Favorite Photos: Genealogists Who Graciously Share

Photos seem to be a constant point of contention for many family historians. Some seem to get upset, even downright angry, when they've posted a photo online and others then save it to their trees, and/or it's reshared. It's a recurring theme in online groups (especially on Facebook). It's a sentiment I just can't wrap my head around. Genealogy is all about sharing. Sharing our finds, stories and photos helps others in their own research. 

While research is often a solitary endeavor for many of us, the information we gather is the result of someone else's sharing (whether we realize it or not). None of us would be where we are in our research without others who researched before us. From an oral family story sparking our initial interest...to photos...to family bibles with lists of births, deaths and marriages...to the algorithms finding additional records we've attached to our tree, so they can be recommended to others...sharing is a necessary part of effective genealogy. Even the person who recorded an original document was, in a way, sharing. It may be been legally required, or it may have been their choice. But were it not for someone passing along records, none of us would have anything to research.

My first problem with the closed-minded  "mine, mine, mine, all mine" attitude about photos begins with the person posting the photo online in the first place, presumably publicly. Any time you share anything on the internet (no matter how private you may believe it is) there's always the chance it will become public. I'm not entirely sure why anyone posting a picture to Ancestry (or any other online site) thinks there's any sort of expectation the photo is entirely private. It's up to each individual user to choose if their tree is public or private, and if private, whether the tree is searchable. Even private trees are not really private if you give access to others. It's not Ancestry's fault, nor the fault of other users, if someone doesn't understand privacy settings or doesn't bother with them. If one truly doesn't intend for a photo to be shared, what exactly is the purpose of putting it online? Use desktop software to organize and save anything you may not want to have circulated.

My second frustration is the "I have the original" belief some folks have, whereby they and only they, are entitled to possess a particular photograph. The reality is, in the past, the same photo was often copied and distributed to many family members. Not unlike many (if not most) of us have experienced with school photos, lovingly labelled and passed out or mailed to just about every family member and friend our parents could think of. Just because a user happens to have an old photograph, does not necessarily mean it's the only copy. But, if you have a photo you believe is the only one, and you truly don't want it shared - then don't share it yourself. Save it privately offline. I'm not sure why anyone would feel so strongly no other related family member should ever be allowed to see a photo of their relatives (no matter how distant) but I can respect it. If the image then shows up online, you now know you didn't really have the only copy. Simple.

Certainly, there are valid copyright issues to consider. For photos, copyright is the life of the creator, plus 70 years. Just because you happen to have a photo in your possession doesn't necessarily mean it's yours to post (although to be fair, most of us are unlikely to face any complaints from a long deceased person's family...in fact, they might be glad others are remembering the person). For more recent photos, try to find out who took the photo and ask permission before posting online. Personally, whenever I save another user's photo even though Ancestry shows who posted it when I attach it in my tree, I still copy the information into the photo description to give credit where credit is due, as a common courtesy. If I find multiple copies of the same photo in my hints, I try to choose one with the earliest posting date (hoping it is truly the original poster of the image). I may not be able to credit the person who actually took the photo, but I can certainly try to credit the person who I believe provided it. I also have family members who've sent me many family photos I've shared in my tree. Along with requesting permission before posting, I acknowledge the person who provided the photos to me in my photo description (since I don't know who took them).

I'm personally very excited when I find new photos of family members online. It helps me visualize the person, and how the facts I'm finding about their life may have impacted them. The posture, the eyes, the expressions, the clothing, the setting....everything we see in a photo gives us a little glimpse into the person we're researching. I personally have a custom tag (on Ancestry) I use when I find a photo of particular interest. I enjoy photos with period clothing, military uniforms, old cars and adorably cute children.

In fact, one of my favorite photo "finds" is of Lillian Jane Kenney (1919-2003) the grandaunt of my ex-husband, shared by a relative. It shows her as a small child, and the note on the back of the photo states "Aunt Jane loved to poke out the eyes of her dolls. Look closely and you’ll see that’s what she’s doing in this photo." I don't know precisely why this is one of my favorites, but it is! Were it not for the family member graciously sharing this photo, I'd have never known it existed. I'm including it as the feature photo in this post...look closely and you'll see what she's doing! Both the owner of the photo and I believe copyright is out of play, and I have her permission to include the photo here. 

I've always been thankful for the generous genealogists and family historians who embrace sharing anything and everything they can to help others with their journey. I welcome others to save photos I share. Photos are small glimpses into our ancestors lives and we should treasure those elusive moments in time, captured on film. 

Image shared courtesy of Ancestry user brownray921