11.1 Twentieth Century Research Joys and Challenges
“I wish I had realized that family history is a perishable commodity. It disappears with time, as memories fade, and as loved ones pass on. I wish I had known that the most important aspect of family history is preserving a record of the present for the future.”1 — Guy Black
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Think about what living memory research could be valuable for personal family research.
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Consider oral history’s importance and whether it applies to the research project.
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Learn to identify and assess privacy laws in key research locations.
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Use twentieth century sources like military records, city directories, social security files, and yearbooks to enhance your research project or discover new sources for immediate family members.
Even though there are new challenges, like privacy issues, that come with researching in the twentieth century, researchers can find adventure when digging into the new record types that evolved with innovative technologies and the changing times. Because of historical events and emerging ways and reasons to generate documents, there are more opportunities for research in the 1900s than at any other time.