One of the many tragedies of the January 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti is the loss of records. Although it’s been reported that the Haitian National Archives was not severely damaged, there are many churches that were damaged or destroyed. The extent of loss of genealogically-necessary records is not yet known.
I’ve run up against a few stone walls researching my family history because of gaps in the availability of records. Tracking my ancestors has been hampered by the 1911 fire at the New York State Library and the loss of the 1890 Federal Census in 1921. I may never be able to retrieve military records of family members due to a 1973 fire in St. Louis that destroyed 16-18 million personnel records.
Discovering my Irish ancestors is an even more difficult task. In 1922, the Irish Civil War took its toll on census records housed in the Four Courts.
Which brings me to the questions: how safe are your family records? Have you safeguarded your genealogical research? You may have already spent years collecting information and documentation for your family tree. You may be just beginning your search for family history. Whether you are a newcomer to genealogy or an experienced researcher, today might be a good time to review ways to keep your important information organized and secure.
It is essential to back up all your family history files. Most of the current genealogy software programs have a backup feature. Note, however, that when you use a genealogy program’s backup feature, you will most likely be saving your files in that program’s proprietary file system. You may not be able to retrieve those files if your software program becomes obsolete, or is not compatible with newer computer operating systems. That said, it is still a good idea to get into the habit of using your genealogy program’s backup feature.
I also like to keep my family history information in text (.txt) and document (.doc) files. I print them out and add them to the file folder I keep on each individual ancestor I’m researching. That way, if my computer has an issue, I still have “hard” copies of my research. I also back up these files (along with my genealogy software’s backups) to CD and DVD on a regular basis. Ideally these disks should be stored in a fireproof container or safe deposit box, but I must admit to being lax in that area. One of these days I’m going to look into the feasibility of using an online backup site.
This isn’t intended to be an all-inclusive list of how to back up your family history. Hopefully, it will serve as a reminder that you need to have a backup system that will work for you.
