The Family Tree
By Terence L. Day
Terence L. Day, genealogist and journalist, is on the Washington State University faculty. He welcomes e-mail at genealogy@moscow.com, or regular mail in care of the Tri-City Herald City newsroom, P.O. Box 2608, Tri-Cities, WA 99302-2608.
Chaos poor system for genealogy preservation
This column was published Oct. 27, 1996
One of my current genealogical projects is going through box upon box of documents inherited from two once-great amateur genealogists.
Unfortunately, both women -one my grandmother, the other my mother-in-law - continued to genealogize after they had lost the ability. Indeed, both these wonderful genealogists reached a point where they were disorganizing what they once had so carefully collected and organized.
The boxes of documents they left are filed under the chaos system - just thrown helter skelter into boxes.
Among the resulting chaos, I recently discovered some precious, almost sacred, documents.
One dated to 1896. It was a copy of a religious ordinance, a patriarchal blessing, given to my wife's grandfather, Charles Frederick Thompson, on March 1, 1896. Charles was the son of Frederick Christian and Lodicy Tanner Thompson. The blessing was written on cheap, high-acid paper. When we found the document in a box of genealogy, the paper was badly discolored, the fibers long ago broken where the pages were creased in a tri-fold so they would fit into an envelope.
Gingerly, I eased the tattered remnants into Avery sheet protectors. These are clear poly vinyl sheets specially designed for archival storage. They are three-hole punched along one side to fit into three-ring binders, but you also can store them in manila folders.
I also found several aging letters from my wife's ancestors. One of the most priceless was from the aforementioned Charles Fred erick Thompson. It was written from Evanston, Wyo., on Oct. 9, 1918, to his father, then living in Farnum, Idaho.
The son wrote of his plans for his homestead near Evanston and how he was exempted from the draft for World War I because he worked for the railroad.
"All the old men in Evanston are going back to the shops, men who have been retired for years," he wrote. "I suppose I will have to stay in the shop now until after the war."
There was a postscript on the letter: "P.S. We just got a phone that Sadie's Brother Horton died with the Spanish Influenza."
In 13 days, on Oct. 22, the son also was dead, a victim of the influenza epidemic.
Eventually, these documents will crumble, but storing them in the archival sleeves will greatly extend their life. It also will allow family members to handle and read them without further damage.
If you are into genealogy, I imagine you also may have inherited boxes of valuables. If they are organized and properly stored, count your blessings. If, like me, you inherited chaos, you will do future generations a huge favor if you will organize and preserve the materials.
Gently unfold documents and place them in archival quality poly vinyl protective sheets. This will enable you to read them without handling the paper they are written or printed on.
No matter how many times we wash our hands or how dry and cracked our fingers may be, we all have oil in our skin. This oil contains acid. Acid eats paper. The sheets also will protect the paper from breaking as it is folded and unfolded, or as it sits in a box of other papers.
I'm sure many companies make archival poly vinyl protective sheets. Avery just happens to be the brand I bought at a discount office supply store. Ordinary poly vinyl can destroy your treasures, so make certain the ones you buy are clearly marked for archival storing.
I also recommend you either photocopy important documents, or at least transcribe them and print the transcriptions on archival paper. This type of paper also is available in most stationery stores and is well worth the premium price you will pay.
Genealogy isn't just collecting data, it's also about preserving our families' history.
Copyright 1996 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.