What do you do with a treasure trove of genealogy research, family photos, a bit of time, and no legacy plan? That’s the challenge my brother Mark and I are facing. To tackle it, we developed a strategy that led us to create the Research Family Network website and our accompanying blog, the Research Family Chronicles.
In January, Mark and I took stock of our resources and outlined what we needed to get everything organized. Our goal is to share the wealth of information we have and “bring our family to life.” We decided that the best way to achieve this was through a website and blog. We also contemplated the future and the question of who will ultimately preserve our family history. While we haven’t settled on a definitive answer, we have identified several innovative projects that could engage our family’s skills and contribute to our mission.
The first step is organization. Fortunately, much of my research had already been digitized, though some data became duplicated due to a flawed backup process. I revised the naming conventions and storage methods to ensure data is easily and consistently accessible. This process is complete for my records, and I’ve now digitized documents from my mother and aunt as well. We’re currently focusing on scanning photos, which will involve considerable effort, including future identification of many images. Despite this, we’re progressing with other aspects of our project.
Next, we are working on distribution. Our website is under construction, where we will share our family history and resources with the world. Our stepfather has generously offered to host the site, and we are steadily adding content. Please bear with us as we work through the setup stage. We welcome any comments and suggestions you might have!
We’ve also launched this blog to keep you updated on our progress and share our experiences—both the challenges and the successes. We invite you to follow us as we chronicle this exciting journey!