How to organize family history paperwork.
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How to organize family history paperwork.
Passing down family history to the next generation is important. Family memories can be preserved in all sorts of paperwork, whether it’s marriage certificates, birth certificates, death certificates—and even diaries, journals, and letters passed down from earlier generations. Family records can hold a vital key to unlocking and preserving family history, which is why it’s so important that family history paperwork is properly organized. If you want to make sure that your family records are organized in the right way, consider this guide that will help you learn the basics of organizing the family records.
How to Organize Your Family History Paperwork
Everyone may choose to organize their family records differently. The following are the most important factors that you’ll need to consider when you organize everything.
Sorting by type of paperwork
First, sort the records by the type of paperwork being handled. Types of certificates—birth, death, marriage, etc.—should be organized together; likewise, personal correspondence, notes, and diaries should be sorted together so that they don’t get scattered around. If there is more than one page in the record, such as a series of letters written by one family member, they should always be organized together.
Protecting paperwork from damage
You will also need to consider how to protect the family records from being damaged, so that the family history isn’t lost due to accidents such as water damage or damaged due to exposure to sunlight or acidic materials. For any paperwork, especially older papers, purchase acid-free plastic sheets that are designed to keep paper from deteriorating. Don’t use standard plastic sheets you find at the supermarket, as these typically contain materials that will corrode paper over time.
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Storage options
Before you can begin the final process of organization, you’ll need to decide on the storage options. Many people choose to store family history records in metal filing cabinets as these can typically be locked and they expose paper or other materials to sunlight. Other options include storage containers—though avoid plastics which can damage old materials—as well as wooden cabinets.
Organizing paperwork
This is a relatively simple process once you get started. The simplest way to organize the paperwork is to sort everything by generation and then by last name. Most people prefer to start with records related to their immediate maternal and paternal line—such as mother, father, maternal grandparents, fraternal grandparents, etc. Depending on the amount of family records you have, these records can either all be stored together to hey can be further sorted into categories such as “maternal grandparents,” “fraternal grandparents,” and so on, to be stored in a separate drawer of your storage cabinet.
You can also choose to sort items by the type of record. Letters, diaries, and personal objects can all be stored in their own category.
The most important thing to remember when organizing family records is this: keep it simple and efficient so that you can easily access family records when you need to do so later.
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