Donating original letters, bibles & other documents?

Question

I have a number of SKINNER original letters (1800s), other documents, several family bibles, etc. that I'm considering donating to Midway Village Museum in Rockford, Winnebago, IL. The items all pertain to my ancestors who lived in Rockford. I'm keeping scanned copies of everything as I continue my SKINNER research. Neither of my "kids" are interested in the items. Any thoughts?

Answer 1

That is a great idea.   I too have letters that are more recent and I am thinking of donating them to the local historical society in Georgia in the county where my ancestor's lived.  The letters were written by people who lived in that county and were telling me about their recollections of the family history.  Write to the society first and let them know what your plan is.  If there is problem or if they have a better solution, they will let you know. At the present time I am scanning my father's letters to my mother during WWII.   One of our local high schools has started a WWII museum and has collected thousands of letters.

Answer 2

That sounds like a great idea. It gives others the benefit of your documents.  Obviously, as you say, you should keep scanned copies of everything.  

Here is a 2015 article by Dick Eastman about donating genealogical records. What you want is for the info to be available to as many people as possible in an easily retrievable format.  Ask the Midway Village Library if they have that capability. If not, you might want to think about giving the originals to the Allen County Library, which is only a State away and specialises in Mid-West materials, and giving the Midway Village Library a digital copy.  Many libraries and genealogical societies are having financial problems today, so you want to ensure that your items are well-preserved and curated.