5 Great Ways to Share Your Family History

As you painstakingly trace your way back through the generations of your family, you may find yourself wondering if someone has traced those steps before. Has a relative already found and assembled some of your family history? Or someone who placed their research in a drawer, where it remains hidden and unavailable?

Like any treasure, family history doesn't deserve to remain buried. Try these simple suggestions for sharing your discoveries so others can benefit from what you have found.

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Reach out to Others

Senior woman and granddaughter sitting at table, looking through old photographs, mid section
Yevgen Timashov / Getty Images

The easiest way to make sure other people know about your family history research is to give it to them. It doesn't have to be anything fancy — just make copies of your research in progress and send it to them, in either hard copy or digital format. Copying your family files to CD or DVD is an easy and inexpensive way to send large amounts of data, including photos, document images, and even videos. If you have relatives who are comfortable working with computers, then sharing via cloud storage service such as Dropbox, Google Drive, or Microsoft OneDrive, is another good option.

Reach out to parents, grandparents, even distant cousins, and include your name and contact information on your work.

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Submit Your Family Tree to Databases

Even if you send out copies of your family history research to every relative you know, there are probably others who would also be interested in it. One of the most public ways to distribute your information is by submitting it to one or more online genealogy databases. This guarantees that the information will be easily accessible to anyone who may be searching for the same family. Don't forget to keep contact information up-to-date as you change email addresses, etc., so others can easily reach you when they find your family tree.

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Create a Family Web Page

Person working on Family Tree document on laptop computer

Charlie Abad/Getty Images

If you'd prefer not to submit your family history to someone else's database, then you can still make it available online by creating a genealogy Web page. Alternatively, you can write about your family history research experience in a genealogy blog. If you want to restrict access to your genealogy data to family members only, then you can publish your information online at a password-protected genealogy site.

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Print Beautiful Family Trees

The family tree
vostal / Getty Images

If you've got the time, you can share your family tree in a beautiful or creative manner. A number of fancy family tree charts can be purchased or printed. Full-size genealogy wall charts make more room for big families, and great conversation starters at family reunions. You can also design and create your own family tree. Alternatively, you can put together a family history scrapbook or even a cookbook. The point is to have fun and be creative when sharing your family's heritage.

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Publish Short Family Histories

Woman writing in notebook

Siri Berting/Getty Images

Many of your relatives really aren't going to be interested in family tree printouts from your genealogy software program. Instead, you may want to try something that will draw them into the story. While writing a family history may seem too daunting to be fun, it really doesn't have to be. Keep it simple, with short family histories. Pick a family and write a few pages, including the facts as well as entertaining details. Include your name and contact information, of course.

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Powell, Kimberly. "5 Great Ways to Share Your Family History." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/great-ways-to-share-family-history-1421879. Powell, Kimberly. (2023, April 5). 5 Great Ways to Share Your Family History. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/great-ways-to-share-family-history-1421879 Powell, Kimberly. "5 Great Ways to Share Your Family History." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/great-ways-to-share-family-history-1421879 (accessed March 19, 2024).