Skip to main content

Monday Mention: Digital Public Library of America

Photo: A screenshot of the homepage for the Digital Public Library of America
As I mentioned in a previous post, last week I attended RootsTech, a major genealogical conference. I spent my days absorbing new information, and learning about available resources to help me learn more about my ancestors. I thought I'd share one of those resources with you today. 

The Digital Public Library of America  holds an enormous collection of "images, texts, videos, and sounds from across the United States," according to their home page. I started typing in surnames of my ancestors, and it didn't take long before I found something interesting. When I typed in "Telfer," one of the results that came up was labeled, "Fowler and Telfer families at Fowler's Prairie, Juneau County, 1898." It is an old photo of a large family gathering, but even better, it has a list of names of the people in the photo!  I know that my Telfer line was living in Juneau county, Wisconsin, at that time period, and I recognize some of the names listed. I will need to do a bit more digging, as the George Telfer in the photo might not be my direct ancestor, but a cousin of his. In any case, I'm fairly certain the people in the photo tie in somehow.

Photo: Screen shot of the photo result I obtained when searching "Telfer" 
Now, unfortunately, I am receiving an error message when I click the "view full item" button, but I can see from the DPLA site which library holds the photo, so I can contact that library to see about obtaining a copy. 

If you decide to search for your ancestors on the DPLA site, be aware that you can refine your search by image type, date, location, and other criteria. That would be particularly useful if you are searching for a common name. 

I'm thankful for resources that make research easy! Let me know if you make any exciting discoveries at the Digital Public Library of America.  

Comments

  1. Went and typed in my maiden name, which is very uncommon. Got one very odd result, a picture of a petition for naturalization with that name on it and nothing else from back in the late 1800's. Maybe someday i will want to pursue the whole thing, i get the feeling it won't be that easy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you would like help getting started, I am happy to help. Naturalization petitions are actually helpful (if it is your ancestor's.)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Conversations are so much nicer when more than one person does the talking. :-) Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts; I'd love to hear from you!

Popular posts from this blog

Ten Things of Thankful: Last Two Weeks

  Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park, as viewed from an overlook I apologize for not commenting on your blog posts this past week; John and I took a vacation to Yellowstone National Park, leaving behind our computers and, to a large extent, cell phone service. We escaped the outside world and just spent time in nature. Though we have friends near Yellowstone (who we love to visit) we made this trip just about us, so please forgive us if we were nearby and didn't stop by. The crowds were minimal (though we did mask up whenever we passed someone on the trails) and we spent our days hiking, taking photos, and watching geysers erupt. Today, we are back home and back to work, and, in the case of my computer, back to old shenanigans like not letting me import my photos. (I was able to add the above photo by using blogger on my phone, but that isn't my preferred method.) I want to write about Yellowstone and have photos I want to share, but will leave that for another

Ten Things of Thankful: December is Here!

  A small snowflake ornament made of clear melted beads hangs on a Christmas tree The rhythm of time passing should not surprise me--after all, that is our experience here on earth--and yet I find myself constantly amazed at how another week/month/year has come and gone. In a blink of an eye, we are now in December and the Christmas season. I love Christmas!  1. I'm thankful for decorations. The tree is up, lights are hung, nativities adorn the house. Stockings are hung in anticipation of little ones visiting. Someone asked me this week what my tree looks like. I'm a sentimental tree decorator. I didn't even realize until not that long ago that some people have themes for their trees that are anything other than "a hodge-podge of ornaments made and collected over the years, each with a history that brings memories flooding back." At this point in my life, I have more ornaments than tree space, so not every ornament goes up each year. I always find room for the sma

Ten Things of Thankful: Even in Times of Uncertainty

  A railroad switch point on the tracks at the Golden Spike National Historic Park There is a lot I don't know. I don't know who will lead the United States for the next four years (at the time I'm composing this post, that hasn't been determined yet.) I don't know when covid cases will stop rising in my state and start decreasing. I don't know how challenging situations will turn out. There is much uncertainty in life. Living in limbo-land is hard. It's emotionally exhausting. It can be immobilizing. My body seems to think chocolate is the answer, but I know that isn't a long-term solution. What do I need in times like these? I need to REMEMBER . 1. R esilience. People are resilient. I am resilient. I'm thankful for resilience. 2. " E ach Life That Touches Ours for Good." So many people, both those I know in "real life," and those I have only met virtually, have taught me, encouraged me, and been examples to me. I'm thankful