Here are a few suggested reads for this post-Thanksgiving weekend . . .
1. Genelogists are emersed in the discovery and documentation of the existence of ancestors and other family members. When that dicovery and documentation is about one's own family history, then it is also very much about discovering the history behind one's own existence. This week there was an utterly amazing and mindblowing photo display by BuzzFeed titled, "26 Pictures That Will Make You Re-Evaluate Your Entire Existence." You can view the photos here and it is recommended you view the photos on your computer rather than your phone.
2. Blogger Heather Rojo of Nutfield Genealogy posted this week about the 2019 New Hampshire Thanksgiving Proclamation and Turkey Pardon. Heather is a descendant of multiple Mayflower passengers (see her post of November 27th here), but she is also the current and 38th Governor of the New Hampshire Society of Mayflower Descendants (NHSMD). Governor Rojo and NH Governor Christopher Sununu can be seen with NHSMD members at the ceremony at the first link above.
3. Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings blog posted this week about using Find-A-Grave for finding burial records. To learn more you can read Randy's post here.
4. The National Geographic Genographic Project is coming to an end after 15 years. Anyne who bought a test kit to particiapte in the project is under a deadline to act and have their data saved. Read more about the project end date and getting your data saved by reading The Legal Genealogist's post on the subject here.
5. Janice Brown of Cow Hampshire blog remembers Thanksgiving of 1919 -- one hundred years ago tomorrow -- with stories and photographs of Thanksgiving at the end of WWI. Read her post and see the photographs here.
6. Marian Wood of Climbing My Family Tree blog posted on a subject I very much agree with her about -- family photographs being taken from a public tree or public blog for purposes of adding to a family tree/genealogy. Read Marian's post, "Steal My Family Photos -- Please" here.
I am quite fortunate to have many old photographs of ancestors and relatives that were given to me for family history purposes. Some go back to the 19th century and the earliest days of photography. The photographers are rarely known and quite probably have no copyright issues at this point. I believe that if someone is part of the larger, extended family to which someone in the photograph belongs, then the person is every much a part of their genealogy as mine and they should be able to see what the ancestor/relative looked like. I do not understand at all those who have been lucky enough to inherit an original photo of a long-gone ancestor or relative and now seek to prevent others who are descended from or related to the person from using the photo. It is not like such people have any copyright in something they did not create. And by what right do they deny another descendant or relative the opportunity to see and use the likeness of their mutual family member? However, there is just one very small distinction in my position from that of Marian. I have these old photos only because my grandmothers (in most cases) preserved them and made it possible for them to be passed on to me. For this reason, and to honor my grandmothers' desires and efforts, I will ask anyone who asks my permission to use the photos to please give credit to my grandmother (who I name) for the fact that the photograph was preserved and even exists today for others to see and use.
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Copyright 2019, John D. Tew
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Thanks for mentioning my blog post about the Thanksgiving Proclamation
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