A genealogist with a huge, private tree died. What is the best way to preserve his research?
Hi! Can you help? A distant cousin passed away this year and he had a large tree. His research was extensive and fairly solid from what I have seen. He used FTM and a private Ancestry account. His widow was not into genealogy and has no idea what to do, except that she wants his research preserved forever for all to utilize. Any thoughts?
Answers
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@Nicholas Linville_1
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Nicolas
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Just some thoughts ...
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One quick and easy way, is to have a GEDCOM File created from his "Work"; and, upload that (on his behalf) to the "Genealogies" Part of 'Family Tree".
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That way his "Work" is SAVE and available for all to see (and, use for research purposes).
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IF, he DID NOT maintain any of his "Ancestral" lines on "Family Tree" of 'FamilySearch'; THEN, ...
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The long term aim would be to ensure all his "Work" (Of course, excluding "Living" individuals/persons), his Ancestral" lines, appear in "Family Tree" of 'FamilySearch', on his behalf.
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That could be done by you; as, a "Distant" Cousin; as, you are related.
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Or, that could be done by a closer, immediate, Family member, if there was someone will and able.
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Getting access to his, "Private" Database (ie. "Family Tree Maker"); and, "Ancestry_com" Account, may be the real problem/issue - unless someone has, access to his Computer; and, knows his "User Name"; and, various "Passwords".
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Just some thoughts.
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Brett
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This is why I feel so many people who are so focused on keeping their research private - are actually shooting themselves in the foot over the long run.
genealogy is for sharing . . . this is one of the saddest things to see
when someone dies - and their years of research just disappear in an instant - because no forethought was taken while the person was still alive.
if you are lucky - you can either find the user /password - or be granted access
but in most cases I think that never happens (in cases like this).
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Thank you all for your comments. Dennis - although his tree was private, he would share information with anyone who asked. And the point now is to open up his research even further. By the way, he did not expect to die when he did (it was tragic), so let's not criticize him.
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Im definitely not criticizing. Im just saying its very sad.
I hope you can get access.
All of us researchers, old or young, healthy or not - need to ensure that other people we trust will have access to our data if something were to happen to us.
http://yanceyfamilygenealogy.org/passing_away.htm
https://community.familysearch.org/s/feed/0D53A00004uWiWLSA0
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