Organize Your Family History

Stay focused and happy while exploring your roots

Exploring genetic genealogy

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Exploring genetic genealogyWhen I was at the RootsTech conference in February, I was inspired to check out getting a DNA test to help me in my genealogy research. I hadn’t been tempted before, primarily because genetics always made my eyes cross when I studied it in biology class. But I grew to understand at RootsTech (primarily from the great keynote from Dr. Spencer Wells) that the more people who get genetic testing and open their results to others, the more valuable it becomes. It’s part of that genealogical generosity I blogged about after the conference.

Today I was reading a primer on DNA testing for ancestry on the terrific blog Family History Daily. It was really informative, but I have to admit I’m getting a little paralyzed by the options. I did a little Google search and found myself wishing I could find an article in which someone would just tell me what test to take. I did find this terrific roundup, Top Genetic Genealogy Tools by Blaine Bettinger on Family Tree Magazine’s blog, and was struck by the last sentence, “Having a clear purpose in mind–such as finding out where your maternal roots lie or whether you’re related to someone else with your surname–is essential to choosing the right genetic genealogy test.” That makes so much sense. Keeping your goal in mind is always helpful in making choices.

Now I realize I don’t really know my goal. I’m motivated by curiosity and the desire to be helpful but that’s not much of a goal to guide my choice of which test to take.

So I thought I’d turn to the helpful readers of this blog. Have you had a DNA test to help your genealogy? If so, what was your goal? And what service did you use? Were you satisfied with the test results? Would you recommend that testing service?

I appreciate any advice or experiences you’d like to share!

Unmodified photo by Alf Melvin via Flickr. Used under Creative Commons License.

It’s Preservation Week! What should you keep?

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davebealetterThis week is Preservation Week, according to the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services. That makes it a great time to think about preserving our inherited items.

Denise Levenick, The Family Curator, has a tremendous post on her blog about how to decide what to keep and what to throw away when it comes to inherited items. I strongly urge you to take a look.

Her post really resonated with me, because I work with clients all the time on deciding on what to keep and what to let go of. Usually, it’s stuff they purchased, not inherited. That’s tough enough. Inherited items are much more challenging to decide about. Denise’s blog post provides some great guidelines and great questions to ask yourself as you make these decisions.

There are two principles that I say to clients all the time and that I think hold true with inherited items as well:

  • Less is more
  • When you keep everything, nothing is special

When I read this statement in Denise’s blog post, I said “Yes!”

 Sometimes, it’s ok to give yourself permission to hold on to the memory and let go of the clutter.

If you struggle with deciding what to keep among your inherited items, you’ll get some great insight with Denise’s post.

Where are your family treasures?

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Where are your family treasures?This week, I was working with a wonderful organizing client. As she gave me a tour of the storage spaces in her home, she said, “This is my most treasured possession!” And she bent down and pulled a plastic bin out from under the bed. Inside was her father’s World War II photo album, along with a few other war artifacts. The photo album had small black-and-white photos mounted onto black paper with meticulous white handwritten captions. The pages were deteriorating and some of the photos had fallen out of their mounting.

I oohed and ahhhed because it was an amazing heirloom. But I challenged her a little by saying, “Why is your most treasured possession stored under the bed in a non-archival plastic bin?” One day (soon, I hope), we will work together to get this item and some other heirlooms into safer storage.

That very same day, my mother’s cousin asked me for a photo of my grandfather for the genealogy poster he is putting together. So I rifled through the box of family photos that my mother gave me, trying to locate a good picture for him. As I did that, I realized that these photos are among my most treasured possessions, yet I am not treating them with the respect they deserve. They’re not archivally stored, nor are they organized.

When I acquired this box in December, I blogged about my plan to deal with them. But I’ve done nothing. I keep waiting for a free block of time.  should know by now that the free time is never going to materialize on its own. I have to set aside time for this project. Luckily for me, this branch of the family is having a reunion in a couple of months, so I can get some help identifying the people in these photos!

How about you? Do you have treasured inherited items that are languishing in unsafe conditions? If you need information on how to handle and store them, check out Sally Jacobs of The Practical Archivist and Denise Levenick of The Family Curator. Don’t wait for something bad to happen. Carve out some time to deal with them now.

Are you attending Midwestern Roots Family History and Genealogy Conference?

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Midwestern Roots 2014 ConferenceI’m very excited! I just registered for the Indiana Historical Society’s Midwestern Roots Family History and Genealogy Conference, August 1 and 2 in Indianapolis. Indy is within driving distance for me, so when I saw the caliber of the offerings at this conference, it was a no-brainer to sign up. Presenters include Thomas MacEntee of Geneabloggers and High Definition Genealogy; Lisa Louise Cooke of Genealogy Gems (in fact, I found out about the conference through Lisa’s newsletter); Anne Gillespie Mitchell of Ancestry.com, and Warren Bittner, genealogical researcher and trustee for the Board for Certification of Genealogists, among other great speakers.

I also signed up for a pre-conference session on preserving original family documents, presented by Romana Duncan-Huse, senior director of conservation at the Indiana Historical Society. I’m very interested in continuing my education on preserving inherited items.

If you’re an avid conference-goer like me and live near Indianapolis or wouldn’t mind traveling there, I encourage you to check out the program at the link above. At only $150, it’s a very moderately priced conference.

If you plan to attend, please let me know!