At the recent National Genealogical Society conference, Julie Miller stressed her concern that many people prepare a will for the distribution of their possessions and finances but forget their online data.
Her presentation, “How to Plan for Your Digital Afterlife,” focused on three areas: digital assets and where they are stored, listing accounts with user names and passwords, and your wishes for their future.
Who should be in charge? What should they do with the data? Who is interested? Miller has created a useful free checklist to help people focus on this necessity, and to make us think through all the digital parts of our lives, not just genealogy.
Miller feels everyone needs to evaluate these assets, deciding which to keep, delete, pass on to someone, or share with perhaps a family group. Subscription research sites with family trees would need to be continued (paid) until your designated person works through the plan.
FamilyTreeDNA has a built-in beneficiary information area, but that's only good if you fill it in. Miller suggests having a digital assets memorandum or something along those lines for your attorney, and perhaps a digital assets executor designated. These could be referenced in your will and stored with it.
Also, check the terms of service of various sites and be aware state laws differ and often lag behind on digital issues. Miller's genealogy digital asset checklist and digital asset list are free at jpmresearch.com/jpm/downloads.html, as well as other helpful lists.
Virginia vital records
Ancestry.com recently posted a large number of fairly recent Virginia vital records from the state health department (not county courthouses): birth records from 1864 to 1999, marriage records (1936-2014), death records (1912-2014) and divorce records (1918-2014).
The information is divided between those with images available online (outside of the privacy cutoff) and those with only a data abstract provided. This is a great new source for Virginia material.
Civil War ancestors research
Atlanta History Center will present “Finding Billy Yank and Johnny Reb: Researching Your Civil War Ancestors” from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 27.
Speakers will be Emma Davis Hamilton on Union Civil War ancestors and Beth Olson on Confederate ancestors. To register, call 404-814-4042 or check atlantahistorycenter.com and look under research. The cost is $10 for members, $15 for nonmembers.
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