r/familyhistory

Hi all!

I've been a professional digitizer for almost 15 years helping families collect and preserve their family histories and artifacts. The biggest question I always get is "How do I share this with my family?" — and I've never had a good answer. Flash drives get passed around, things end up on Facebook, but none of it tells a story or stays organized in any meaningful way.

So I built one: https://ourvault.family/ — a private, ad-free archive where families can store photos and videos organized into a timeline by date and event. You can tag uploads with dates and descriptions so everything sorts itself automatically, and you can create private share links for family members who just want to browse without logging in.

I'm opening it up to anyone who wants to try it. Free first month, 50% off for the first year with code FOUNDER50. I'm mostly just trying to cover storage costs while I figure out how people will use this and what they actually need. Happy to answer questions.

Has anyone successfully found adoption records in Mexico? 1860s-1870s would be when my grandfather was born, on a rancho in chihuahua

A few years ago I realized I knew almost nothing about my parents’ actual lives. Not the surface stuff where they grew up, what they did for work. I mean the real things. What they were afraid of. What they were proudest of. The moments that shaped them before I ever existed.

By the time I thought to ask, the window was closing.

That’s why I built Legacy a web app that gently guides someone through recording their life story, chapter by chapter, in their own words. They can type or record their voice. Their family can listen anytime, from anywhere.

The biggest difference from anything else out there Legacy preserves their actual voice, not just a transcript. That tape recording your grandfather made in 1987 that your family still treasures? That’s what I’m trying to help people create, but organized, beautiful, and accessible forever.

I’m looking for 5 people to try it completely free and tell me honestly what works and what doesn’t. No credit card, no pitch, no pressure.

If you’ve been meaning to do something like this for a parent or grandparent and just haven’t gotten around to it this is the nudge.

Drop a comment or DM me and I’ll get you set up.