1: Gather Your Records
2: Gather Records from Others
3: Interview Relatives
4: Prepare Uploads
5: Add Photos (MH)
6: Photo Albums (MH)
7: Photo Enhancements (MH)
Translation Tips
Music
Project 3: Documents and Photos
Goal 1: Gather Your Records
Goal 1: Gather and safeguard your own important personal records. Vault
Preserving your own personal records gets you off to a good start and helps you protect your valuable information.
Choices
A Gather your own important records.
Class Outlines: Basic
Summary
- Gather your important personal documents.
- Locate and safely store your birth certificate, religious records, marriage certificate, legal documents, etc.
- If you are missing any important records, arrange to get replacements of them.
Resources
- Here are some helpful ideas for gathering your own family history records.
FS—Gather Family Information
Gathering Home Sources—3:38 - 2020
- Keep a journal to capture events in your life and personal reflections.
See Choice C in Project 2: Memories, Goal 9 for details.
- * Proficient: Make a list of the important personal documents you should have, and then collect and store them safely.
B Gather photos and documents you have of your ancestors.
Summary
- Gather family history documents and photos in your possession and learn more about them.
- See timing 10:25 of the Inherited Records video in Step 4 for ideas on what to treasure, set aside, or discard.
- Record what you know from records and sources easily available.
BYU—Creating a Family Archive (19:00) - 2014
- Learn how to find the treasures in family records that are in your possession.
BYU—Inherited Records? Now What? —43:08 - 2016
- Learn about the importance of documenting stories and photographs.
AAC—Document Your Family Treasures and Photographs—11:26
5 Steps for Documenting Your Family’s Story - 2023 - Analyzing: Learn about guidelines on deciding whether objects are heirlooms, documentation, or junk.
RT—Heirloom, Documentation or Junk: What to Keep or Toss —47:57
Family Heirlooms (article series) - Clues: Learn how to find research clues in your family mementos.
How To Find Research Clues in your Family Mementos - Learn about how to discover the history of your home.
A Guide to Researching the History of a House - 2020
Exercises
- * Good: Make a catalog of the family history photos and documents you have.
- * Proficient: Sort your photos and documents using the ideas in the Inherited Records video. Then list three ways you could use these items (see the BYU video).
C Make scans or paper copies of each document or photo to serve as backups.
Vault
- If you don't have access to a scanner, visit a library or family history center to use one, or use a digital camera to make digital copies. For tips on scanning, see Goal 5.
- Back up digital copies to external devices (thumb drive, etc.) or to the Internet.
Resources
- Google Photos: Use Google Photos to back up and store your family history photos.
MH—Google Photos: one photo app to rule them all—88:00 - Scanning: Learn basic scanning skills in this video.
Scanning and Beyond—41:52 - 2020
- Backups/Archival: Learn about different formats for your digital files.
Digitizing Family Photos and Records: What's the Best Format to Use? - Learn how to archive your family history memories.
GTV: How to Archive Your Family History Documents, Photos, & Artifacts—34:58 - 2019
- Learn about backing up your files from genealogy websites.
Why You Should Download Your Files From Ancestry and Every Other Website - 2017 - Here are some tips for managing your scans and digital photographs.
FS—Managing Scanned and Digital Photos—23:46 - 2021
- Metadata: Learn about the benefits of including metadata with your digital photos and documents.
RT—Why Metadata Makes Your Photo Library Searchable & Enjoyable—26:30 - 2023
Exercise
- * Proficient: Scan all important family history documents and photos in your possession.
D Protect and preserve your original documents and backups.
Vault Summary
- Take care of and preserve original photos and documents.
- In storage areas, avoid high temperatures, humidity, and direct light.
- Identify and record information in photos, such as people and events.
- Use best practices for deciding on what type of photography or filming to do.
- Store original documents and backups in separate, secure locations.
- Choose a safe, dry place for physical copies.
- Watch this video to learn about the importance of preserving your family photos and memories.
- Here are some tips for preserving and protecting your family heirlooms.
TH— Preserve and Protect Family Heirlooms and Treasures - 2020 - Learn about passing your family history assets on to the next generation.
FTM—How to Pass On Research: What to Include in Your “Genealogy Will”
Resources
- Tips: Explore the CollectionCareTips site for ideas on preserving important photos and documents.
- Visit the Library of Congress site for ideas on preserving many types of archives.
- Learn about digital preservation of your family history records.
Preserving Your Family History Records Digitally - 2010 - Use the free Mylio Photos program to organize and preserve your photos.
Mylio Photos - 2010
- For more ideas on preserving documents and photos, read these articles.
FS—Simple Steps to Preserve Your Precious Family Memories
Preserving Your Photographs - 1994 - Letters/Books: Here are some tips for preserving old family letters and books.
MH—Preserving Old Family Letters - 2019
FS: How to Preserve and Restore Family Records and Books - Learn how to preserve various paper documents.
BYU—Basic Paper Document Preservation—56:44 - 2020
- Newspapers: Learn how to preserve old newspaper clippings.
MH—5 Easy Steps to Preserving Newspaper Clippings - 2019 - Heirlooms: Learn how to preserve a variety of family mementos.
GT—A Short Primer on Preserving Your Heirlooms - 2012
Exercise
- * Proficient: Make a list of the important personal documents you should have, and then collect and store them safely.
E (Optional) Restore damaged photographs when possible.
Summary
- Electronic restoration - scanning and Photoshop, etc.
- Chemical restoration - bleaching and dyeing (professional skills needed)
- Physical restoration - expensive
- Copying restoration - changing a duplicate
- Airbrush restoration - using airbrush technology for improving a copy
- Learn about restoring photographs in these articles.
GC—Restoring Damaged Photographs
TH: Tips for Salvaging Flood & Water Damaged Photos - 2019
- Here are some tips on making bad family photos better.
How To Fix Bad Family Photos - Get help restoring or dating your photographs from members of the RootsChat forum.
F Use Google Photos to store and organize digital photos.
- Learn how to get started with Google Photos.
FS: What Is Google Photos? - 2019
FS: Getting Started with Google Photos - 2022 - Learn more about using Google Photos in these articles.
FS: Google Photos—A Genealogist's Dream? - 2019
FS: Google Photos and Genealogy, A Perfect Picture - 2018 - Learn how to use Google Photos to help in your genealogy research.
FS: A Guide to Using Google Photos for Genealogy - 2018
AF: How to Use Google Images to Further Your Genealogy Research - 2019
