"How to Archive
Family Keepsakes"
Blog Book Tour
Guest
Post by Author Denise Levenick
First,
Save History, Then Share It
Although Dr.
Bill and I have never met, I feel like we are old friends. How could that be?
We don’t email, share Tweets or FaceBook “Likes,” or post on each other’s
Pinterest boards. I feel a connection to Bill because of the stories he spins
on this blog. Whether he’s remembering a favorite relative or recalling an
interesting time or place, Dr. Bill reminds me that ancestor stories are what
family history is really all about.
Today’s Guest
Post for the Blog Book
Tour features an excerpt from my new book How
to Archive Family Keepsakes on the role of the Creator who inherits an
ancestor’s stories, photos, and artifacts. I hope you enjoy reading about the
many opportunities for creating ancestor stories from your own family archive.
People who inherit family archives often
fall into one of three categories: the Curator, the Creator or the Caretaker.
The Curator can’t wait to open those boxes and get everything sorted and
organized. The Creator sees possibility, too. Writers, photographers,
filmmakers, scrapbookers, and family historians are all creators who see
potential projects in the depths of a family archive. In their excitement to
create something from what they’ve found, creator-types can find it difficult
to pause and organize, and then to pause again to preserve the materials they
have used. The Caretaker, on the other hand, might be just as happy to push the
cartons to the back of the garage and forget about them, but in good
conscience, he can’t. It just wouldn’t be responsible.
The Role of the Creator
A family history archive is an exciting
resource for genealogy, scrapbooks, albums, films, and other creative projects.
Even mass-market greeting cards have found a use for vintage family photos.
Creative opportunities are everywhere.
If you plan to use a family archive in a
creative endeavor, take time to research copyright laws and to obtain any
necessary permission from other family members. Ownership of an item does not
automatically give you the right to use or reprint an original work.
The women in my family have been great
letter writers and I have inherited a great deal of correspondence. According
to United States Copyright Law, however, those letters are not mine to reprint
or publish until they fall into the public domain, which is seventy years after
the death of the author. Until then, the rights belong to the heirs of the
authors.
My grandmother Arline corresponded with
many friends and relatives and she kept many of the letters she received. Even
though those letters belonged to Arline and I inherited them, I cannot reprint
them. The contents of those letters are just as protected as the content of any
books I inherited from Arline. Fortunately, my grandmother inherited her
mother’s things, and her mother had kept many of the letter Arline had written
her, so in a round-about way, I did inherit many of Arline’s letters, and
because I am her legal heir I am entitled to reprint and publish her works.
Creators should be aware of copyright
laws affecting material found in a family archive. Be certain that you have the
legal right to print or reuse the work before publishing or using in another
form.
Creators will find many ways to use a
family archive in their projects — from inspiration, to raw materials, to
information sources. Following are a few ideas.
Genealogists and family historians look
to family archives for primary research materials to confirm data or help break
down brick walls. You may want to learn more about the life of your loved one,
or unravel a family mystery.
Use your family archive to focus on
finding and preserving vital records, those bits of history that establish who
you are and where you came from.
Use good citations to credit the source
of your information; your pedigree chart or family history sketch is a creative
endeavor based on fact.
If you plan to write a biography, you
will need to save as much as you can that might shed light on the lives of your
ancestors, and organize it for future analysis. In addition to vital records to
establish lineage, look for items that will put flesh on the bones of your
family stories.
Are you an avid scrapbooker? Your family
archive can yield wonderful material for a legacy album. Make your project more
manageable by prioritizing your heritage projects. Decide if you want to
assemble an album featuring your grandparents’ lives, or if you’d rather make a
family tree book for your children. Use your family archive to add visual
interest to your story by digitizing original documents and photos for your
scrapbooks. Look for items that are visually appealing and “tell the story.”
Advances in genetic testing and analysis
continue to add new possibilities for family health histories. Your intimate
knowledge of your ancestors’ life span, illnesses, and cause of death can
provide a vital link in a generational health study. Use your archive to add
information to your family health history.
As you work with items from your family
archive, take time to record the provenance,
or history, of the item. Write down who it belonged to and how it came into
your possession.
*****
*****
Join the Blog Tour
Join the Blog Book Tour for How to Archive Family Keepsakes January
10-26, 2013 for author interviews, book excerpts, giveaways, and more. Visit
the Blog Book Tour Page at The Family Curator website for the complete schedule.
Proceeds from the sale of How to Archive Family Keepsakes during the Book Tour will help fund
the 2013 Student
Genealogy Grant founded in 2010 in honor of Denise’s mother, Suzanne Winsor
Freeman.
Blog Book Tour Giveaways
Comment on daily Book Blog Tour Post
Tweet the Tour Twitter
@FamilyCurator #keepsakebooktour
Share the Tour on FaceBook, Google+,
Goodreads
It’s easy to enter to win a free copy of Denise’s new book
or one of the weekly giveaway prizes. All you have to do is leave a comment to
the Blog Tour Post hosted at one of the official tour blogs. Random winners
will also be selected from social media comments on Twitter, FaceBook, and
Google+.
Each blog tour post comment gives you one chance to win; one
entry per post per day, please. Leave a comment at each stop on the blog tour
and increase your chances of winning. The lucky names will be announced each
Saturday during the tour at The
Family Curator.
About the Author
In every family, someone ends up with “the stuff.” Denise
May Levenick is a writer, researcher, and speaker with a passion for preserving
and sharing family treasures of all kinds. She is the creator of the
award-winning family history blog, The Family Curator www.TheFamilyCurator.com and author
of the new book How to Archive Family
Keepsakes: Learn How to Preserve Family Photos, Memorabilia and Genealogy
Records, (Family Tree Books, 2012).
Families are Forever! ;-)
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