Exploring your family’s genealogy can be intimidating. You may envision family trees with dozens of branches, countless decades to research, and thousands of documents to sift through online—some of which may even be in different languages! But important progress can quickly be made by focusing on the people and photos closest to you. Below are six tips on how to use family photos to get your genealogy project started.
- Start with something simple.
A family genealogy project is quite an undertaking, so it’s a good idea to ease into the process with a simple task. Identify the location of the family photos. Take one hour to brainstorm the most important stories you'd like to tell or questions you'd like answered. Schedule a few phone calls with key members of your family. Once you’ve built momentum with one of these minor steps, stop planning and start looking at pictures, writing things down, and talking to the people you love. - Decide which stories need to be passed down.
Your children and grandchildren are probably interested in what was going on 150 years ago. These stories include how your parents met, why your family moved to this country, and the five funniest anecdotes from your family history. Start by making a list of the knowledge you are 100 percent sure your children and grandchildren will need to know before digging through dusty photo albums. - Recognize the value of your family’s photos.
Your family probably has photos that span an entire century. This is a gold mine. Flip through the old albums and search for the best photos to scan, being sure to look on the backs of photos for dates and captions. These amazing sources of family information can also be scanned or transcribed. Ask your family if anyone has saved old letters as well—as the old saying goes, 1,000 words are worth a photo. - Bring everyone together.
Once you have scanned the best photos, engage your family to help you fill in the blanks. Identify a handful of group shots from the old days and see if your elders can tell you who's who. Websites like EverPresent make it easy to upload dozens of images and invite extended family to add comments, dates, information, and stories. This is a fun way to make progress on your family genealogy project. Everyone loves the nostalgia of reviewing old photos and slides! - Set reasonable goals.
Your focus should be to have fun, and a bit of planning can help you avoid frustration. Most people aren't up for tackling the entire family genealogy in one sitting. Instead, set modest but important goals, such as scanning the most important old photos or interviewing your parents and writing down their most important stories. - Share your progress.
Creating an enjoyable gift is a thoughtful way to encourage participation from your family. A great way to do this is to narrow down the story and turn it into a physical product. So, instead of calling your first effort the "Smith Family Genealogy," call it "A Story of My Parents, Gene and Jane Smith"—and turn that single idea into a simple photo book. The family will be thrilled, and you'll have created a piece of family history that future generations can treasure forever.
We all have ambitious goals for mapping our family genealogy, not to mention organizing and sharing the new photos and videos that pile up by the thousands every year. The important thing to remember is that the perfect should never be the enemy of the good. You have photos and videos in hand that have not been lost to fading or floods, and you’re surrounded by family members who have precious information locked in their brains. Take advantage of these precious resources now and share your progress. You will do your family a great service by taking a critical first step in your family's genealogy project.
Eric Niloff is the co-founder and CEO of EverPresent, a team of 40 scanning technicians, digital organizers, designers and editors based in Newton, Massachusetts. Eric and his team help thousands of families every year to digitize, organize and share their family photos and videos. Eric writes and advises on how to make family history preservation part of family events, estate plans and other family moments. Learn more about EverPresent at www.everpresent.com or call 617-505-1132.
