Friday Fotos (No. 1, January 25, 2013)

Like Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings, I am constitutionally incapable of being wordless – so "Wordless Wednesday" as a prompt and vehicle to post photographs does not quite work for me.  As an alternative, I have decided to try to institute here at The Prism what I will call “Friday Fotos.”  It sometimes seems that Fridays are reserved for crisis mode at my office and posting on Fridays can therefore be difficult -- so Fridays seem perfect for simply selecting a photograph from my archive and posting it with a brief explanation.

As I commence today what I hope will be a regular “Friday Fotos” series, a quick word about my views on posting photographs is in order.

I have seen much discussion in blogs and other places on the subject of the courtesy, etiquette and even legal boundaries regarding posting of photographs – particularly the use of posted photographs via re-posting elsewhere.  Since I view posting and re-posting of photographs as an important means of passing photographs on to other generations and distant family members, I also see it as an important way of preserving the images.  I possess many photographs that are approaching 100 or more years old.  I certainly did not take the photographs and the studios and photographers who did create them are long gone -- and in many cases unknown.  I fail to see how anyone possessing an original family photograph that he or she did not take, has some exclusive right to the image in the photograph.  Are not great, great grandchildren just as entitled to the image of one of their ancestors as the person who was lucky enough to have inherited the actual photo?  I think so!

For me, so long as the image is not being used to make money in any way, the sharing and re-posting of an old family photograph is an important way of dispersing and preserving the images of ancestors.   And that then leaves the matter of courtesy and etiquette.  I think the BEST way to thank the person who made an otherwise unknown or long lost image of an ancestor available is to credit him or her as the source whenever the image is used or re-posted.  For example, in 2010 I had a copy made of the photograph I have from my maternal grandmother, Ruth Eaton Cooke, who was Salutatorian of the North Attleboro [Massachusetts] High School Class of 1915.  The senior class took a trip to Washington, DC in the spring of 1915 and had a photograph of members of the class taken in front of Mt. Vernon.  My grandmother at some point identified those in the photograph by writing their names on the back of the original photograph.  I contacted the new North Attleboro High School and donated a copy to the school’s alumni association.  The only thing I requested was that my late grandmother be credited as the source of the photograph and the identification of those pictured.  You can see the link to the photograph and the credit here (the fourth bullet under “Association News”).  http://www.nahsalumni.org/Newsletters/e-news-Nov07.cfm

Here are the first Friday Fotos . . .

Anton Hasselbaum (1857 - 1916)

Anton Hasselbaum is the father of my maternal grandmother, Huldah Antonia (Hasselbaum) Tew.  My great grandfather was born in 1857 in Germany and died on Valentine’s Day 1916 in Providence, Rhode Island.  He was a well-known and successful  wholesale dealer and bottler of “Strictly Pure Hop and Malt and Export Lagers.  ALE, PORTER, MALT EXTRACT, Etc.”  His business was located at 260 Dexter Street in Providence.

Anton Hasslebaum's business card (1914)

A. Hasselbaum Co. advertisement from the
1908 Providence, Rhode Island Business Directory

My lineage from Anton Hasselbaum . . .

Generation 1:    Anton Hasselbaum m. Maria Johanna Richter

Generation 2:    Huldah Antonia Hasselbaum m. Arnold George Tew

                         (my grandparents)

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Copyright 2013, John D. Tew

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