry example, not a historical record.
The first column preserves the visible text, with illegible characters marked as pending identification; the second column contains the modern interpretation, inferred place names, or relationship assessments. Interpretations must be traceable back to the original for verification; do not replace the sole original file with edited text. When different versions are found, create separate records for each and then record their connections.
You can use statuses such as “identified,” “characters pending identification,” “person pending verification,” and “conflict exists,” together with the next action. Do not replace specific issues with a single overall score. For example, “waiting for a family member to confirm the third person in the group photo” is more useful for continuing the work than the vague note “low confidence.”
Search for several sample items by person, era, or record number to confirm that the catalog can locate the files, the files can be opened, and the images are legible. Then restore a small batch of files from the backup and check whether the identifiers match the catalog. The location of paper originals should also be recorded, so that no one is left knowing only where the scans are while the originals remain unaccounted for.
