Obtaining Family Photographs of Ancestors From Bangor University

Finding historical photos is easier now than ever. Some of the same websites you've searched for genealogy information likewise have databases of old photos contributed past members—some of whom may be your distant cousins. Local historical societies, land archives and like organizations, knowing the power of pictures to draw u.s.a. in, are placing digitized historical photos and illustrations in online collections. And photo-sharing sites encourage folks to post photos of all ages.

Rediscovering these pictorial pieces of family history is all about knowing where to look and how to search. Successful searches start with grooming, so compile a list of keywords based on your family unit history. Think about names of streets, businesses, churches, schools, clubs, military units, clearing ships and local events. Then utilise those words to try your luck on the sites described here.

Tip: Google gives you a powerful photo search tool in Google Image Search. Type your search terms as you lot would for any spider web search, and Google will find images from web pages that incorporate those terms.

Record information well-nigh your family photos and keep rail of your collection.

1. Beginnings.com

It'due south a rare genealogist who hasn't spent at least a little fourth dimension on Ancestry.com, simply the depth of the site'due south image collections might surprise y'all. Most are in the Public Member Photos & Scanned Documents database of photos that members accept attached to their family trees. You'll too find photograph-heavy collections such as US School Yearbooks; Professional Baseball Players, 1876–2004; ship images; and historical postcards (10 collections, named past country or region, such as U.s.a., Canadian, Germany & Republic of austria, etc.). You need to be a subscriber to view most pictures, or visit a public library or FamilySearch Center that offers Ancestry Library Edition.

Start your search for other members' photos past selecting Search All Records from the Search dropdown card. Restrict your results to photographs by checking the Photos & Maps box at the lesser of the page. Then type in a proper name, place (commencement typing and and then select from the autofill options in the pulldown menu), and/or other information. Enter schools, clubs, churches, and similar names from your keyword list into the Keyword box.

In one case you find a friction match, click to see the full description. This varies depending what the submitter added, and may give names of those pictured and when it was taken. Then on the right under In This Tree, click the proper name to come across the profile page of the person to whom the image is fastened. From in that location, click Media Gallery for more images (or sound and video). At the top of the page, click the name of the tree to see the whole tree, or the tree owner'southward proper name to contact him or her.

Other photograph collections might be categorized with historical records or stories. Find these by searching the Card Catalog (located under the Search menu) for the keyword photos or pictures, and click to run a search. In your search results, look to the left for filters yous tin can use to narrow your results to those from particular collections.

ii. AncientFaces

This free old-photograph sharing site offers 2 ways to search the millions of images users have uploaded. Some are unidentified, posted with the promise another searcher will recognize the face. Others are in members' family albums.

In addition to photos, the site offers automatically generated pages with surname information and links to records on other genealogy sites, which tin can be frustrating if you just want photos. Try typing a surname into the search box at the height of the folio and selecting "Photos" from the dropdown menu to the right.

This website also lets y'all cull a century or decade, topic, event, military term or location. If you find a match for your search, you tin can "like" it by selecting the heart icon, comment on information technology or share information technology on social media.

3. DeadFred

This is one of the largest and oldest photograph reunion sites, established to identify mystery photos and reconnect pictures with their families. Starting on the home folio, y'all can search the site several ways: Use Quick Search by entering just the surname in the box. Or click a letter nether Surname Search to troll for your surname and variants.

Select the Detailed Search link to search with parameters such as first and concluding name, maiden proper name, date range, photographer, county and town. Considering families in pocket-size towns often visited the aforementioned studio over time, searching with just a boondocks may be a good option. It'due south also a great fashion to locate extended family members who might have a different surname.

4. Denver Public Library

If y'all have relatives who settled in the Aureate State or passed through on the fashion Westward, accept this easy-to-utilize site for a examination drive. Utilize the search box on the habitation folio for simple keyword searches, simply be enlightened that if you enter two keywords, y'all'll receive results based on hits for either of those words. Click the Advanced Search link at the top of the page for a menu that lets you discover "all of the words" (in any order) or an "exact phrase" anywhere in a photo's information, or just in the title, bailiwick, clarification or elsewhere. Yous as well tin browse collections such as Denver Buildings, African-Americans or Mining.

v. Digital Public Library of America

This search portal helps you access digital materials from America's libraries, archives and museums—including many named hither—from one place. The simplest style to find pictures is to type your search term into the box on the dwelling house folio, and then on the left side of your results page, look under By Format and click image. Boosted filters let you narrow results by appointment range, language, field of study and more.

Click on the title of a matching image to run across details about information technology, including the establishment that contributed the epitome and the subjects it'south been assigned (click on a subject for additional images assigned the same discipline). Select View Object underneath the epitome to visit the image's catalog page on the contributing institution's website, where you lot'll be able to view a larger version and download it, if that's an selection.

6. FamilySearch

Best known for its costless historical records, FamilySearch.org as well has an enormous database of members' family photos, which gets bigger by the minute. To find it, look under Memories on the home page and click Find. Then select Photos and type a name.

Click a matching image for a larger view and details the submitter provided. To the right of the image, icons with numbers indicate whether the picture has tagged faces (similar to Facebook), is part of an album, or is accompanied by stories. Beneath the photo, view comments from others and see the number of others who've viewed it.

Because you tin can't click through to profiles in the FamilySearch Family unit Tree, it can exist hard to tell if a photo shows your relative. If the photograph is in an anthology, you lot can get clues course the other pictures past clicking the anthology icon, then the proper noun of the album. Yous besides could create a free FamilySearch account (or sign in if you already accept one) and search the Family unit Tree for the names of the people in photos you found.

vii. Flickr

This photo backup and sharing site has a massive library of old and new photos users have uploaded. Each user is allowed 1TB of free storage, adding up to a big chance to discover a family history-related picture. In addition to individuals, many museums and archives use Flickr as a vehicle to display their digital collections. That includes the Douglas County (Kan.) History Research Center, and the Center for Jewish History in New York Urban center.

Use the search box at the upper to right to search all of Flickr for a term, such every bit Cincinnati History. On the results screen, a toolbar above the images lets y'all sort results past relevant (the default), recent or interesting; and submitter (people or groups, good for homing in on photos from athenaeum).

Click an paradigm to read whatever information the submitter added, and see a link to the anthology the prototype is in (which may lead you to similar photos). From there, you as well can click on an image tag to see other pictures with the same tag, or on the submitter's name to see his or her other photos. To search this submitter's photos, begin typing in the search box and, when a dropdown bill of fare appears, opt for just that person's photos.

On a Flickr abode page, y'all'll see all the photos composite together into a "photostream." Click Albums (beneath the system'southward name) to view photos in categories.

If you're a Flickr member, yous can comment on an paradigm to assist identify it, or download the image if the submitter allows. You also could back up and share your own photos here.

8. Library of Congress

The Library of Congress (LOC) has a vast collection of images from news sources, government agencies, donated family or business collections, and other repositories. Begin past using the dropdown menu on the dwelling page to choose Photos, Prints and Drawings, then blazon your search terms in the box and hit Get. On the left, filters let you narrow your results by Dates (choose a century, so optionally, a decade), Sites and Collections (digital albums the epitome is part of, such as American Memory), Subjects and more. At the top, utilise the View dropdown card to view the images in a list, gallery (our favorite for fast viewing of results), grid or slideshow.

Click on a thumbnail epitome for a description and larger versions, if available. A note that the prototype is available for viewing at the LOC in Washington, DC, means in that location's no larger version online. On the About this Item folio, scroll downwardly to the cataloging data to see any subject headings listed and collections the paradigm is part of. Endeavour clicking on a field of study to see other images with that field of study.

The breadth of the LOC'south collection makes it a great site to search for the keywords on your list. Town names might turn upwards panoramic views, building photos from the Celebrated American Buildings Survey, WPA images from the Cracking Depression and more. Type the Civil War boxing your ancestor took function in to see the destruction of the commencement war widely captured on photographic camera. The proper noun of a school could turn up class portraits. Although you're less probable to find portraits of folks who weren't well-known, that'southward worth a shot, too. You lot'll find images from overseas here likewise.

Tip: Don't overlook old newspapers equally another potential source of ancestor photos. A graduation annunciation, contour article or obituary might have included a picture.

9. Mass. Memories Roadshow

Each year, the staff of this photograph "roadshow" focuses on several Massachusetts communities in its efforts to digitize locals' family photos. Each participant brings three photos to be digitized at a Roadshow event and has the opportunity to share the stories behind their photos on video. This results in a mix of one-time and gimmicky images that represents everyday individuals—not just the famous. Y'all might locate a picture of an ancestor from 1860 or a living relative from 1960.

Roadshow images are part of the Open up Archives project at the University of Massachusetts Boston (itself a good source of photos from the Bay State). To search image descriptions, blazon your keyword (such every bit Irish) at the top of the Mass. Memories Roadshow collection home page. You can utilize filters on the left to narrow results by location (such equally Boston, Ireland, Suffolk County), Roadshow proper noun (the place where the event occurred) or decade (a good way to ferret out old images).

Alternately, select the community where your family unit lived from the Roadshow list on the home page, then either peruse the images or type a proper name in the search box at the top. The advanced search lets you lot enter a consummate phrase (such every bit a total name) or search different parts of photograph descriptions.

ten. MyHeritage

The family photo database on MyHeritage.com holds nearly 80 million images contributed by members. This site's global member base means yous may discover photos posted by distant cousins around the world. Coil down to search by first and last name and keyword (such as a place). The site also offers dissever fields for a appointment and identify in this search screen.

Your results page will display thumbnail images with basic information from the field of study'south person's MyHeritage contour. Yous'll also run into the name of the tree the person is in, and the user proper name of the tree owner. To see a larger image and more information about the person, also as to view the tree he or she is function of, you'll need a MyHeritage Information subscription (which also gives you lot access to the site'south historical records). You also can utilise the site gratuitous at many FamilySearch Centers, or at libraries that offer MyHeritage Library Edition.

If yous have a family tree on MyHeritage, the site will automatically suggest photos and other records that match people in your tree. Either mode, when you observe an image of your antecedent that someone else has uploaded, try to contact the person through the site—you may have discovered a cousin.

11. National Athenaeum

Every bit the record-keeper for federal agencies, the National Athenaeum and Records Administration (NARA) has photographs created by other government agencies. The varied collection includes pictures of military enlistees, forts and bases; images of the W taken every bit function of geological surveys; images documenting Bureau of Indian Affairs programs; WPA photos and more. Unfortunately, NARA's entire photo drove isn't online, but your search also could turn upwards online finding aids for collections of offline images.

In that location's a learning curve to searching this site. Start by clicking Advanced Search and typing your search terms into the Search box. As your Data Source, select Archival Descriptions with Digital Objects to render but digitized materials, and add Archival Descriptions and Athenaeum.gov to also notice finding aids and web pages that may pb you to offline images.

On your search results screen, look to the left for filters to narrow your results. Click Photographs and other Graphic Materials to filter out digitized textual records (you may want to take a look at those after, though). Other filters permit you narrow results by engagement, blazon of material, location of the physical copy, and more. Yous can view upwards to 100 results per folio using the dropdown card at the acme right.

Click on a search upshot for a larger view and an option to download it. If you're registered as i of NARA's Citizen Archivists, yous can log in and add a tag.

12. New York Public Library Digital Gallery

The Big Apple's library has hit a home run with this convenient site, which gives you access to collections of digitized photos as diverse every bit Photographic views of New York City, 1870s-1970s; Series of Photographic Documents of Social Conditions, 1905-1939; Farm Security Administration Collection; and more.

On the home page, type a keyword to begin your search. In the filters to the left of your results, look under Genres and choose Photographs to come across only photos. Other filters let you narrow results by topic, names (of people or organizations associated with the photograph), drove the photo is part of, identify where the movie was taken, and more than. Yous can select multiple filters; click the X by a filter to remove information technology.

Click on an image in your search results to for a larger epitome and boosted information almost information technology. One absurd feature hither lets you view similar images book-manner, with full screen pictures and the ability to flip the "pages."

13. Ohio Retention

A collaboration between the Ohio History Connectedness (formerly the Ohio Historical Society) and the Ohio State Library, this site has a statewide focus. Digitized materials here come from 360 organizations and correspond all 88 counties, so odds are adept you'll detect a piece of your history. Employ the Restrict To dropdown menu to select Photographs, and so blazon your search terms into the box. To the left of your search results, you can narrow the matches by format (picture, black and white image, etc.), field of study, or creator.

One time you discover a photo related to your family history, click to view the prototype total screen. Roll downwardly for options to share images, tag them and add together comments.

Don't despair if your ancestors don't hail from Ohio. Other states from Arizona to Florida have similar projects. To find them, visit your ancestral country archives or run a Google search on the state proper name and memory or digital history.

Copyright Considerations for Using Online Images

Information technology's exciting to find an online photo of your ancestor or his house, but intermission before you drag information technology to your desktop or right-click to copy it. How you're permitted to use it depends when the image was taken, who took it, and what repository now owns the physical image.

Most photos taken before 1923 are in the public domain, although a library or museum may own the original and license its utilize. When searching a repository'southward image collection, look for information virtually usage or rights and reproductions. For example, many institutions let y'all to download an image for research or personal utilize (such as to go on in your genealogy files or include in a family unit album), simply require a licensing fee for publishing it (such every bit in a family history book or on a website). If you're in incertitude, write to the institution for clarification. Ever credit the source of the image, even if there are no usage restrictions.

Images taken past regime agencies, such as the Subcontract Security Administration, are generally OK to use as you see fit; cheque the online image details for confirmation.

Practice courtesy and circumspection when you lot notice an ancestral prototype someone has fastened to his or her online family tree. Before you use the image in a book, on your blog or website, or elsewhere, contact the submitter for permission. Thank the person and credit him equally the source. But remember that the submitter may accept gotten the photograph somewhere else, possibly without regard for its source or copyright condition. Endeavor to find out where it came from, and modify your plans to use information technology if necessary.

For more information on copyright and online photos, see the nautical chart on the Cornell University website and study the Copyright category of the Legal Genealogist blog by Judy M. Russell.

From the March/Apr 2015 Family unit Tree Magazine.

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Source: https://www.familytreemagazine.com/photos/websites-for-old-family-photos/

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