by James Wallace Harris, 12/30/24
I have a box of old photos and photo albums that contain pictures of people from six generations. I inherited the family photos from my father’s and mother’s side of the family. My wife and I have no children, and my sister recently informed me that her son and granddaughters have no interest in the past. When I die, I’m sure that box of history will be thrown away.
It seems wrong to destroy such historical artifacts. Online research recommends trying to donate old photos to historical or genealogy organizations. I was horrified by one site’s recommendation: to burn them. But then, wouldn’t that be like cremation? I guess that’s more dignified than letting them rot in the landfill?
Sadly, no one wants to remember these people. I always thought one of the main reasons people believed in heaven was their desire to see family and friends again. Maybe that’s not true. I’m also reminded of the sentiment, that as long as you remember a person, they will not die. I never met many of the folks in my family photos, but I have wondered about them.
I have digitized most of my family photos. Sometimes I even set my computer background to use random pictures from that folder to remind me of all the people who are gone. Every ten minutes I see another moment from the past where people I share DNA pose to be remembered.
I have used scans of these photos for this blog in the past. I wrote “The Burden and Responsibilities of Family Photos,” “My Father Would Have Been 100 Today,” and “My Mother Would Have Been 100 Today.” I had hoped that some of their friends I never knew would have discovered those pages and left a comment, but that didn’t happen.
I joined Ancestry.com which allows uploading photos. It’s a slow process because I have to verify details and family connections, and I try to add as much information as possible to each image. My initial subscription is for three months, so I’ll try to scan, document, organize, and upload all the photos I can within that period. It’s kind of expensive.
Once the work is completed at Ancestry.com I might join other genealogical sites to upload the photos at each.
After that, I’ll box them all up carefully, and leave a note for whoever goes through my stuff to ask my sister’s descendants if they want them one last time.
You’d think there would be a national archive that collected old photos and certain kinds of documents for future historians.
If you don’t have anyone to leave your family photos, what will you do with them?
JWH
Auxiliary Memory 
A poignant post, Jim and a question that deserves a better than landfill or cremation – I wish that I had one to offer. I have the same issue right now, with a set of drawers and boxes containing pictures that mum never got around to organising – most of them well over 100 years old now (mum died this year at 97), most of people I know nothing about.
So much personal history lost because pictures can’t talk.
There’s a potential speculative story thread in here though, about how technology might change this, and whether or not that would be a good thing. 😉
I seem to have lost a word: “a question that deserves a better answer …” -L. 🙂
The historical society in the town where I grew up keeps a file on each family. I scanned the relevant pics and slides, named them and passed them on. Sadly, they probably wouldn’t want the funny ones. Good luck in your quest.
i’ve got a few photos tucked away in odd corners, like books and record jackets. i’m not the scrapbook type; i was a homely kid and i look at old photos and i see what a chick meant when i was sixteen, telling me, “anybody ever tell you ,you look like richard speck. buddy?” still. i can think of a couple of them i wish i’d managed to hold onto. i’ll tell you more about that at our seventy-fifth reunion.
I believe Ranson Riggs, who wrote “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” made use of discarded old photographs. Those were kind of strange tho’ : )
Having four big plastic storage tubs of family photos dating as far back as the 1930’s, my plan is to create some kind of pictorial timeline, scrapbook sort of history along with as complete a family tree as I can. Hopefully one of my four kids, 11 grandkids and 4 great-grandkids will cherish it when I’m gone.
Just found your blog and subscribed. Cheers!
I believe Ranson Riggs, who wrote “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” made use of discarded old photographs. Those were kind of strange tho’ : )
Having four big plastic storage tubs of family photos dating as far back as the 1930’s, my plan is to create some kind of pictorial timeline, scrapbook sort of history along with as complete a family tree as I can. Hopefully one of my four kids, 11 grandkids and 4 great-grandkids will cherish it when I’m gone.
Just found your blog and subscribed. Cheers!
My husband passed away recently, and I now find myself the caretaker of numerous family albums passed down from parents and grandparents and several memorial books (my parents, my in-laws, a son deceased in infancy, my husband). It is overwhelming, as many of the albums are in poor condition and most photos are unlabeled. Many, many photos date back to WWII, and prior to that and are pictures of family friends and acquaintances.
On the positive side, the albums that I created, I can easily curate and pare down, as I know the significance of those photos. As well, I have some small (newer) albums with meticulously labeled family photos, and those are certainly “keepers”, and could be of interest and use.
With limited space, I am struggling with what to do with the totes of albums in poor condition that no one I know wants to have. I am realizing that there are no easy answers to this dilemma.
I joined Ancestry.com and uploaded some photos. But I’m not sure if they stayed there after I quit.
I’ve become resigned that there is no one alive that cares about my photographs. I’m just boxing them with a note that they can be thrown away after I die.