Saving Historical Family Documents
It is a daunting task. You’ve been handed a box (or seven) of great-grandma’s treasured papers. Perhaps the torch has been handed to you from your father. Maybe you’ve found a store of documents hidden beneath a floorboard. Either way, it’s on your desk now. Don’t freak out. You can do this. Read on for advice on conquering a pile of family history. If this article ever gets too long for you, scroll down to the bottom for quick tips.
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Note: When dealing with old papers, don’t wear gloves. That’s silly mess they do on television. For the documents you’re likely working with, gloves do more harm than good. They prevent you from being able to feel the papers and can often lead to ripped edges. Just wash and dry your hands before touching anything.
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Step One: Evaluate What You Have
Forget the content. This is big picture stuff. At the moment, we’re examining the physical conditions of the objects. There are three major things we are looking for at this stage:
If your family papers are brittle, call a conservator or an archivist. This will cost money. If the papers are irreplaceable, pay the money. If you’re okay with risking the documents, and understand that this is a HUGE risk, steam up the bathroom and put the papers in there. We want the humidity to soak in and soften them up. After enough time has passed, carefully open up the documents and take as many photos as you can to preserve the details. Then pray. Or sacrifice some goats.
If the papers have mold, call a conservator. Immediately separate the documents from everything else (that crap will spread) and call a conservator. Don’t play around with this. Don’t take your time – you’re already on the clock. The easiest thing is – and you DO want gloves for this – to photograph the document and toss the original. Don’t risk the entire collection to save one or two pieces. If you are determined to keep the documents, see the first sentence of this paragraph.
- Bugs
- Brittle Papers
- Mold
If your family papers are brittle, call a conservator or an archivist. This will cost money. If the papers are irreplaceable, pay the money. If you’re okay with risking the documents, and understand that this is a HUGE risk, steam up the bathroom and put the papers in there. We want the humidity to soak in and soften them up. After enough time has passed, carefully open up the documents and take as many photos as you can to preserve the details. Then pray. Or sacrifice some goats.
If the papers have mold, call a conservator. Immediately separate the documents from everything else (that crap will spread) and call a conservator. Don’t play around with this. Don’t take your time – you’re already on the clock. The easiest thing is – and you DO want gloves for this – to photograph the document and toss the original. Don’t risk the entire collection to save one or two pieces. If you are determined to keep the documents, see the first sentence of this paragraph.
Step Two: Unrepentant Brutality
Assuming all is clear, we’re now going to start the process of separating treasure from trash. You must be brutal. Cold. As unfeeling as a pillar of concrete. Because, my friends, you need to throw things away. We’ll start off easy by carefully removing and trashing all paper clips and rubber bands. They breakdown and destroy things. They’re evil.
Next, we tackle ephemera that we can’t directly tie to a family member or homestead. You don’t need to save blank postcards that someone handed to your ancestor 100 years ago. You don’t have to hold on to Aunt Sally’s laundry slip or illegible receipts. Let it go. Let it go. I just quoted Disney for you and I hate Disney.
Let’s move on to harder things to trash, like photos. I know. But if you have pictures of people you can’t identify in any way, I suggest you scan those pictures in as .jpeg or .tiff images. Then sell the originals or donate them to a local historical society, especially if the images contain local stores, restaurants, etc.
Next, we tackle ephemera that we can’t directly tie to a family member or homestead. You don’t need to save blank postcards that someone handed to your ancestor 100 years ago. You don’t have to hold on to Aunt Sally’s laundry slip or illegible receipts. Let it go. Let it go. I just quoted Disney for you and I hate Disney.
Let’s move on to harder things to trash, like photos. I know. But if you have pictures of people you can’t identify in any way, I suggest you scan those pictures in as .jpeg or .tiff images. Then sell the originals or donate them to a local historical society, especially if the images contain local stores, restaurants, etc.
Step Three: Glorious Preservation
Now that we know what we want to keep, we should find a way of preserving it.
Items for Display:
If you have something that should be framed, don’t do it yourself. I know you’re competent enough. However, framing historical documents will require special material, included special glass meant to slow down damaging sun rays. Don't skimp on this.
Paper Storage
If you don’t know what type of plastic you have, don’t use plastic to store your documents. Those five year old sheet protectors? Run away. Run hard and far in the opposite direction. It is far better to order archival boxes for paper storage. If you can’t fill the boxes, stuff something in there to prevent the paper from bending. Keep the box in a room that sees a constant temperature of about 70 degrees and 40-60% humidity (no attics, basements or detached garages). Keep newspapers away from other papers. Newspapers are not stable – they will quickly breakdown. You won't like this, but is better to photograph a newspaper and trash it, rather than risk the acid in your newspapers wrecking your entire collection.
Digital Storage
Remember the 3-2-1 Rule and apply it for all of your media, historical or otherwise.
What does that really mean? Let’s break it down:
How do I handle the 3-2-1 Rule?:
I make three digital copies of everything: Everything is saved on a laptop that is backed up to two external hard drives. One hard drive stays at the house. The other stays away from my laptop. In other words, if the laptop is on my person, the second hard drive is not. Since I don’t usually take my laptop everywhere I go, that 2nd external hard drive is often in my purse.
For more info on how to label and organize digital media, read my article on Maintaining a Personal Digital Archive.
Items for Display:
If you have something that should be framed, don’t do it yourself. I know you’re competent enough. However, framing historical documents will require special material, included special glass meant to slow down damaging sun rays. Don't skimp on this.
Paper Storage
If you don’t know what type of plastic you have, don’t use plastic to store your documents. Those five year old sheet protectors? Run away. Run hard and far in the opposite direction. It is far better to order archival boxes for paper storage. If you can’t fill the boxes, stuff something in there to prevent the paper from bending. Keep the box in a room that sees a constant temperature of about 70 degrees and 40-60% humidity (no attics, basements or detached garages). Keep newspapers away from other papers. Newspapers are not stable – they will quickly breakdown. You won't like this, but is better to photograph a newspaper and trash it, rather than risk the acid in your newspapers wrecking your entire collection.
Digital Storage
Remember the 3-2-1 Rule and apply it for all of your media, historical or otherwise.
- 3 copies of everything
- Saved in 2 different formats
- With at least 1 copy offsite
What does that really mean? Let’s break it down:
- 3 copies of everything: Okay, this one is super literal. Have three copies of these important documents. One may be the original/physical document itself. That’s easy enough. The other copies would be digital.
- 2 different digital formats: This can include the copy on your computer, a copy on a backup hard drive, or in the cloud.
- 1 copy offsite: Again, you can use the cloud. The idea simply is that all copies aren’t in the same place. Let’s say you have your three copies, but your house floods. You’ve just lost all that info. Or, let’s say your copies are in your backpack (USBs and a laptop). If the bag is stolen, you’ve lost all your copies. The key is to keep the copies separate. Offsite options include backing up to the cloud, using a safety deposit box (they’re ridiculously cheap these days), or leaving a copy at a family member’s house.
How do I handle the 3-2-1 Rule?:
I make three digital copies of everything: Everything is saved on a laptop that is backed up to two external hard drives. One hard drive stays at the house. The other stays away from my laptop. In other words, if the laptop is on my person, the second hard drive is not. Since I don’t usually take my laptop everywhere I go, that 2nd external hard drive is often in my purse.
For more info on how to label and organize digital media, read my article on Maintaining a Personal Digital Archive.
A Special Note On Media
Technologies change. A ton of people have 8mm film they can’t “read” because they no longer have access to old projectors. Do you have a wonderful paper from the early 90s on a 3x5 floppy disc? Can you open it? What about that family vacation saved on VHS? Last I checked, smart TVs don’t come with VCRs.
You get the point, right? We experience huge leaps of technology about every eight years. Your DVDs will break down and become unreadable. Current hard drives have a lifespan of three to seven years. Your descendants will NOT have access to the machines to read the data you create today. Do your part in helping prevent a digital dark age by making sure you stay current with your technologies. Every so often, you must update your data to new systems. Along the same lines, magnetic hard drives fail after long periods of rest. Every few months, just plug in your hard drive and let it whirl for a few minutes. Stay ahead of this stuff.
You get the point, right? We experience huge leaps of technology about every eight years. Your DVDs will break down and become unreadable. Current hard drives have a lifespan of three to seven years. Your descendants will NOT have access to the machines to read the data you create today. Do your part in helping prevent a digital dark age by making sure you stay current with your technologies. Every so often, you must update your data to new systems. Along the same lines, magnetic hard drives fail after long periods of rest. Every few months, just plug in your hard drive and let it whirl for a few minutes. Stay ahead of this stuff.
Tl;dr? Here's the summary:
Do:
Digitize and backup your family data Store all things in acid/lignin free folders and boxes Use plastic labeled as non-PVC Transfer your backups every 4 – 5 years to the latest technology |
Don’t:
Store anything in unlabeled plastics Keep all of your copies in the same place Put a hard drive on the shelf and call it good |
Pamela Crawley
CC-BY 2018-MAR-22
CC-BY 2018-MAR-22