Photo Gallery Project
To participate in this project, all you need to do is email .jpeg or .tiff images to vanessa.warner@rogers.com. To create .jpeg or .tiff images, you can scan the picture yourself, have a friend or family member do it (using the save option to make it a .jpeg or .tiff), take it to a historical society or museum (will usually do it for free and then ask for a copy for their records or they may ask you for a small donation), or for a cost, you can have your local photo shop do it for you. The photo does not have to be enhanced (darkened, lightened, repaired) in any way – just a straight scan. Please indicate in the body of the email the names of as many of the people in the picture as possible, the Codes for each individual and any other information you might have, such as date taken, event, location and if the photo has a cardboard backing with the photographer and location, that could also be helpful to a researcher.
We are looking for pictures of individuals, group shots, family portraits, reunion pictures, etc. Please feel free to send multiple pictures of one individual at different stages of their life. It may be out of ten photos originally shared with people in 1860, you now have the only one left! If the photo you are sharing is of a home or farm, please indicate whose residence it was, the approximate year and the location (Lot, Concession, Town, Twp., County, State, Province, Country, whatever you know about the location).
And please don’t be shy about sending pictures of deceased ancestors in their caskets. Sometimes that was the last opportunity for family to capture an image of their loved one before burial. Studying those images also give clues to early burial practices and that topic could be of interest to some.
If you have photos of an ancestor in uniform, please indicate which conflict they were in and any regimental or military information, honours, rank, etc. Photos of people at work who supported the war efforts are also welcome and any of the photos shared could be used for In Remembrance webpages on the Association website or in the newsletter in the future.
We all have old pictures of people and we don’t know who they are OR they may have penciled captions like “Sherk Girls – Dakota” or “Mr. Shirk”. Don’t worry. Send them in! We can start a “Name that Ancestor” section in the newsletter or on the website where people may be able to fill in the blanks.
We also, as an Executive, recognize that many of our ancestors’ memorials or grave markers are deteriorating badly. There is a website called “Find a Grave” (www.findagrave.com) on the internet and surprisingly, many cemeteries in North America are already uploaded. If you are able to locate your ancestors on this site (there is an easy to use search engine), you can upload photographs of their grave marker and photos of them in life, if you so wish. If the grave marker is badly eroded and difficult to read, a piece of sidewalk chalk rubbed over the stone will often bring up the writing for photography purposes and then wash away completely in the next couple of rains. Chalking will not harm the stone.
Our historians have given us so much. Let’s honour their work by putting faces to the names, offering a richer heritage for all.
If you have any questions or are having difficulty finding someone to scan images for you, this project is being spearheaded by Vanessa Warner. You can reach Vanessa at vanessa.warner@rogers.com.
Happy hunting for those old pictures!!!
Vanessa Warner
6498 Bostwick Rd
Union, Ontario
Canada
N0L 2L0