I’m working on a lineage society application. What’s the best way to organize my paperwork?

Are you part way through a Daughters of the American Revolution or Colonial Dames application and struggling to figure out how to handle a pile of paperwork?

Here are a few hints that might help:

1. You’ll need to know where everything came from. Don’t just print out the document from Ancestry and add it to the stack. Be sure to print out the cover page that includes the name of the collection and paperclip it to the document. That way you won’t be struggling to retrace your steps.
2. The genealogist will want everything organized by generation. That means the best way for you to sort your files is by generation.
3. For most societies, you’ll want to work backwards. You are generation 1; your parents are generation 2, etc.
4. In most cases, if a record covers more than one generation, it should be listed in the most recent. Are you using the same will to prove son, grandson, and great-grandson. Add it to the pile for great-grandson.
5. The exception to 3 and 4 is Mayflower Society. The GSMD starts with the pilgrim and works down. So oldest records go first, not last.