The home sources album is good for insurance purposes as well as for preserving background information. It provides a photographic record for the identification of possessions and can help to manage an otherwise overwhelming collection of artifacts or written materials. The amount of organizing and the system you employ will depend on how many home sources you have. Small collections can be grouped by type: artifacts, wearables, or photographs. If you have a Bible, two diaries, several letters, and a journal, the category might be "communication or written." Larger collections of a single category can be subdivided chronologically.

Regardless of the type or amount of material you possess or the system you adopt, organizing possessions makes good sense and enables you to effectively use the information without excessive handling of the objects. Substituting photographs of home sources (especially those most often referred to for research purposes) allows you to place the originals in a safe location.

After the collection is divided into categories, the inventory begins. Design a simple inventory form that has headings for inventory date, person or persons conducting the inventory, category of home source, and its ultimate destination. List each ite , provide a description, note its condition, context (where it was found or is usually kept), any genealogically relevant information it contains, and whatever is known or surmised about its origin.

Computer database programs provide an excellent way to organize such information. A carefully designed database will allow you to print a list of holdings in a variety of ways: by type of object, by date or origin, by name of original possessor, or by present or future caretaker, for example. The database can be enhanced by adding similar information on all family holdings-even those that some family members may refuse to share or exchange. Family members who cannot bear to part with objects may permit photographs or written summaries to be made. They are more likely to do so if, in exchange, they receive similar information from other holders of home sources.

Restoration, Preservation, and Disposal of Home Sources

The condition of some items may require an attempt at restoration. If you are not familiar with the techniques necessary to restore or preserve antiques or manuscript material, two options are available. First, you can study a manual on restoration and determine if you are capable of restoring the artifact to your satisfaction. A useful publication is Barbara Sagraves, A Preservation Guide: Saving the Past and the Present for the Future (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1995).

If time or skill limitations prohibit a do-it-yourself project, a second option is to call upon professionals. Obtain the names of qualified persons by contacting area museums or historical societies. Talk to neighbors or antique dealers who have had good experiences with persons who restore or prepare items for preservation.

Important and irreplaceable photographs or picture postcards can be duplicated, often inexpensively. Artifacts, jewelry, clothing, and samplers can be photographed. Correspondence, Bible pages, diaries, and journals not durable enough to be photocopied can be transcribed (in script or type). Every care should be taken to ensure that the original is duplicated or described carefully in a permanent record.

One of the best methods of preservation is sharing. Provide other family members with items from your collection that may be of emotional value but are not critical to your genealogical record. Any item that can be reproduced in some fashion should also be shared. Not only does your benevolence lessen the risk of a major catastrophe destroying all family treasures, your kindness may encourage others to share with you.

Finally, when these most precious of objects need care beyond what you can provide, consider disposal. With whom will you entrust your collection of memorabilia and home sources? An unmarried son? A museum or archive? A local historical society? Whatever you decide, contact the recipient in advance to be sure the person or organization is willing to accept the collection and to determine in what form or condition it would be most welcome. Plan wisely. Leaving a collection of fragile glassware to a niece who plans to live in small apartments as she pursues an acting career or to a library that specializes in printed matter may not be the best disposal decisions.