No Descendants? No Problem! Where to Donate Your Genealogical Materials
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It's a reality that not all family historians have direct descendants or interested relatives to whom they can bestow their hard-won discoveries. “What will happen to all my work?” they rightly wonder.
Curious about this very topic, I wrote about several repositories which might accept a donation of various types of genealogical materials for an article that appeared in the December 2023 issue of Stirpes, the journal of the Texas State Genealogical Society. With the permission of the editors, I'm sharing the article here. Just click the PDF below to read “No Descendants? No Problem! Where to Donate Your Genealogical Materials.”
While the repositories mentioned in the article are mostly Texas-centric, consider similar institutions located near you for donation purposes.
URLs for the following have changed since I wrote this article:
- The Family History Library: https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/article/how-do-i-donate-to-familysearch. Download the “Gifts and Donations Policy,” from this webpage.
- Allen County Public Library: https://www.acpl.lib.in.us/genealogy/support under “Share Your Research”
- Midwest Genealogy Center: https://www.mymcpl.org/genealogy/about-mgc/donations under “Donation of Books, Yearbooks.”
If you find yourself in the situation of not knowing where your hard work will go after you are gone, I hope that this article gives you a few possible solutions. Good luck!
Until next time...
© Nancy Gilbride Casey, 2025. All rights reserved.
All very good repositories for family history materials! Sometimes specialized institutions may be interested in specific artifacts and materials. I donated my aunt's WAC book and bite-sized bio/genealogical info to the US Army Women's Museum: https://climbingmyfamilytree.blogspot.com/2019/01/finding-home-for-my-wac-aunts-materials.html
ReplyDeleteI remember! That's where I got the idea to donate my grandmother's V-Mail letters to the WWII Museum! At least one thing has a new home. Baby steps!
DeleteThere are also quite a few small local libraries and historical societies which would love to have family history materials pertaining to the local area.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Always worth investigating and "thinking outside the box." Thanks for reading.
DeleteAnother option, if you can't find a repository, is to create pdf's of your story and upload to the Internet Archive. I have done that. It's sort of like posting to FamilySearch Family Tree or Ancestry Trees but more public.
ReplyDeleteI just read about someone else doing that recently, Lisa. I will have to look into that for myself. Add it to the list of "to-dos"! Thanks for reading.
DeleteSharing research and materials is important make sure these bits of history are not lost.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more! (Is this Sandra?)
DeleteGreat article, Nancy! As a retired librarian who has worked in both public university libraries, I want to emphasize to ALWAYS discuss your possible donation with the staff first - don't just drop it off.
ReplyDeleteI meant both public AND university libraries.
DeleteAmanda, that is a GREAT point. I should have said that! And also that it is organized and not just a box of stuff, right? Appreciate you reading/commenting!
DeleteEven if you have descendants, they may not want lots of material. You have good suggestions here.
ReplyDeleteI agree re: the descendants. I have two kids. One is open to getting my materials but not so sure about heirloom stuff. So much to think about and plan for. Thanks for reading, Colleen.
DeleteGreat reminder and ideas. My kids have already told me that when I go, they will only takes the books I published and don't care about any of the other genealogy stuff I have such as the 1 file box, presentation books, family books, photos (except our immediate family), my online trees, etc. I told them I will leave instructions for where to donate them. :)
ReplyDeleteYou have a good plan together already! Kudos!
DeleteOne of my biggest fears is that I do all this work and then no one continues it. Luckily my son is (mildly) interested, and I'm trying to get a niece or nephew interested as well.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your son is interested, and who knows, that might change over time. For my son I think he is more interested in the really cool stories, but could care less about how I got there (which is the most fascinating part to me in some instances). It's good that you are blogging as well, as that is the permanent way to get the research out there and one of the main reasons I write. I can't tell you how many times distant cousins have contacted me b/c they see something that pertains to their family on my blog. I frequently post on FB genealogy groups when permitted, for localities where I research. Spreads it around. Thanks for reading.
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