The local historical society in your ancestors' hometown can be a treasure trove. For hundreds of years, historical societies have been where photographs, artifacts, and other documents from town residents—by donation or following their deaths—ended up.
I totally agree about the value of historical societies. A year ago, I gave a talk about my granfather's winery at the historical society of the town (Mountain View, CA). Afterwards, they were so incredibly gracious about me sharing the story and all they wanted to do was help with any additional research. I wound up speaking at another nearby historcal society (Los Altos), and the same thing happened. It was almost like they were competing with each other on who could be more helpful.
Bravo! I was just asking at the US National Genealogical Society about a network of resources. Our children are the only “native” Californians in the family. As is typical, among Americans, parents and grandparents are from elsewhere... as were our parents before us. The short answer is to start with librarians then expand to county historical societies.https://www.ngsgenealogy.org
That feeling of seeing a direct ancestor’s photo after searching for so many years is like the culmination of a treasure hunt. It’s an amazing feeling.
Yes! I knew that my great grandfather had been a city councilman in Quebec City around the turn of the last century. We have no surviving photos of him, but the Archives de là Ville de Quebec sure did! They charged me less than $10 for a copy of his official photo. It was thrilling to finally see him.
I totally agree about the value of historical societies. A year ago, I gave a talk about my granfather's winery at the historical society of the town (Mountain View, CA). Afterwards, they were so incredibly gracious about me sharing the story and all they wanted to do was help with any additional research. I wound up speaking at another nearby historcal society (Los Altos), and the same thing happened. It was almost like they were competing with each other on who could be more helpful.
Bravo! I was just asking at the US National Genealogical Society about a network of resources. Our children are the only “native” Californians in the family. As is typical, among Americans, parents and grandparents are from elsewhere... as were our parents before us. The short answer is to start with librarians then expand to county historical societies.https://www.ngsgenealogy.org
That feeling of seeing a direct ancestor’s photo after searching for so many years is like the culmination of a treasure hunt. It’s an amazing feeling.
Yes! I knew that my great grandfather had been a city councilman in Quebec City around the turn of the last century. We have no surviving photos of him, but the Archives de là Ville de Quebec sure did! They charged me less than $10 for a copy of his official photo. It was thrilling to finally see him.