Lets talk about Organizing Family History. Today I took the morning off of organizing for my clients and decided to learn about genealogy and what to do with all the “stuff” that one day belonged to our ancestors. Plus, I often see that people want to have their memories preserved but not always know how to do it.

Some tips from Mary Mannix, Maryland Room Manager, C. Burr Artz Public Library, Frederick County Public Libraries are: “Organize your materials now! Whether it is family papers or your own genealogy notes. It’s never too soon. Label everything and do not use rubber bands or metal paperclips.”

When organizing your historical material (letters, pictures, research, interviews, etc) make sure you have copies somewhere else other than your own house and that close family members know how you want to preserve them.

If you find yourself in a situation that you prefer to donate your collections to an institution, a good source to learn more about it is the Society of American Archivists (SAA). You could start by reading this article: A guide to donating your personal or family papers to a repository.

Look at this paper a client and I came across the other day when organizing her files. These things were taught in schools and were expected behaviors from women back in the 50’s. Can you imagine it?

I hope you found this information as interesting as I did. I always have a good time organizing family history.