This came to me from another mailing list I am on and I thought it was a
terrific thing. I am sure you are all like me and have spent hundreds of hours
gathering information, it would be a shame to see it lost in the next
generation. Hope it does some good.
Genealogical Codicil to My Last Will and Testament
To my spouse, children, guardian, administrator and/or executor:
Upon my demise it is requested that you DO NOT dispose of any or all of
my genealogical records, both those prepared personally by me and those
records prepared by others which may be in my possession, including but not
limited to books, files, notebooks or computer programs for a period of two
years.
During this time period, please attempt to identify one or more persons who
would be willing to take custody of the said materials and the responsibility
of
maintaining and continuing the family histories. [If you know whom
within your family or friends are likely candidates to accept these
materials, please add
the following at this point: "I suggest that the persons contacted regarding
the assumption of the custody of these items include but not be limited to"
and then list the names of those individuals at this point, with their
addresses
and telephone numbers if known]
In the event you do no find anyone to accept these materials, please
contact the various genealogical organizations that I have been a
member of and determine if they will accept some parts or all of my
genealogical materials. [List of organizations, addresses and phone
numbers at bottom; include local chapters, with their addresses, phone
numbers and contact persons if available as well as state/national
contact information and addresses]
Please remember that my genealogical endeavors consumed a great deal of
time, travel, and money. Therefore it is my desire that the products of these
endeavors be allowed to continue in a manner that will make them available to
others in the future.
Signature ___________________________ Date ___________
Witness ____________________________ Date ___________
Witness ____________________________ Date ___________
Good morning!
I do think that the codicil is a good idea. But, I would like to make
another suggestion (in addition to the codicil).
Most of use have genealogy programs that print some type of report. And
some of us are lucky enough to have some documents to support our
findings and pictures too! So why not produce a booklet NOW and donate
it to the genealogical society or library of the community or county
that your ancestor lived in (send one to each community that they lived
in - mine went from NY to OH to MI to IA and finally NE). Right now
many of you are thinking - but I am not done! Well let's be honest -
you will never be done - and you can publish a second edition in the
future!!
I know that with my research each line took there own direction to get
where they ended up - so I am not proposing you prepare your whole
database to donate to each community that you have reference to in your
family history - I suggest small booklets featuring only the line that
traveled thru that area. Think about it - how many times have you
traveled to a community to do your research and found that your family
wasn't the 'movers and shakers' of the community - they may have been
an important part of forming the community - but they were not recorded
in the communities history book! So you had to dig deep to find the few
gems of information you have! Why not share those gems?
I have found a (homemade) booklet or two with tid-bits of info on my
line at the local library of some of the smaller communities that I
have traveled to to do research. Apparently some forward thinking
individuals had donated a copy of some of their findings to the
library!? Sadly, that wonderful person usually didn't support their
findings with source info or documentation! And the information that
they had can't be substantiated!
The documentation and copies of pictures that you may have 'belong' to
a long line of your ancestors descendants! So why not share your work?
How many times have we all wished we had started asking questions
before Grandma or Grandpa died? So why not be the Grandma and Grandpa
that wrote the info out in booklet form? You know you will be
remembered forever by more then just a few 'cousins'!
Prepare the booklet just like that dream booklet that you would have
wanted to find when first starting your research! I would also suggest
that you burn a CD w/ the info, pictures and documentation then put it
in the back of the booklet - or better yet - give it to the librarian -
that way the info can be duplicated in the future!
Just thought that I'd add my two cents worth! Hope it inspires you to
becoming a publisher of your own work!! Remember it doesn't need to be
leather bound with gold trimmed pages to be a 'best seller' - it just
needs to be well organized and DOCUMENTED!! Also remember to add any
stories that you've heard about your ancestors - that adds color to
your work! Include a few stories or a bio about your loved ones today -
after all we are the ancestors of our ggg-grandchildren!
So, when it is our time to join all those folks we've gotten to know
thru our research, the booklets will already be organized for our loved
ones (if not organized our research looks like a stack of paper and
pictures that our loved one must 'research' again). The latest edition
may not be complete - but they will have some form of organized work!
At that point - perhaps a complete set of the individual booklets can
be bound together and donated to the primary community that you lived
in while growing up! After all that is the final gathering point of the
lines that lead to you!
Any thoughts from any of you that might make this idea better?
Cec Barton-Murrah
Bolter> Hatfield lines of Cass Co.