The Genealogy Insider: Free Online Collections for Finding Family Photos

Free Online Collections for Finding Family Photos

If a picture is worth a thousand words, we’d say that photos of our ancestors are worth at least twice that. But what if you don’t have photos of your ancestors? Don’t give up hope—there are plenty of ways you can search for photos of your forebears. In this week's featured article, author Lisa Lisson listed 12 underused sources for tracking down your family photos. Here are a few lesser-known online resources you can search for free.

WorldCat

WorldCat can be useful for searching county histories, which are an often underutilized source for family historians. Local and or county histories can include photos of community members, often submitted by their descendants. With WorldCat, you can find county and regional histories at libraries worldwide.

Ancestry

Most of Ancestry’s photo resources are part of the Public Member Photos & Scanned Documents, which you will need a subscription to view. However, Ancestry also has free collections related to societies, organizations and employers that you can search for free. A few examples Lisson provides in her article are the Motion Picture Studio Directories collection for ancestors in the film industry, as well as US Navy Cruise Books, which are yearbook-style books put together by volunteers on board ship to commemorate a deployment.

New York Public Library Digital Collections

If your ancestors spent time in New York, as so many immigrant families did, the New York Public Library’s digital collections can be a valuable resource. Their Photography Collection includes over 500,000 photographs and it includes a variety of image types, from daguerreotypes to digital.

Learn how to preserve your photos with our Photo Rescue download!

Get the digital photography tools and advice you need to preserve and share your family history! This instant download provides detailed guidance on creating a visual archive of your family’s memories. You’ll learn the best ways to digitize and archive photos, with great tips for photo storage and organization.

• Queen Elizabeth celebrated her Platinum Jubilee this week, becoming the first British monarch with a 70 year reign. In this article the BBC shared a photo from each year of the Queen's life.

• Jessica M. Taylor, President of Legacy Tree Genealogists, Inc., launched a petition to reopen the National Archives research rooms.

The Best Libraries for Genealogy Research

In these library collections, family history speaks volumes. Check out the top public libraries for genealogists.

How to DNA Test a Parent Who’s Passed Away

We don’t always get a chance get a parent’s DNA tested before they pass. Make plans to collect a sample so their memory will live on through genealogy.

Family Tree on YouTube

The 1950 US Indian Reservation Schedule: The Text Message is a blog published by the Textual Records Division at the National Archives. They recently published a post about the 1950 Census P8 Indian Reservation Schedule, which will be will be made publicly available along with the rest of the census in April.  

Patriotic Peanut Butter: Here's a fun article from MentalFloss about how peanut butter was popularized during WWI.  

Figure Skating Facts: In honor of the Winter Olympics, here's a quick read from Smithsonian Magazine about the history of figure skating. 

That's all for now! Have a great week, genealogists.

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