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. messymimiMarch 4, 2019 at 7:35 PM

    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. KristiMarch 5, 2019 at 8:41 AM

      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

Six Sentence Story: Twist

  An antique typewriter Each week, Denise at Girlie on the Edge blog posts a prompt word and invites bloggers to come up with a Six Sentence Story. It's a fun challenge for writers, and a delight for readers. Go over to her blog to read what others have written, and feel free to post your own story, too! This week's prompt: twist. ********************************* The kids who moved in next door were big kids--much older than her 3-year-old self--but they might be fun to play with, and as they were coming towards her, the idea of them being new friends seemed at least possible. She was rather shy, but she understood the basics of making friends, so when those neighbors crowded all around her and asked her what her name was, she didn't hesitate to answer.  She thought she had spoken loudly enough, but apparently her shyness got the best of her, because they didn't seem to have heard her.  "Twisty?" they asked, and recognizing she needed to be even louder, she ...
22 comments
Read more

Ten Things of Thankful: Lovely Autumn

I've mentioned before, but it bears repeating, that I love fall.  This week I noticed the following:
47 comments
Read more

Ten Things of Thankful: Valentine's Day is in Spring Edition

Despite what the groundhog predicted, here in my neck of the woods we have been enjoying balmy weather.  I think the nation needs a west coast groundhog to provide the local forecast.  I've spent time in my backyard this week, pruning palms and roses, pulling weeds, and planting raspberries and lilacs.  For those of you still buried in snow, I offer a hopeful glimpse of weather to come:
39 comments
Read more