How To Use Old Postcards

If you find some old postcards in your family history piles. Here are a few ways you might want to use them. But first, digitize them (use the process in this blogpost) Second, regularly backup the digital files Third, if you're a keeper, archive them correctly Fourth, even if you're not a keeper, consider saving ones that might have the sender's DNA on the stamp if there's any possibility you'll want to extract DNA (totheletter DNA) Fifth, if you're not a keeper, give the meaningful ones to family who will want them Sixth, use the digital files or leftover postcards! Here are some ideas. For me, the value of old postcards is in the images. That's it. In our family postcards, few of the messages contain especially valuable information. I've saved a few if I think I might someday want/be able to glean the sender's DNA from the stamp (totheletter DNA) but generally the subject matter is somewhat trivial or the postcard was never used, it was just …
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Writing Your Personal History – Types of Histories and Apps and Storytelling Services to Get You Started

My favorite family history possessions are personal histories: Oral Histories, Autobiographies, and Biographies--in any shape or size.   They can be handwritten notes     or stories;     they can be spiral bound and typed     or hardbound and published;     they can be audio or video     comics or graphic novels     or they can simply be voice recordings.   Anything is better than this:     There are many ways to record and share your life story. It doesn't have to be grandiose or hard or expensive. I'll list some storytelling apps and professional service providers below, but my purpose in blogging about writing your personal history is to convince you to Just Do It!   If you feel stuck, read Writer's Block - How to Stop Making Excuses and Start Writing Your Personal History, otherwise, here are a few basics to consider when Writing Your Personal Histor…
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Canadiana Discovery Portal for Genealogy

Candiana.ca has a free search engine for its digital collections from libraries, museums, and archives throughout Canada. Unlike Héritage which searches specific collections held at Library and Archives Canada, the Canadiana Discovery Portal searches over 40 partnering institutions with over 65 million pages.   The Portal provides a wealth of free Canadian history online, including: books, journals, directories, newspapers, government documents, photographs, maps, and postcards. Canadiana Discovery Portal is a great resource for genealogists and family historians looking for primary source material and images related to Canadian history and many of the images are in the public domain and can be used freely. There will be a paywall for some of the search returns and after viewing the initial few pages of a document you may need to subscribe to Early Canadiana Online to have full access to the document, including the ability to download copies in PDF format. Subscrip…
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