Dear WRG: No one in my immediate family gives a flying fig about genealogy -- at least not now. Later generations might and I want to share my 12+ years of research with them in some form. Towards that end, I have some questions to pose to you, since your opinions have the most weight in my mind. 1) Original birth, death & marriage certificates as well as copies of bible pages and other hard-to-locate documents are a large part of the "proof". Where should I store them and how? Should I put them in binders and put them in my safety deposit box at the bank? And a regular e-ring notebook would probably not last. Finding a high quality binder with acid-free insert pages may be necessary. Anybody have a source? 2) I plan to print a complete Journal Narrative and could keep this in the same place as the above documents. The same applies -- how and where should I store it? Where could I find a "bound-book" style binder for it? Or..should I have it 'privately published'? 3) Wall-size family chart. Printing one out on the computer just doesn't seem sufficient. Has anyone had experience with an artist or calligrapher who could design one for me? This would be the final accomplishment - a beautiful piece of artwork for my wall. 4) It goes without saying that, after I'm gone, the wonderful published genealogies in my library would need a home. Let's hope that my family members would keep them -- but how do I make sure of this? Should I add a line or two in my will? Any suggestions? Jeanne

Hi Jeanne, I just wanted to pass on a bit of encouragement to you as you prepare to save all the genealogical information you have collected. You may or may not know what a valuable addition you have made to the WRG. Though many of us corresponding will never meet one another, we ARE related through the people whose lives we are studying. Your advice is trusted. Your information, along with that of several other members on Whitney-L, is pretty much taken as gospel. Thank you for all you have so generously shared with us. Also, it seems that people have to reach a certain age before they really care much about those who went before them. It seems, that folks have to experience some of the high and low points of life themselves, before they can really appreciate the struggles people of earlier times encountered. Most amateur genealogists that I know are in their late 30's or 40's before they show any interest at all in family history. This is not true of everyone, but is of many. So don't give up on your own family, they may come to it later on. And even if they don't, you help all of us! And we still need your input! I'll leave the answers to your questions to someone with more experience in preservation. But if you find a calligrapher can you let me know? By the way, what do you think of a Whitney Reunion? Thanks, Carolyn Whitney Branagan Jeanne Muse wrote: > Dear WRG: No one in my immediate family gives a flying fig about > genealogy -- at least not now. Later generations might and I want to > share my 12+ years of research with them in some form. Towards that > end, I have some questions to pose to you, since your opinions have the > most weight in my mind. > > 1) Original birth, death & marriage certificates as well as copies of > bible pages and other hard-to-locate documents are a large part of the > "proof". Where should I store them and how? Should I put them in > binders and put them in my safety deposit box at the bank? And a > regular e-ring notebook would probably not last. Finding a high quality > binder with acid-free insert pages may be necessary. Anybody have a > source? > > 2) I plan to print a complete Journal Narrative and could keep this in > the same place as the above documents. The same applies -- how and > where should I store it? Where could I find a "bound-book" style binder > for it? Or..should I have it 'privately published'? > > 3) Wall-size family chart. Printing one out on the computer just > doesn't seem sufficient. Has anyone had experience with an artist or > calligrapher who could design one for me? This would be the final > accomplishment - a beautiful piece of artwork for my wall. > > 4) It goes without saying that, after I'm gone, the wonderful published > genealogies in my library would need a home. Let's hope that my family > members would keep them -- but how do I make sure of this? Should I add > a line or two in my will? > > Any suggestions? > > Jeanne