yanceyfamilygenealogy.org
General Questions — Dennis J Yancey
What do you tell them?
You have just bumped into someone new.
They are now in their "Senior" years. . . someone who has spent much of their life researching their family tree (noting that for various years - this would have been before the Internet and before email and computers. )
They now have records in both paper and digital format. They have records for both living and deceased persons. Much of their records are not totally represented within FamilySearch Family Tree. Some of their research is in paper folders/binders. Other parts of their collection is in a genealogical database on their aging computer (which, by the way, is probably about to crash).
They may not have any close family (who is actually interested) to pass the information on to.
They may not be in the state of mind - to learn a new genealogy system - nor the time (nor accuracy) to re-enter many thousands of records into such a new system.
They ask - what are some of the various ways that their records can be preserved for future generations - and in a way that is the most efficient and the least labor intensive.
They want to know what can be done to avoid having all of their years of research be "thrown out in the garbage" - when they pass on and no one knows what to do with it all.
What would you tell them? Do you have words of hope? or despair??
This is a subject that is close to my heart and has been a focus of many of my prior posts in some form or another.
Later this weekend I plan on sharing some tips and pointers.
Each case is very unique. But there are many actions that can be taken.
So while I am preparing my answers to this scenario - - what are some of the things YOU have thought about in trying to answer this question?
Here are some of my prior posts on the subject:
http://yanceyfamilygenealogy.org/passing_away.htm
https://community.familysearch.org/s/feed/0D53A00004tDPFsSAO