Family Documents: Tips for Labeling and Preserving
You should endeavor to preserve your precious family items such as photographs, family bible pages, birth certificates, diplomas, journal pages, etc. (note: which are hereinafter called “family documents”). One of the best ways is use a PC scanner to scan the family documents, and then store the originals in some safe place such as a safe deposit box.
You need to have some means of labeling your family documents. Here is one means of proceeding:
Invent some naming or numbering scheme for all of the family documents. This can be anything you choose. One possibility is something like a code for the family surname and a sequential number (e.g. Smith_0101, Smith_0102).
Get some self-adhesive labels (the type used for address labels that can be printed in a PC printer) and put the devised names/numbers onto the labels. Use a unique name/number for each family document that is to be scanned.
Cut the labels as small as possible (to minimize the label damaging the family document) then adhere them to the appropriate family document, preferably in some obscure place where they do not bother the main information. The labels can go on back or front of the family document.
Using a scanner (likely attached to a PC), scan each family document. (Note: if the label was placed on the front size of the document, then it can be included in the scanned image.) Then name the image file with a name using the unique name/number assigned.
ALL documents with information, or even possible information, about your ancestors, should be scanned. That includes pages from books, legal documents (i.e. birth, death, military, court cases, church records, webpages, etc.). Each scanned image should be attacned to all appropriate people in your family tree.
Via any means desired (e.g. Microsoft Excel, MS-Word, some database software, etc.), type up a list of the scanned family documents. Give such information as: assigned name/number, what is in/on the family document, the date and place that the family document was originally created, who is involved with the family document (e.g. who is in it or who is listed on it or who is it about), and, any other pertinent information about the family document. All of these combined serve as a caption to identify the family document.
Copy the scanned images, and the typed list, onto a CD.