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Are you asking yourself, "What do I do with all the old family pictures that have been passed down to me that no one wants?"
You're in luck. You may have boxes of old family photos, shelves of photo albums, or even photo scrapbooks. I have some suggestions to preserve your legacy while reducing what you have in your home.
Organize Your Old Family Photo Collection
Few of the folks I will mention below want a disorganized mess shipped to them. Organize your collection by family and in chronological order. If you don't know the timeline for your images, arrange them by color type, and you'll get close to the accurate order.
Downsize your photo collection. Loose photos and photos in albums by removing blurry photos and separating out duplicate copies of the same image.
Set photos of unidentified individuals or strangers aside. Take time to identify the persons and places shown in the pictures. You might be the last living person to know who or what the photos depict.
If you can't identify some individuals, you could try a reserve image search on Google with a digitized image or submit the pictures to a lost family photo website like DeadFred.com.
With an organized and paired-down photo collection, it's time to find new homes for your box of physical prints.
↪️ Are you looking for more tips for downsizing while preserving your family history?
Grab your copy of my book.
Reach Out to Family Members
While you may think you don't have someone who wants your family photos, chances are you need to cast a wider net. Consider breaking up your picture collection so that you increase the chances of finding new homes for them.
Contact extended family members to see who would like portions of your photo collection. Use the FamilySearch family tree or Ancestry to find out who is actively researching your common ancestors and relatives.
Use the website's internal mail systems to send an email describing the collections you have and asking whether that person would be interested in having them shipped to them. Be willing to pay for or split the postage cost with those who agree to accept the collection.
If these extended members do not want the collection, ask whether they know of another family member who would. A family member may not be active on the family trees you visited.
Additionally, search for Surname Reunions. If you can attend or send your collection to an organizer, there might be someone at the reunion who wants to become a curator for your collection.
Reach Out to Historical and Genealogical Societies
Not every society has an archive or library for your materials, but you will never know unless you ask.
You'll want to contact societies for the locations where your ancestors lived. If they lived in Columbus, Ohio, search for the Franklin County Historical Society or the Ohio Genealogical Society.
Find societies by typing in a [Location] + Genealogy Society into Google Search. This would look like this:
Ontario Canada Genealogy Society
Humble Texas Genealogy Society
Santa Fe Historical Society
Reach out to these organizations or explore their websites to determine whether they accept organized photo collection donations. If they do not take collections, they may recommend a genealogy archive or library that will.
I loved explaining these preservation techniques in this Facebook video, which you can watch below.
Seek Out Special Collections
If your photo collection highlights significant historical moments, then contact groups that are not traditionally genealogically based.
For instance, Ohio State University's library holds several photo collections. Look through their catalog to see if they have collections that mirror yours that you can enrich with a donation.
You can also explore History or Specialty Museums. You could donate to a Civil War Museum with your Union or Confederate Ancestor's photos.
Finally, reach out to state and national archives to determine whether they accept photo donations.
Notify the Public
Using Facebook groups for genealogists, historians, or locations worldwide lets people know you have a collection you want to part with. While you can not ensure the photos will wind up in the hands of your family, the person who will take them likely has a love for history and genealogy.
Digitize and Share the Photos
Once the photos leave your home, they are not retrievable. Therefore, make digital copies of your pictures in addition to organizing your collection.
Then, share copies of the files with your family members. They might not have wanted the physical images, but they might welcome the digital photos.
It would be best if you also shared the images with online family trees, Find A Grave, or other digital photo collections.
The key is to share your photos in various places to have a greater chance of lasting into the future.
Start Now to Divest Your Collection
If you have a year or longer to downsize, you have enough time to find the correct repository or family member to accept your photo archive. You'll also have time and resources to digitize your collection and share your images.
If you wait until you are too sick or weak to handle your estate or your heirs have to process your photos, the collection will likely end up in the trash or worse.
