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What memories will you leave?

(9 Posts)
kircubbin2000 Sun 05-Jul-26 09:48:44

Before my mother died she destroyed everything from her life. No photos,letters,family history to show who she was. This had made it hard to understand what her family was like and who some of the names were.
I have kept everything of mine but am wondering whether to bin a lot of it.

Luckygirl3 Sun 05-Jul-26 10:02:37

I would not do that. These things contain family memories that they will want to keep.

LOUISA1523 Sun 05-Jul-26 10:16:07

All photos are there at mine....I never kept letters and hardly any cards ...I know my 3 kids will bin them all 😁

butterandjam Sun 05-Jul-26 11:11:42

If you research her extended family members (live and dead) you may find lots of info about her life and theirs.

You could start with getting copies of her birth, death and marriage registration certificates. From knowing where and when she was born, married and died, you can make a start on Census records . Her first appearance in Census records should give you her parents and perhaps siblings names.

You can do all this from home

My parents both kept secrets and some of the ones they took to the grave, should have died with them. Be careful what you dig up.

pably15 Sun 05-Jul-26 11:19:21

I've got loads of photos, and also both mine and my oh family tree, going back a few generations, so our family can choose what they want to do with them,

Chestnut Sun 05-Jul-26 11:32:49

That's really sad that everything was thrown out. You will be surprised what you can find about an ancestor's life. I started with just my dad's birth certificate and now have 4 Lever Arch files on him and his family.

Definitely keep photos of family members, with names on the back and when and where taken if possible. Also photos of family homes, otherwise throw out holiday snaps, animals and views, no-one will want them. Letters and postcards can be interesting, I have a whole suitcase full (from 1930s) but really must reduce them!

Gran22boys Sun 05-Jul-26 11:43:35

On a recent Flogit a man wanted to sell his father’s war medals because his children weren’t interested. The expert persuaded him not to saying that future generations might be interested. So do leave something behind.

twiglet77 Sun 05-Jul-26 11:55:20

My elder sibling has most of our late mother’s photos and I hope her offspring treasure them when the time comes.

I have recently gone through the photos I do have, and those of my own children, annotating them with names, dates and locations they wouldn’t otherwise know.

Imarocker Sun 05-Jul-26 12:03:39

Photos with all the people named. My publications - books and articles. Also I have written down all I know about my family and its history. My GC will have memories of coming to my house and all the activities we did together. DD will remember out all inclusive holidays, the cocktails and the dancing.