Kathy's Corner » Where in the World: Finding Places in Photos » Sept. 2024

Kathy’s Corner gives us a special opportunity each month to focus on our family history in the context of the physical photographs, documents, and artifacts that so many of us have inherited.

Stories lie hidden in these photos.

This month, Kathy Stone shared how to recognize clues and use them to weave stories with the other genealogical facts we’ve collected. As we learned today, beware of rabbits bearing pocket watches. 😉 This kind of work can easily lead to distractions down “rabbit holes” of research.

Some topics we discussed:

* How to use Google’s “Lens” reverse image search in a browser or in Google’s mobile Photo app on Android or iPhone.

* How do you draw on what you know to learn more? For example, if your photo shows construction on an important landmark, public documentation or news reports can help you isolate the date of the photograph.

* Use your knowledge (or easily researched data) on consumer products to help date a photograph:

* Car make and model can be easily deduced from a photograph. Their release dates will help you put a floor to possible dates. Auto license plates will similarly tell you locations, possibly even dates.

Resources

Kathy shared a few of her favorite resources to look up these kinds of facts:

Google Lens

* lens.google/howlensworks

Since photographs often reference landmarks, we discussed the many resources available to find not only famous landmarks but also modest local buildings of historical interest listed in site registries.

National Trust for Historic Preservation

* savingplaces.org/stories/6-tips-to-document-historic-details-before-they-disappear

Library of Congress

* ask.loc.gov/genealogy-local-history/faq/304931

Registries of Historic Places

United States

* National Register of Historic Places

* nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/index.htm

Canada

* historicplaces.ca/en/home-accueil.aspx

Australia

* dcceew.gov.au/parks-heritage/heritage/places/national-heritage-list

New Zealand

* heritage.org.nz/places

Hong Kong

* www.amo.gov.hk/en/heritage-trails/index.html

United Kingdom

(These are Wikipedia listings; others like britishlistedbuildings.co.uk are commercial sites.)

* Listed buildings in England

* Listed buildings in Scotland

* Listed buildings in Northern Ireland

* Listed buildings in Wales

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