Scanning Archives - OnGenealogy

Maintenance Essentials for Genealogy

I've had maintenance on the mind this summer. So many friends and family are dealing with problems that are largely a result of lack of maintenance. It's made me think how easy it is to lose all our gains, simply because we don't do the day-to-day and month-to-month maintenance projects.

Why am I doing massive fence repairs in July? How'd we regain all this weight?How did the sewer line break?

It goes on and on. So while I work on projects and have to set aside my family history, I'm assessing what are the maintenance essentials for genealogy in my home.

We made some incredible family history gains last year, digitizing everything (photos, papers, cassette tapes) for my side of the family and we're close to finishing this for Mike's side of the family. I can't afford to lose these gains. Here are some ideas for projects we need to either start, finish, or maintain.

Some Family History Maintenance Ideas

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Some Fall Projects

I'm going to be radio-silent for the next few weeks because I have several pressing Fall projects outside of work and family obligations. These are probably in reverse order of importance, but here goes.

First, the grapes are overdue to be picked and juiced. I've processed 50 quarts and have at least that many more to pick and juice. The rest of the garden, mercifully, has been harvested.

Second, my brain finally reached input-overload and I can no longer juggle and remember all my accounts and passwords, my family members' accounts and passwords, and generally feel like I'm on top of things. I'm geeking-out and making a Home Operations Manual with Phone numbers, Bills & Accounts, the Family Budget, a Home Inventory, a Food Inventory, a Family History Inventory, and a section for Operations Manuals for every task necessary to run this home.

Third, my family is co…

How to Use Your Public Library for Genealogy Research

Public libraries subscribe to online research databases in behalf of their patrons. Some of these databases permit you to access them from a home computer with a current library card and password while others can only be used onsite. Online and Onsite Genealogy Databases Some popular library databases for genealogy and family history include: Accessible Archives African American Newspapers - Historic newspapers published by African Americans African American Heritage - primary source material specifically for African American family history and genealogy African American Historical Newspapers - Historic newspapers published by or primarily concerned with communities of African Americans American Ancestors - US Census data & other genealogy record sets America's GeneaologyBank - a library version of this historic newspaper site Ancestry - US Census data & other genealogy record sets Biography Resource Cente…