How to Preserve Your Family History

Record it while they remember

The most important thing is to record the stories of older relatives in time: about childhood, the war, the moves, how they met and fell in love. These accounts are the first to disappear, so do not put it off, there is a voice recorder in your phone, always within reach.

Gather the archive in one place

Photographs, documents, letters, and voice are easily scattered across different devices and boxes. Gather them in one safe place and note who is in the pictures and when, because without captions an archive loses its meaning within a generation.

Tie it into a genealogy

A family's history becomes clear when the connections between people are visible. Build a family tree where each ancestor is a memory page, and the stories find their place in the overall picture of the lineage.

Pass it on

Preserved history is valuable when it is accessible to descendants. A digital tree and memory pages will outlast the changing of devices and reach those who want to know their roots.

• Record the elders' accounts.
• Gather and caption the archive.
• Tie people into a genealogy.
• Make it accessible to descendants.