Where to go with the genealogical estate?

According to a study by the Association for Computer Genealogy, published in the journal “Computergenealogie” No. 4/2011, 73% of the respondents have not yet made any arrangements regarding the whereabouts of their research results. This is alarming, because the research results, often compiled over decades, are in danger of being lost or even destroyed after the death of the researcher. Even a safely assumed safekeeping by the heirs is no guarantee, however, because they often do not know about the value of these documents beyond their own family history and for their part are not in contact with other researchers. The results thus eke out an unknown existence and are lost as a research source at least until they are rediscovered within the family.

What can the family researcher do to avoid this?

The ideal solution is to make a so-called bequest to a genealogical association or an archive. In this way, the researcher himself can regulate the scope and whereabouts during his lifetime and participate in the indexing and completion himself.
The second best solution is a bequest in the will to a genealogical society or an archive.
Both solutions in no way hinder the passing on within the family, because nowadays a complete copying of all records is not only feasible for everyone, but also makes sense in order to really ensure the preservation of valuable data in different places.
In the age of many digital data collections, this is particularly easy. On the other hand, however, it is precisely this data that is particularly at risk in the event of an unexplained inheritance.

For this reason, the Brandenburg Genealogical Society “Roter Adler” e.V. offers help and support not only for its members, but also for every family researcher in arranging the genealogical estate or an external backup. The archive of the BGG “Roter Adler” e.V. is the right place for your data, especially for research results that mainly concern the area of the historical Mark Brandenburg.

You can download the PDF file of an agreement on the permanent transfer of material and data to the BGG via the following link:

BGG data transfer form

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us via our contact form.