User:JensenFA/Dealing with Our Stuff

"My mother recently passed away, what do I do with all her genealogy stuff?" - a common question often received at the Family History Library. There are numerous ways to ask that same question and numerous ways to handle the "stuff" problem. The first question to be answered might help point you in the right direction: What is your end goal? Some ideas include:
 * Preserve the genealogy legacy found in the stuff left behind by parents or grandparents
 * Identify the people in the photos found in the box of stuff
 * Figure out where to start, what should be done first?
 * What stuff is from Mom's side of the family, or from Dad's side of the family?

Additional Resources
 * Mayflower 2018 Study: Minimalist Millennials Don't Want Parents' Stuffs
 * Laura H. Gilbert, The Stories We Leave Behind: A Legacy-Based Approach to Dealing with Stuff, [CreateSpace : United States of America, 2018].
 * Gena Philibert-Ortega, How Menus, Letters, and Business Cards Could Unlock a Genealogy Secret: The Importance of Ephemera, Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly, June 2012, p 77-82.
 * Gena Philibert-Ortega, Ephemera: A Surprisingly Fertile Genealogical Resource, GenealogyBank, https://blog.genealogybank.com/ephemera-a-surprisingly-fertile-genealogical-resource.html, 19 Nov 2012, accessed 17 July 2019.
 * Celebrating Centuries of Food and Family: Stories and Records Behind the Recipes, by Judith Lucey, Fall 2013, American Ancestors, p 24-31
 * Member Resource Center: The McAdams Bible, by Dereka Smith, MLS, July/August 2003, National Genealogical Society, p 41
 * Why Would Mom Keep That Cracked Tea Cup?, by Jennifer M. Alford, NGS Magazine, July-September, Vol 41, Number 3, p 26-29
 * Protecting precious photographic memories, by Gordon Lynn Hufford, NGS Magazine, July-September 2011, Vol 37, No 3, p 26-29
 * Creating Memories, by Myra Vanderpool Gormley, NGS Magazine, July-September 2013, Vol 39, No 3, p 21-25
 * A Phelps Family Likeness Discovered, by Peter H. Judd, New England Ancestors, Spring 2002, p 27-29
 * My Norwegian Great-Grandmother’s Sampler, by Helen Schatvet Ullmann, New England Ancestors, Spring 2002, p 30-31