General Questions on Disposing

[romad]

My mother passed away this year and my sister & I have cleared out and sold the house. I now have several bins of papers from my mother to go through. One bin has her certificates, diplomas, etc. I have no children and my sister does not want them so how should I dispose of them? Anything that has a social security number will be shredded of course, but what about other documents? Shred or just toss? Anyone in a similar situation who had to deal with such items?

[Sully2004]

Re: General Questions on Disposing

My mother passed away this year and my sister & I have cleared out and sold the house. I now have several bins of papers from my mother to go through. One bin has her certificates, diplomas, etc. I have no children and my sister does not want them so how should I dispose of them? Anything that has a social security number will be shredded of course, but what about other documents? Shred or just toss? Anyone in a similar situation who had to deal with such items?

SAVE!!!! If you do not think there is someone that might like these, dispose of them...then someone will come forward and wish they had them.

[Angela Trovato Nesmith]

Re: General Questions on Disposing

I've had a similar experience. I do not dispose of documents like that. I keep the hard copies in binders and record occasions and dates, etc. in Reunion.

[William Richards]

Re: General Questions on Disposing

Keep all tax related files (returns, support for deductions, etc.) for at least 3 years. After that they may be destroyed. Since neither you nor your sister appear to be interested in genealogical material, check with other relatives and local historical societies who may be looking for just the info they need in your mother's files. In any case, take it slow. If ten years down the road no one has expressed an interest, get rid of it.

[Kim]

Re: General Questions on Disposing

SAVE!!!! If you do not think there is someone that might like these, dispose of them...then someone will come forward and wish they had them.

I completely agree. Surely you can find room for one bin. Does your sister have children? Maybe someday they will want them. If not, maybe a cousin's child or grandchild in the distant future.

If you absolutely can't find room to store them (but I hope you will!) at least make high quality scans for future generations!

[romad]

Re: General Questions on Disposing

I already discussed this with my sister; she has one son who spends the majority of his time playing video games and is not interested in anything else. My mother was an only child so there are no cousins who might be interested. And as I said at the outset, I have no children.

This question was not about legal/financial documentation which, as executrix, my sister will be responsible.

Now on my father's side there are relatives who might be interested in items relating to him, his siblings, and their parents. I've sent a message to one I know.

I plan on scanning all the photos and name them those I can then adding them to my Reunion & Ancestry.com files. I found a photo of my grandfather taken in 1898, and hope to find more from the late 19th Century.

[Kim]

Re: General Questions on Disposing

I already discussed this with my sister; she has one son who spends the majority of his time playing video games and is not interested in anything else. My mother was an only child so there are no cousins who might be interested. And as I said at the outset, I have no children.

This question was not about legal/financial documentation which, as executrix, my sister will be responsible.

Now on my father's side there are relatives who might be interested in items relating to him, his siblings, and their parents. I've sent a message to one I know.

I plan on scanning all the photos and name them those I can then adding them to my Reunion & Ancestry.com files. I found a photo of my grandfather taken in 1898, and hope to find more from the late 19th Century.

I guess my point is that that one son is only interested in video games NOW. So was mine, at one point. Ten years later he is one of the people most interested in my findings. And even if he never gets to that point, he will potentially have children some day. Also, don't discount the interest of your father's relatives. I collect pretty much anything remotely related. Got something related to my father's uncle's wife's sister's mother-in-law? I'll take it!

Once destroyed or discarded, it can never be replaced.

[Carolyn Maydole Hoard]

Re: General Questions on Disposing

My mother passed away this year and my sister & I have cleared out and sold the house. I now have several bins of papers from my mother to go through. One bin has her certificates, diplomas, etc. I have no children and my sister does not want them so how should I dispose of them? Anything that has a social security number will be shredded of course, but what about other documents? Shred or just toss? Anyone in a similar situation who had to deal with such items?

I agree with the replies you've received. Please don't toss the original documents, someone in the future may want them. May I ask where your mother was born and lived? If there is a library with a local history section, a historical society, or genealogy society in the area, they may take them. State level genealogy and historical societies might be interested. If she is from the New England area, NEHGS could be contacted.

[Carolyn Maydole Hoard]

Re: General Questions on Disposing

My mother passed away this year and my sister & I have cleared out and sold the house. I now have several bins of papers from my mother to go through. One bin has her certificates, diplomas, etc. I have no children and my sister does not want them so how should I dispose of them? Anything that has a social security number will be shredded of course, but what about other documents? Shred or just toss? Anyone in a similar situation who had to deal with such items?

Hello again. I contacted Allen County Public Library and here is their response:

"Yes, The Genealogy Center will accept someone's unwanted genealogy research. You can drop it off at the The Genealogy Center any time. If you are unable to bring it, you can send it to us, along with a brief explanation of who had researched the collection. Address is:

Curt Witcher, Manager
The Genealogy Center
Allen County Public Library
P.O. Box 2270
900 Library Plaza
Fort Wayne, IN 46801-2270

Thank you for using our "Ask a Genealogy Librarian" service.
Have another question?
Send it to Genealogy@ACPL.Info.

The Genealogy Center
Allen County Public Library
P.O. Box 2270
900 Library Plaza
Fort Wayne, IN 46801-2270
260-421-1225
http://www.Genealogycenter.org"

I hope you will consider donating and not tossing!

[Joyce Ranieri]

Re: General Questions on Disposing

I plan on scanning all the photos and name them those I can then adding them to my Reunion & Ancestry.com files. I found a photo of my grandfather taken in 1898, and hope to find more from the late 19th Century.

If a photo has info on the back, I always scan that as well and add a b to the label. For example: PIERCE, Minnie J (LEWIS) 020b.

[Carolyn Maydole Hoard]

Re: General Questions on Disposing

If a photo has info on the back, I always scan that as well and add a b to the label. For example: PIERCE, Minnie J (LEWIS) 020b.

Great recommendation!