Preserve family memories, one source at a time
Start with one person, gather what can be checked, document uncertainties, then have portraits, archives and anecdotes reviewed by relatives who know that branch.
A careful approach to passing on memories
Eight steps to preserve context, not just files
Auguste Moreau’s example is entirely fictional. It shows how to link a tree profile to a portrait, two archives, an anecdote and their sources without asserting what the family does not know.
Completed example · Entirely fictional
An archive and anecdote about Auguste
Archive: Auguste outside his workshop
- Caption
- Auguste poses outside his workshop door.
- Period and location
- Around 1933, near La Rochelle.
- Origin and provenance
- Print kept in Lucienne’s album, digitised by Claire.
- Source and certainty
- Lucienne recognises her father. The date remains probable: no year is written on the back of the print.
Anecdote: the Sunday stool repair
“Auguste always kept a chair to repair in the workshop. On Sundays, Lucienne came to hold his tools for him.”
Told by: Lucienne. Added by: Claire. Period: 1930s. People involved: Auguste and Lucienne.
Source: Lucienne’s oral recollection, with no document that precisely dates the scene. To be reviewed by the family.
These names and stories illustrate data entry; they are not historical archives.
Choose, document, review
Build the memories in this order
- 01
Choose a person and a small scope
Start with a parent, grandparent or ancestor about whom a relative can recall a few details. A profile can exist in the tree without creating a sign-in account.
- 02
Start with verifiable information
Review the name, family relationships and details already present. Keep a year or approximate period when the exact day is unknown.
- 03
Choose a main portrait
Use an image whose origin is known as far as possible. The owner or an administrator can illustrate a deceased person or someone without an account; a living adult with an account keeps control of their own profile.
- 04
Document each archive photo
Documenting a photo does not change its audience. Also specify the photograph’s origin and who passed it on.
- 05
Tell an anecdote with its source
State who told the story, who added it, the period and people involved. A short account placed in context is easier to pass on than a story presented as certain without evidence.
- 06
Identify people with their agreement
You can identify people within this photo’s audience, with or without an account. An account must already have access to the photo.
Identification grants no additional access. To share, change the source’s audience separately.
- 07
State the degree of certainty
Use “certain”, “probable” or “uncertain” according to the source’s quality. This allows another relative to add or correct information without erasing the history of the research.
- 08
Have it reviewed, then enrich it gradually
Share the profile with authorised relatives who know the branch. Correct mistakes, add one source at a time and leave disagreements explicitly open instead of resolving them by inference.
What this process does not promise
Passing on a story does not organise digital succession
Identification grants no additional access. To share, change the source’s audience separately.
Legacy identification access
Some older identifications may retain individual access to this photo alone for the identified account, without opening its album or post. This access ends on refusal, removal or explicit revocation; access granted elsewhere remains valid.
Declining or removing an identification removes the tag without deleting the photo. It also removes any legacy access granted through that identification; other access remains valid.
- No automatic searches in public archives.
- No trusted contact or automatic post-mortem transfer.
- Declining or removing an identification removes the tag without deleting the photo.