Dick Eastman's Tips for Preserving Your Genealogy Data

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of hearing Dick Eastman, author of Eastman’s Online Genealogical Newsletter, speak at the Ohio Genealogical Society’s fall seminar. This was the first time I’ve heard one of Dick’s presentations, and I really enjoyed his discussion of technology and data preservation. He’s prompted me to think harder about how to store my family history information. Here are some of the points I took away from the seminar:

Dick Eastman at OGS

1. Conservation is an ongoing process.

How can you make sure your genealogy data is still readable by future generations? Dick told us that ink jet ink, toner, and photocopies will all fade within 50 years, so you can’t rely on what you print out from your computer for long-term storage. Handwritten notes using acid free paper and ink pens will last longer, but are time-consuming to create. Microfilm will last but is becoming obsolete. So the best way to preserve your data is to create digital files, then make multiple copies of those files on different media.

2. The keys to preservation are to back up and diversify.

Dick recommends backing up everything you create (files, photos, videos, blog posts, etc.). He stressed this key point: Make multiple backups, to different media, and store them in different locations. (I can’t help but think of the old adage, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”) As technology evolves, migrate your data onto new types of media. He advocates a minimum of three ongoing backups:

• an external hard drive connected to your computer
• a flash drive or DVDs, stored off-site (not in the same home as your computer)
• an online backup storage service (such as Mozy, Backblaze, iBackup, Carbonite, or CrashPlan) 

3. Cloud computing provides flexibility for both storage and sharing.

Dick defined cloud computing as the sharing of resources across the Internet. Examples include Gmail, Hotmail, Google Docs, Flickr, Picassa, Evernote, and Dropbox, to name just a few. With cloud computing, you can preserve and share your data as you wish. The benefits of putting your data “in the cloud” are that you:

• remain in control of your information—you can choose to make it all public, share pieces of it with select people, or keep it all private
• can easily find matching information from other people
• receive security through off-site back ups 

4. Genealogy data can be put in the cloud in either shared or proprietary formats.

Shared genealogy sites work on a collaborative basis, pooling your information with others’ to make one giant tree. Examples include Ancestry’s One World Tree, RootsWeb’s World Connect Project, We Relate, WikiTree, Geni.com, and others. Proprietary sites keep you in full control as webmaster. Examples are The Next Generation, WebTrees.net, and owner-created websites. Dick stressed that while the choice of format is up to you, it’s important to get the information up there.

5. Wikis encourage collaboration between researchers.

Dick defined a wiki as a website that allows anyone to add, delete, or revise content via a web browser. Using a wiki for genealogy has several benefits, including simplicity, hyperlinked text, and inclusion of photos and media files. Moreover, most of them are free. Dick personally uses a wiki, WeRelate, for his genealogy data. Wikis such as his Encyclopedia of Genealogy and the FamilySearch Research Wiki have the potential to be tremendous resources for information on a wide variety of topics.

6. Online everywhere is a reality today.

The term “computer” now includes smart phones, iPads, tablets, e-readers, and similar devices. Keeping your data in the cloud allows access from multiple devices no matter where you are. Applications specifically built for mobile devices are becoming increasingly common.

Dick’s presentation gave me a lot of food for thought. Right now I’m doing pretty well with the back-up situation, thanks to my true life adventure with hard drive failure. I use a hard drive back-up at my desk, take a back-up copy to another house periodically, and subscribe to Mozy. But my genealogy data is stored mainly on my computer, not in the cloud. This hasn’t been a big issue for me because I can access it easily wherever I am with Reunion for iPhone and iPad. I do have some data entered into my Ancestry Family Trees, and my first step may be to expand those. I like that I have the option to make my trees public or private. Still, I’d like to explore some of other sites Dick mentioned. I’ve already found the FamilySearch Research Wiki helpful.

While at the seminar, I found out the Ohio Genealogical Society Quarterly had printed my article, “Jacob Roush, An Eminent Man: Building on a Published History,” in its Summer 2011 edition. What a thrill to be published for the first time! I’m excited that this, too, will help preserve my work.

Where do you store your genealogy data? What do you like, or dislike, about the various formats for sharing and collaboration? Have you found something you think will work well for long-term preservation? I’d like to hear your thoughts. 


Related posts:
My True Life Adventure in Hard Drive Failure
Roush Family Ancestry
Jacob Roush, 1803 Ohio Deed

My True-Life Adventure in Hard Drive Failure

I couldn’t have written this article six months ago. My MacBook Pro had been humming along flawlessly for nearly three years, and I was complacent. But the warnings from other writers (especially Thomas MacEntee of Geneabloggers) to create a back-up system finally took root. Even though I hoped I’d never need it, I decided I couldn’t risk losing everything. Little did I know I was building a lifeboat that would save me just a few months later.

Because this week, my computer's hard drive died. I started getting the spinning beach ball that every Mac user dreads more and more often, and time and again it ground my system to a halt. I thought maybe I had contracted some sort of rare virus or malicious spyware. Frustrated, I made an appointment with the Genius Bar at my local Apple store on Friday. The technician did a diagnostic check and gave me the bad news: my hard drive was going down. The only option was to replace it. Was I backed up?

I swallowed hard and said yes. Fortunately, there was some good news as well. The part was in stock, and a kind soul in the back had offered to do the replacement overnight. I left the store with an empty case and a worried mind. Would the backup really work?

Here’s what I had in place:

1.    Reunion for iPhone: my genealogy files on Reunion were synced to my iPod Touch. Reverse syncing, from the mobile device to the computer, is also possible, so I knew my data was safe. Lesson: if your genealogy program of choice offers a mobile version, get it and use it.

2.    Mozy: over the summer I subscribed to the online backup service Mozy. Although the initial transfer of data was a lengthy process, for the most part it seems to have worked smoothly. So I figured if worse came to worse, I could retrieve my documents, photos, music, genealogy, and other files by requesting a restore disk. Lesson: a cloud backup gives great peace of mind for a reasonable price tag. Though I didn’t end up needing it, this is added insurance, especially in the event of a disaster that could destroy both the computer and a physical backup drive.

3.    Time Machine and a backup hard drive: just this fall, I finally upgraded to the Leopard operating system (Mac 10.5), which includes the backup program Time Machine. I purchased an Iomega eGo portable hard drive formatted for Mac. Time Machine transferred an exact copy of my entire system to the Iomega drive quickly and effortlessly. Since then, I’ve backed up every night before going to bed (you can also set it to run automatically). Lesson: a portable hard drive combined with good backup software is an unbeatable combination. Prices on these drives have come way down; mine cost $70. You literally can’t afford not to have one.

When I picked up my computer Saturday afternoon, the technician walked me through the steps I’d be taking. Turn the computer on. Select my country and language. When prompted whether I want to transfer from another source, select to transfer from Time Machine. Plug the Iomega drive into the computer. Select the drive, click continue, and wait for Time Machine to do its magic. Simple enough.

And it worked! In just about an hour’s time, my familiar desktop picture appeared onscreen, with all the little icons in their right places. Nothing was missing, nothing was changed. All my bookmarks, all my settings, and all my applications worked perfectly. After doing a little happy dance through the kitchen, I went out to eat with my family, celebrating my son’s return from a semester abroad (he was in transit at the same time my computer failed, and I have the extra gray hairs to show for it).

The moral of the story is: it can happen. Chances are, it will happen, and possibly at a most inconvenient time. If you don’t have a backup drive, put one at the top of your wish list, or just buy it yourself. Don’t wait to use it. My husband and kids are getting portable drives for Christmas. In the scheme of things, my experience with hard drive failure was relatively painless—a hiccup rather than a catastrophe. My holiday wish is for you to have the peace of mind of knowing that, should you find yourself in a similar situation, your experience will be as painless as possible, too.