Use My Headstone Photographs, Please!

I would like to suggest to those who are contributors to the website, Find A Grave, to open their profile and add a short sentence or two giving users permission to use, save, or copy photographs of headstones.  I know some of you will shout, No!, and will tell me that those photographs belong to you and how it was you who took the time to walk in the heat or cold through tall grass warding off snakes, bugs, and who knows what else to take that picture, but I want you to think about why sites like Find A Grave are so popular and how they embody the spirit of generosity that genealogists have come to rely on and enjoy.  

I am a user and contributor on the Find A Grave website.  The website has helped me find many an ancestor and I am very grateful for all those souls who take the time to walk through the cemeteries and create the memorials that I will likely never be able to see in person.  In turn, when I have a death certificate or an obituary for an ancestor, if a memorial has not already been created, I take the time to post the information in hopes that it helps someone out there who might be looking for that particular gravesite and person.  When my hunt for ancestors takes me to a cemetery, I, like countless others, take the photos, create the memorials, and feel good that, maybe by doing so, I helped someone that day.

I welcome you the use of my headstone photographs.  I do not feel they are the creative, artistic photographs that the copyright laws intend to protect. I did not ask the headstone to pose in a stylistic manner nor did I wait for just the perfect sunset or sunrise before I snapped the picture.  That headstone is not my personal property.  In fact, I am very sure, that if you were to take a photo of the same headstone, it would look very much, if not exactly, like my photograph.  

There are those on Find A Grave who, in their profile, emphatically state that they do not appreciate others using their photographs and demand that they not be copied, saved, or used.  I guess that is their privilege and right to do so, but it saddens me that those who are so willing to share and help others are unable to have a simple photograph that they themselves would be able to replicate if only they could get to that cemetery.  So I ask you, if you contribute photographs to Find A Grave, please think about what I have suggested.  Edit your profile with a short sentence giving permission that will allow others to use your pictures of those headstones that you post.  There are so many people who will thank you! 

A Deeper Look At Some Census Data

I was looking at census data this morning from the 1880 United States Census of Bethel Precinct in Bath County, Kentucky.  The family that I was looking at is the George W. Vice family who are distant ancestors in my husband's family tree.  After noting all the usual facts that a census page can give, looking deeper and with more thought, this particular family entry gave me more.

On the surface of this entry I find George W, age forty-three and his wife, Kate, as she is enumerated, thirty six years old.  George cannot write, but I guess he can read since that column was left empty of a slash mark.  They have five children, three sons, ages seventeen, eleven, and eight and are all listed as laborers.  The two daughters are fourteen and six.  The older children did not attend school nor can they read or write.  Everyone in the family was born in Kentucky as were the parents of George and Kate.

But looking deeper, I also find that because of a very detail oriented enumerator, Charley has a cut on his foot which must have left him unable to work on the day the census was taken.  In addition ot Charley's disability, this very serious enumerator also noted that Kate had an ovarian tumor.  I'm quite curious as to how that information was obtained, and my imagination runs with the possible questions that were asked to get it!  The tumor must not have been malignant because Kate lives for another twenty one years!  I just can't see a woman in 1880 discussing this feminine affliction with a census taker!

The other thing that I wonder about with this census entry is the attitudes of the family towards women.  Of the vast number of census entries that I have looked at, the majority of them list the children in the order of their birth.  Although Ann is the second born child in this family, she is not listed as such.  Her name, along with her sister Rebecca, is written below that of her brothers who are listed in the order of their age.  The children of other families in this enumeration district are listed in the order of their age so it wasn't the decision of the enumerator.  Is it that daughters were seen as less important than their male siblings?  Of course, this I will never know, but taking a deeper look at this family does give me cause to see them as more than just dates and facts about occupation and birth location.  Have you ever found something interesting by looking deeper than the facts in census data?

Weather and Family History

Ripley, Ohio
 January 1937

This week marks the 75th anniversary of the horrific 1937 Ohio River flood.  Of my ancestors who were living at that time, a great majority resided in the small river town of Ripley, Ohio.  That January, Ripley's streets became waterways and the lives of its citizens were thrown into chaos as they watched their homes and businesses fill with cold, muddy river water.

As I thought about what they must have endured, I began to realize that this could and should be another avenue of research as I attempt to learn more about my ancestors.  After all, my goal is to come to know them as people and not just as dates from a census or vital record.  Just think about how the weather affects the way we live our lives!  Many in my family were farmers.  What a huge part of their lives the weather must have been!  Did weather conditions prompt a move from one place to the other?  Did my German ancestors choose southern Ohio because the weather reminded them of home?  With this in mind, I started looking for ways to discover these weather statistics and found some interesting places on the Internet to begin.  I hope they can help you!

Severe Weather in Ohio  -  This site has photos and videos!  There is a wonderful news reel of the 1937 flood that I particularly found very interesting!  It even has the dramatic, old-timey music as a background.  Close your eyes and pretend you are your grandmother at the movies!  Well, don't close your eyes for too long or you will miss the video!

The Old Farmer's Almanac Weather History -  You will need to change the search location as my link will give you the weather history for Cincinnati in 1977 which is when I was pregnant with my daughter and I lived through what must have been the coldest and snowiest winter that this mostly southern raised Army brat has ever experienced or will ever wish to experience!

Texas Weather: Pre-1880 - This web site is from the Office of the Texas State Climatologist and has links to temperature highs and lows and precipitation totals for various locations of pre- 1880 military forts in Texas.  Hurricanes and droughts are also covered here.

A History of Significant Weather Events in Southern California -  Well, the title really does say it all!

Another source for weather history is old newspapers.  My favorite go-to sites are Chronicling America which is a free site, Newspaper Archive, and GenealogyBank which are subscription based.

Also try putting a location and "weather history" (don't forget the quotation marks to search for the phrase instead of the two separate words!) in a Google or other search engine.  Adding a specific year also yielded me some good results.

I am excited to think that maybe researching the weather along with my family history might help me discover how my ancestors lived and might add a bit of "flesh" to the dates.  I do know that learning about the 1937 Ohio River flood has given me some respect for just how strong my family members must have been to experience it, clean up after it, and continue to live in that town where they knew the Ohio River would, eventually, once again come lapping at their doorstep.

Shades of the Departed - Occupations

Occupations. Jobs. Careers. Our work.  Whatever you want to call it, our calling in life often defines who we are.  Hopefully it is more than just a way to bring home the bacon.  Hopefully, even with the bad days, our work is an avenue from which we can find happiness and satisfaction.  Occupations have always been an important part of life.  Even the census, from 1850 on, asked for the occupation of each citizen.  Like me, you probably have hundreds of different occupations on your family tree.  I hope like me, you have photos of some of those family members either actually working at or posing in front of their place of employment.  Whether tailors, barbers, police, or farmers, each photo not only gives clues to the personality and life of the worker but helps with the understanding of the times in which he or she lived.  

The July/August issue of Shades of the Departed focusses on occupations.  In it, you will find photos of barbers, police, nurses, and other types of workers that have made up our economy.   You will also learn how to repair damaged photos so that they look new again and how to creatively use your photos in heritage scrapbook pages.  I found the article on using my new IPad for research while traveling to be extremely interesting and timely.

Be sure to check this issue out as well as any you might have missed along the way.  They are all right

here at Shades of the Departed.