Old documents - what to do?

[ellie1789]

Hi there,

I stopped my mother throwing away some old documents when her stepfather died. He was the last in his family for a few generations. As the documents are of no relation to me, I’d like to send them somewhere that they’re more appreciated. They range in type - some probates from the 1830s, mortgage documents from the 1900s, planning documents etc. I’m more wanting to preserve the probates as they’re all original with the wax stamps etc. Would I be best taking them to an archive centre? Trouble is they cover various places in the Midlands and Worcestershire. I wish I had more time to research the individuals and find closer relatives, but I think the archives may make them more accessible to others. They however might not be interested. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you in advance

[CaroleW]

Have you checked the Surname Interests Board to see if any other RC member is researching the same family?  Scroll to bottom of page & link is under TOOLS

If you have Ancestry access - you could check if anybody has a Tree for the people involved and may appreciate having the docs

[MollyC]

Ask Worcestershire or Warwickshire Archives for advice.

Archives are often held as collections which do not relate to a single archive authority, but it is the entity of the collection which is important.  If placed in a public archive they are available to anyone who may be interested, rather than having an uncertain long term future in the possession of one person.

[ellie1789]

That’s what I thought. I’ll message them to see if they’re interested otherwise I’ll try to send them to a distant relative I find online. I don’t have much time for research anymore which makes it hard. The main surname is quite common - Taylor