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10 Major "Sins" against Family Records and Junk or Heirloom?

10 Major "Sins" against Family Records
(in random order)

  • Making scrapbooks using rubber cement
  • Using "magnetic" (press-down) page photo albums
  • Not labeling/identifying photographs
  • Dividing up diaries or letters among the relatives
  • Keeping old letters in rubber-banded bundles
  • Storing family records in attics or basements
  • Not making photocopies of valuable records as backups
  • Not making backup copies of computer files
  • Throwing away old records when moving or when someone dies
  • Storing paper records and photos in cardboard boxes

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    Used with permission from The Everything Family Tree Book by William G. Hartley (Adams Media, 1998)

     

    Junk or Heirloom?

    The difference between a piece of junk and an heirloom or antique is simple: one generation of time. If items can survive the junk stage for one full generation, they will become curiosities and then valuable family keepsakes and heirlooms.

    Used with permission from The Everything Family Tree Book by William G. Hartley (Adams Media, 1998)