Personal funds of Central State Archive of the Samara Region as a source for the study of family memory

The article examines the source potential of personal funds of Central State Archive of the Samara Region when studying such a scientific problem as family memory. The author, based on archival materials and auto-documentary texts, analyzes the conditions under which interest in family history is formed and determines the motives for preserving the history of ancestors. The sources for the research were the funds of two families – the nobles Butorovs and the priest Preobrazhensky, who lived in the Samara province at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, who, in the era of socio-political cataclysms, managed not only to preserve their family history, but also to increase it and pass it on to subsequent generations. Methods of the scientific direction «memory studies» make it possible to analyze the traumatic experience of the authors of ego-documents, which contributed to the Preobrazhenskys and Butorovs turning to studying the past of their family, writing memoirs and preserving family memory. The author comes to the conclusion that interest in the history of a family does not depend on social origin, but is formed by family traditions – attitude to reading, education and creative pursuits. In addition, through genealogical research, the Preobrazhenskys and Butorovs sought to preserve the continuity of generations in their families and find spiritual support at a turning point in life.