Throw Back Thursday - Genealogy Organization

Walking with the Ancestors...

As I sit here sorting the many photos of yesterday while doing more genealogy organization - I realized today was throwback Thursday. Perfect...I knew what I wanted to write about. 

I recently set up another Facebook group for the Descendants of Riley Hammet Hillman and Lucinda Perkins, they are my 2nd great grandparents. I did that in hopes of learning more about our family history and connecting with new cousins too!

I have this white drawer looking tub sitting over on the floor of my craft room as I still haven't gotten everything unpacked from my recent move. For the last few weeks, I have looked at it and looked at (you know - like nudging myself to see what was in it) as I couldn't remember. Yesterday, I finally pulled the drawer out. Oh my gosh - - I have photos of in here from people I don't even know who they are. Photos of my kids and their school days, family photos of my family growing up - you get the picture! (no pun intended). 

When I pulled out the drawer, setting right on top was a large manilla envelope addressed to my mom and dad from my Aunt Genevieve. Inside were photos of my mother as a teenager and several photos of her with her siblings. Also, inside, was a photo of my 2nd great grandfather, Riley H. Hillman's daughter, Sarah Catherine, and a few others from the Hillman lines.  

I'm comparing all the photos in this envelope to those I have scanned on my computer and USB. I want to make sure these photos are preserved for generations to come. Not to mention, having the opportunity of adding them to my family tree out on Ancestry! I'm all about the photographs! They tell so many stories of yesterday, today and sometimes even in our tomorrows...

I remember when Charlie, Glenda and I went to the Dallas Genealogy Library this past Monday - when I opened up my family tree to show them  - Glenda's exclamation of 'look at all your photos'! was a perfect example of what I'm talking about...I suppose this too, comes from my passion for paper crafting and scrapbooking. One day, I will have all these 1000's of photographs scrapbooked or in vintage journals I create. (copies of course - but I have used originals in the past, too in an archival-safe photo sleeve). After all, they won't be passed down to my family - none of them are interested in any of the genealogy stuff! sad, but true...

So here I am, with this tub of miscellaneous photos setting out on my desk so I can work on the organization of them today. Here's how the task will be managed: 

1. Open envelopes very carefully
2. Browse the photos and documentation (handling them carefully)
3. Sort them into stacks of family lines (for instance, the ones of my mom - will go in a Gordy stack; ones of the Hillman's, will be placed in a Hillman stack), etc. 
4. Look in computer and USB files to confirm whether photos have been scanned. 
5. If the photo hasn't been scanned, STOP, SCAN, and TITLE it if there is a description, move to the appropriate computer file
6. If the photo has already been scanned, move to the next photo
7. at the end of the day, log onto Ancestry and upload photos to the appropriate family tree profiles for preservation
8. Eventually - photos will end up in the appropriate Ancestor binders (copies printed in grayscale)
9. Photos will be scrapbooked and or crafted into Vintage journals (haven't decided if I'll use originals or copies yet) ...in time

I enjoy being organized. I guess you could say this has always been one of my strong suits as long as I can remember. Yes, this will be a daunting task - but in the end - preserving our family history so others can enjoy for generations to come is priceless! 

I've already informed my family what they are to do with all my genealogy items upon my passing. I don't want it all to end up in a landfill somewhere...this is our family legacy and I want it preserved for others to do research and see their family history.

Many of the memories are our grandfathers who served in the Revolutionary Wars, the Civil and Confederate Wars, WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, grandparents who loaded up the covered wagons and a few of their possessions and set out to make their way. Memories like these need to be recorded and documented so my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will learn and remember the sacrifices these families gave and how they lived. For me, I can’t even fathom my great grandmother loading up her 7 children in a covered wagon to follow farming in order to make ends meet after her husband died in the early 1900s.

If this is a small way for me to honor my ancestor's memory - -then I'm honored to make this small sacrifice of time to organize the memories. 

 I love walking with my ancestors...

~Heart to Heart Soul Creations

H2hsc2020