We all know the value of finding obscure records that may help us fill out our family trees. But records are lost every year because of five threats to historical records. FamilySearch is saving memories, historical records, that may be the only remaining witness to an individual’s existence. These irreplaceable documents include birth, christening, marriage, death, immigration, military, legal and census records to name a few. What are those threats that will destroy records?

Perhaps the greatest threat to records are poor archival storage conditions. Records are often stored haphazardly with no consideration to humidity, heat/cold, sunlight, and insects. All of these conditions can cause mold, mildew, and insect infestation. Without proper storage conditions, records are likely to become homes to termites and other insects which can destroy those records.

Another menace to records is political instability. When a nation continues to experience political turmoil, rioters will torch government buildings and other buildings that may store records. Even if the records are not burned, smoke damage can still destroy them.

Even if these two conditions don’t exist, records can still be lost if the country schedules record destruction. Records in the National Archives of Ghana in Africa are purposely destroyed every decade. Census records are used for military conscription. After a decade the records are destroyed because the information has been gleaned and doesn’t serve any other purpose, including genealogical.

Similar practices occurred in the British India records. After taking a nominal census (a census that names every individual in the household), they destroyed the records every decade. Surrounding countries also followed suit. Once India gained its independence, it continued this practice.

One crucial threat is the death of oral genealogical informants. Genealogical information is not only stored in archives but also in the memories of individuals. In African tribes it is common for an elder in the village to be able to recite five generations or more from memory. As these villages lose population and the youth move to the cities, there is not always someone who can replace the oral genealogists. Trying to record these memories is part of the work of FamilySearch.

The last threat to records is the substantial risk of natural disaster. Floods, hurricanes, typhoons, fires, earthquakes, etc., are the kinds of natural disasters which compromise or completely ruin historical and genealogical records. Consider the fire which destroyed the 1890 U.S. census records. That gap between 1880 and 1900 is often the place where family makeup breaks down.

FamilySearch continues to locate and film records all over the world. Over 40 million digital images of historical records are captured each year with up to 330 cameras in about 50 countries around the world. Those digital images contain 3 to 4 billion names of individuals which are indexed by online volunteers and will eventually make their way into FamilySearch’s online database of 6 billion searchable names.      –Source: FamilySearch blogpost, 16 August 2018