I’m done with genealogy.
How do I pass my work on to another family member?

You’ve spent years, if not decades, researching your family history. It’s your life’s work! And now, for whatever reason, you’re close to being done. However, you would like your research to live on - or better yet, have a family member pick up where you left off and continue with your research.

You may find one or more suitable options below...

Create a digital package of your research.

A digital package could be a USB thumb drive or an SD Card. A CD or DVD could also be used - however, they are quickly becoming obsolete.

The contents of the digital package should contain some or all of the following...

  • a recent backup of your Reunion family file
  • a folder containing all original media files

    Note: These first two items can be created in one step in Reunion by choosing File > Export > Reunion Family File and selecting "All media" and checking the "Copy media files to a new folder" option.
  • a recent GEDCOM export of your Reunion family file
  • a recent GEDZIP export (including media) of your Reunion family file
  • PDF versions of any chart files that you may have
    (PDF charts can be viewed on any device or printed.)
  • PDFs of any book projects created by Reunion
    (PDF books can be viewed on any device or printed.)
  • a complete web project of your family file
    (This can be viewed in any web browser and/or published on the web.)
  • an overview in text or RTF format explaining the contents of this package.
    (Provide the recipient with a brief but clear explanation of the included files.)

The recipient of this package will have many options for continuing your research, including resuming the use of your family file in Reunion, importing a GEDCOM file into any genealogical application, viewing, printing and publishing charts, books and web pages.

Print a book.

Reunion can create a PDF book of your research. The format of the book will vary depending on the focus of your research, so pick a format that will include the largest section of your research, probably Register or Family History.

Create multiple books if needed - but not too many.

Although a PDF book is nice because it can be viewed on any computer or mobile device - a PDF book can also be printed in small quantities and gifted to interested family members. The book may spend most of its time on a shelf or in a box, but years later it may find itself in the hands of someone interested in reading or better yet continuing with your research.

Create some charts.

Reunion can create large beautiful charts.

These charts are always crowd pleasers as people try to find themselves and their relatives on the charts. You can create a few charts and have them printed and distribute them to interested relatives and the next family reunion.

Most printers, including Heartland Family Graphics, will supply you will tubes to safely transport and store the charts.

Upload a web project.

Reunion can create a web project of your family file. A web project can include everyone in your family file, media, sources and links to charts and other files.

Although a web project can be viewed locally on any device without being published to a website (as mentioned above), the preferred way to share a web project is on a website. Creating a website does require some effort and some kind of a hosting service would need to be paid for, usually on a yearly basis.

ReunionFamilyCloud is a website hosting specifically for Reunion users.

Upload your work to Ancestry or Family Search.

Another way to keep your research public ‘indefinitely’ is to upload it as ‘public’ to one of the big online databases like Ancestry or FamilySearch.

The benefit is that even after your account expires, your information remains available to the public. The drawback is that you would not have the control over your data that you would have if you had hosted the website yourself.

Gift your Mac to an interested family member.

If you have one particular family member that stands out as a likely candidate to resume your research, you might consider gifting your Mac (containing all of your research) to that person. Be sure to delete any your personal information from the Mac before you hand it over and also make sure that the recipient has any of the necessary passwords to access the computer and any research files.

Most likely you will be transferring ownership of Reunion to your family member, please contact us and we can change the name and email address for the Reunion license.

Some final thoughts.
  • If you have old pictures, label them now!
    Old pictures are a treasure and can really bring the research to life - however, unidentified they are of little value to anyone.
  • Keep it simple. Don't overwhelm and discourage a budding genealogist with too much information.
  • Allow time for the transition to take place. Just because you’re now ready to hand your work over does not mean that someone else is ready to take it on right now.
    Years may pass before someone is ready to pickup where you left off.