Your
ancestors have died once.
Don’t
let them die again.
Being
forgotten is the second death that awaits your forebears
unless you act to prevent it. If you’re like most people,
the photos, scrapbooks, letters, diaries, etc. that record
your family’s memories are mildewing in your basement,
crumbling in your attic, or otherwise deteriorating from lack
of adequate storage conditions.
Why
should you care?
Your
family’s history is unique and once it is lost, it
is irreplaceable. Perhaps you’ve never been bitten
by the genealogy bug, but what can you tell your children
or nieces and nephews if they have questions about their
ancestry? Are there other family members who might be interested
in the same information? What records or mementos do you
have that shed light on your ancestors’ personal lives?
Have you ever considered whether objects or documents in
your possession might be of interest to a local historical
society?
Where
do you begin, especially if you’re faced with a mound
of “old stuff” that’s been crammed
into miscellaneous boxes?
In my twenty-five years as an archivist,
a person who collects, arranges, and preserves historical records,
I’ve
been confronted with lots of “old stuff” and have
recognized the importance of preserving history and have learned
techniques for approaching unorganized masses of documents and
other records.
One day, the receptionist for the museum where
I was working asked me if I could speak with a man who had
come in and was
wondering what to do about a sizable accumulation of family
records and memorabilia that had come into his possession over
the years. I was happy to sit down and talk with him and give
him some direction on how to get started organizing the material
and how to break the job into segments rather than trying to
work on everything at once. He left feeling that he could get
started on his project, and I felt good at having been able
to help someone. However, the incident got me thinking about
how many people must be in similar circumstances and don’t
know how to maintain older records – or to maintain the
documents and photos, etc. that relate to their present lives.
So what can you do about preserving your precious
family memories before they’re gone for good? When
you read Saving Lives:
Preserving Your Family History, you
will find out:
-
Risk
factors that threaten the longevity
of your collection
-
What to do immediately to improve your collection’s chances of
survival
-
How
to get started turning a hodge-podge
of stuff into a family history collection
-
Professional (but not complicated) techniques for saving and organizing
that apply to large or small
collections
-
How to store papers, photographs, and more
-
How to handle items without damaging them
-
Why “putting everything on the computer” is not a magic solution
-
Valuable
resources for preservation
information
and genealogical research
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Click
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Preserving
your family’s history is your project, and it involves
more than just collecting names and dates for a family
tree. Saving what’s needed to allow at least some
record of the lives and personalities of your ancestors
to continue on is an interesting and rewarding pastime.
History isn’t just about conquerors and kings,
but includes the everyday lives of everyday people. Knowing
your roots gives you a larger context into which to place
your own life and that of your relatives, living and
dead. For example, my husband’s father spoke very
little about his parents. By doing some research and
collecting documents, my husband learned that his grandfather,
who had been a fisherman when he emigrated from Europe,
had become a firefighter in the city where my husband
was born.
Saving
Lives: Preserving Your Family History is written
for the everyday reader. It is not filled with technical
jargon, and the technical terms that are used, are
explained clearly. Its many examples and illustrations
help the reader to avoid pitfalls and to put the techniques
described into practice. Discover:
• How
to separate the chaff from the wheat in deciding
what to save
• What materials to use for long-term storage of your collection and where
to get them
• How not to lose valuable information as you organize your collection
• Ways in which computers and digital cameras can be useful. But please
don’t just scan everything and throw all the paper away
• How to meet the sometimes conflicting needs of preserving your collection
and of doing research in it
• Tips for safe scrapbooking
• Considerations before publishing photographs or other items on the web
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There
are numerous ways in which preserving your family history
can enrich your life and the lives of others as well.
• You
can save priceless memories from oblivion.
• You can provide context and continuity for the next and future generations.
• You can renew contacts with other family members and can share information.
• You can find new travel destinations in visiting places where your ancestors
lived or where other family members live now.
• If you trace your genealogy, you may find branches of your family tree
you never knew existed.
• You may choose to write about your family’s history and share it
with family members or publish it.
• You may choose to publish documents written by your ancestors.
• You may choose to donate papers, photographs, or other items to a historical
society so that they are available to a wider audience than just your family.
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The
problem is that none of these things can happen
if you don’t know what you have and if the material
is fading and crumbling away. Many materials have a limited
life
expectancy, and poor storage conditions shorten
that life even more. Color polaroids are fading. Newspaper
clippings
are turning yellow and brittle and are damaging
any documents they come in contact with. Paper is weakening
along fold
lines. Irreplaceable documents are threatened with
water damage and mold.
Now
is not too soon to take steps to save your heritage.
And it’s not necessary to build the Great Pyramid
to do it. Simple steps will get you on the road to
turning
a jumble into a coherent, usable collection.
By
purchasing the information-filled e-publication Saving
Lives: Preserving Your Family History, for just $19.95,
you get the information you need to take charge of your
family history collection. You can get a grasp on what
you have, make decisions on what to save, determine if
some items or areas of the collection need special attention,
and take physical steps to preserve the items that document
your family’s history.
Click
Buy Now Button to Order Your E-book for $19.95
Full
Money-Back Guarantee!
Use the information in Saving
Lives: Preserving Your Family History for one full year risk-free. If you are not happy
for any reason, you may cancel at any time up to the 365th
day of that year and receive your full $19.95 back. You
have nothing to lose, and your collection has everything
to gain!
Why wait for time to continue its work of destruction
unhindered?
The ways to bring order out of chaos and to preserve your
precious family memories are available to you now.
It’s easy to place your risk-free
order.
To order on-line, by credit card, just click on the Buy
Now Button and fill out our order form. Your password will
be emailed to you.
Preservingly yours,
Nancy Silva
Click
Buy Now Button to Order Your E-book for $19.95
P.S.
The clock is ticking, and the items in your family
history collection are not getting any
younger. The longer you wait to get started, the greater
the danger of loss from deterioration due to age and
poor storage conditions. The people represented in
your collection are your ancestors. Don’t let
them die again.
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