Documenting Your Family History Before It’s Too Late

Collecting the memories of your living relatives and uncovering the history of those long gone can be a rather time-sensitive task, but the end results are well worth the effort. More importantly, you don't have all of the time in the world to do so; your older relatives won't live forever. You won't live forever, either. What’s more, the chances of accessing information which has yet to be digitally archived decreases with every year. That's why it's up to you to take action at the appropriate time, and that time is now.

Recording family history is only something you easily can do while your older family members are still alive. If they sadly pass away, you no longer have to access to conversations with them that can be so telling, evocative and meaningful. Reading history books just isn't the same. It won't give you a glimpse into your own personal background, either. If you carefully read historical texts, you may get insight that delves into the politics of decades and decades ago. You may learn a lot about social practices and trends that were commonplace at the time, too. You won't learn much about the valued members who helped bring you into the world, though.

The life stories of older loved ones can be endlessly fascinating. It can be riveting to hear about things that took place during a major war or economic depression. Older family members can talk to you about food rations, bombings, major catastrophes and the like, and how they and those they knew managed to pull through. They can tell you about how those things influenced society from their perspective, and impacted their own lives specifically. What’s more, the life stories of older loved ones have a way of motivating us to do better, to embrace our passions and achieve great things in order to make our ancestors proud.

Rounding up information about your family members no longer has to be a demanding task at all. Contemporary advancements in technology have actually made it a piece of cake. For example, thanks to smartphones and the internet, you can easily record a conversation with your older relative and use online transcription services to have the discussion converted into a word document.

In fact, you don't even have to live close to your older family members in order to speak with them face-to-face. If you want to conduct an "in person" interview with your great-uncle who fought in the Battle of the Bulge, you can do so by setting up a video conferencing session on the internet. If your great-uncle is unable to navigate the online world on his own, he can get assistance from a relative or family member who lives close to him, too.

There are many older individuals who are now able to easily access the internet as well. It's not at all unusual to come across people online who are in their late-70s and 80. There are often individuals who are even older than that. Email and chat sessions can help you get your hands on your family members' intriguing and precious tales. These means of communication also help to maintain strong relationships with older relatives.

Technology greatly simplifies the process of documenting family history in clear detail. It makes the process of safeguarding this information just as simple. You can store text files that go into your family members' in-depth tales and anecdotes. You can even save images. If you visit your 90-year-old grandmother and come across a treasure trove of old and faded images hidden away in her attic or basement, you can scan the images to safeguard for the future. You can snap images of them using your mobile device as well. Images can help illustrate the stories your family members have to share. They can make their tales come to life with a lot more clarity.

The bottom line: if you want to help preserve your heritage, you need to reach out to your elderly family members as soon as possible.