When was the last time you poured over your family pictures? Have you stopped to consider how they will look to future generations? Obviously, you want them stored so they last until at least the next generation. But have you also considered what the next generation needs to inherit and caretaker them?

I've spent some time this year scanning and sharing printed photos online via family tree and cloud storage websites. But there's one other step we need to consider as we protect and share those images. Who is in that picture?

Who is that?

I've been labeling a lot of family photos lately. As a family historian, some images are easy for me to label. I know who those family members are and I easily recognize them. But I've also run into some problems. There are photos of family members that I know are family members, I know what side of the family they are from, and I even know they are siblings of a direct ancestor, but for the life of me, I can't remember their names. In some cases I have problems identifying people in images if they look "different" from what I remember.

As family historians, we know the difficulty in identifying inherited photos. But have you considered the photos of your immediate family? Now is the time to label those photos your family has posed for or had taken. Sure, you know that photo is of you and your mother, but as you consider a child, grandchild, or other family member inheriting those photos, they won't have the same frame of reference that you do. Those photos may be in danger of being discarded if no one can identify the people in the picture.

Start today. Identify those printed photos. Write what you know on the back of the photo. Use a soft lead pencil on older photos like cabinet cards that are mounted on cardboard. Don't use a hard lead pencil, which can indent. For newer photos, use a waterproof, photo-safe archival pen or marker. Don't use ballpoint pens because they will cause you to create indentations in your photo. They can also smudge.

What information should you label your photographs with? At the very least, identify the people in the picture. Make sure to use their names and not something like "grandma" or "dad." That won't help family members in the future since they don't know who labeled the photograph. Depending on what the image is of, consider information such as:

• Date: To help place the photograph in a year range or specific date. It can also help to understand who is in the photograph
• Location: Even if it's in front of someone's house, identify who's house and the address
• Event: Why was the photo taken? Was it for Thanksgiving or other holiday celebration? Was it at a funeral or a wedding? Was it just an annual school photo (what grade/what year/what school?) Providing a little context will help descendants understand the image better.

Depending on the size of the printed picture, you might be limited to what can be included. Include what you can, the most important being identifying people.

To learn more about preserving and sharing family photographs, visit the Legacy Webinar Library category Photos and Digital Images.

Gena Philibert-Ortega is an author, instructor, and researcher. She blogs at Gena's Genealogy and Food.Family.Ephemera. You can find her presentations on the Legacy Family Tree Webinars website.

The recording of today's webinar by Bryna O’Sullivan, "5 Tips for Deciphering Handwritten Documents” is now available to view at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com for free for a limited time.

Reading handwritten documents can be one of the most challenging aspects of genealogical research. This webinar will offer five tips from a genealogical translator to help you make those hard to read words understandable.

To ensure that your webinar connection is ready to go, click here.

Can't make it to the live event?

No worries. Its recording will be available for a limited time. Webinar Subscribers have unlimited access to all webinar recordings for the duration of their membership.

With our Google Calendar button, you will never forget our upcoming webinars. Simply click the button to add it to your calendar. You can then optionally embed the webinar events (and even turn them on and off) into your own personal calendar. If you have already added the calendar, you do not have to do it again - the new webinar events will automatically appear.

Webinar time

The webinar will be live on Wednesday, December 6, 2023 at:

• 2pm Eastern (U.S.)
• 1pm Central
• 12pm Mountain
• 11am Pacific

Or use this Time Zone Converter.

Here's how to attend:

1. Register at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com today. It's free!
2. You will receive a confirmation email containing a link to the webinar.
3. You will receive a reminder email both 1 day and 1 hour prior to the live webinar.
4. Calculate your time zone by clicking here.
5. Check your GoToWebinar connection here.
6. Click on the webinar link (found in confirmation and reminder emails) prior to the start of the webinar. Arrive early as the room size is limited to the first 1,000 arrivals that day.
7. Listen via headset (USB headsets work best), your computer speakers, or by phone. 

We look forward to seeing you all there!

The recording of today's webinar by Cathie Sherwood, "Can You Write a Wrong? Copyright in Australia” is now available to view at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com for free for a limited time.

Knowing what we can freely use, without permission, in our family histories ensures that we are not infringing on the rights of others. For example, did you know that if you watch your grandmother make her secret pasta sauce, writing down the ingredients and methods she used, you have created your own ‘literary work’ which is now protected by copyright? (Just don’t tell Granny!) How then does copyright law apply to published and unpublished works? What is fair use and moral rights? Can a distant cousin use information in her family book that I have researched? This presentation will examine those aspects of Australia’s copyright law which apply to family historians and discusses ways we can comply with the law.

To ensure that your webinar connection is ready to go, click here.

Can't make it to the live event?

No worries. Its recording will be available for a limited time. Webinar Subscribers have unlimited access to all webinar recordings for the duration of their membership.

With our Google Calendar button, you will never forget our upcoming webinars. Simply click the button to add it to your calendar. You can then optionally embed the webinar events (and even turn them on and off) into your own personal calendar. If you have already added the calendar, you do not have to do it again - the new webinar events will automatically appear.

Webinar time

The webinar will be live on Tuesday, December 5, 2023 at:

• 8pm Eastern (U.S.)
• 7pm Central
• 6pm Mountain
• 5pm Pacific

which, in Sydney is Wednesday, December 6, 2023 at:

• 12pm AEDT

Or use this Time Zone Converter.

Here's how to attend:

1. Register at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com today. It's free!
2. You will receive a confirmation email containing a link to the webinar.
3. You will receive a reminder email both 1 day and 1 hour prior to the live webinar.
4. Calculate your time zone by clicking here.
5. Check your GoToWebinar connection here.
6. Click on the webinar link (found in confirmation and reminder emails) prior to the start of the webinar. Arrive early as the room size is limited to the first 1,000 arrivals that day.
7. Listen via headset (USB headsets work best), your computer speakers, or by phone. 

We look forward to seeing you all there!

The recording of today's webinar by Amy Bertsch, "Who Were “Felix Richards’ Slaves”?: Identifying Enslaved People Photographed During the Civil War” is now available to view at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com for free for a limited time.

Are you using the website Hathi Trust for your research? Hathi Trust's mission is "…to contribute to research, scholarship, and the common good by collaboratively collecting, organizing, preserving, communicating, and sharing the record of human knowledge." They do this by providing digitized books and periodicals scanned from partner institutions. Like any website, diving in and exploring is a great way to learn more, but here are three things you need to know as an introduction.

#1 Hathi Trust is a collaborative website

Two hundred member libraries worldwide help Hathi Trust users access 18 million digital items. Member libraries include "research libraries, community colleges, liberal arts schools, government agencies, and more." If you want to see if one of your local libraries is a member, visit their Member List web page.

#2 Membership has its privileges

Hathi Trust is not a subscription website. Individuals cannot pay for a subscription. Users accessing Hathi Trust from a member library or with a library card from one of those libraries benefit by being able to download digital items and having access to the entire collection. Don't worry if you do not have institutional access. 40% of Hathi Trust is available to anyone. You do not need to sign in to the website. This chart on the How to Search & Access web page breaks down what public users can and cannot access.

One tip I have is that because Google digitized 95% of the collection if you come across an item you cannot access, go to Google Books and see if you can find it there.

To learn more about accessing the collection, see the web page How to Search & Access: https://www.hathitrust.org/the-collection/search-access/

#3 Hathi Trust is more than books, but it's not Internet Archive

Unlike Internet Archive, Hathi Trust does have limits in regards to what materials are available. Hathi Trust includes "Books and book-like items. This includes books, magazines, newspapers, sheet music, journals, and government documents. (There are no audio/visual files.)" Internet Archive is a collaborative website, but anyone, libraries, museums, and even individuals, can contribute. Internet Archive also includes video and audio files.

To start searching Hathi Trust, consider a keyword you want to use. This could be an ancestor's name, a location, or any keyword that describes them or their life. Search using the top search toolbar. Once you have your results list, use the left-side menu to narrow or focus your search. You can also access an Advanced Search tool at the top of your results page.

Access to multiple digital collection websites can help you find the needed resources. If you haven't used Hathi Trust before, try it and see what books you can find that can help with your research.

Gena Philibert-Ortega is an author, instructor, and researcher. She blogs at Gena's Genealogy and Food.Family.Ephemera. You can find her presentations on the Legacy Family Tree Webinars website.

Nine African Americans — two women and seven children — were posed amid a laundry day setting in a rare Civil War-era photograph. The handwritten caption identified them only as “Felix Richards Slaves” and the location as Volusia, near Alexandria, Va. Could their true identities be established? In this case study, historian and genealogist Amy Bertsch discusses a variety of sources, including probate records, a chancery suit, Civil War pension applications, and the former enslaver’s federal compensation claim, she used to identify the individuals in the photo, which is now at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. She explores how these records can yield new discoveries for family historians and she also demonstrates the importance of researching the enslaver’s family when conducting African American family research.

To ensure that your webinar connection is ready to go, click here.

Can't make it to the live event?

No worries. Its recording will be available for a limited time. Webinar Subscribers have unlimited access to all webinar recordings for the duration of their membership.

With our Google Calendar button, you will never forget our upcoming webinars. Simply click the button to add it to your calendar. You can then optionally embed the webinar events (and even turn them on and off) into your own personal calendar. If you have already added the calendar, you do not have to do it again - the new webinar events will automatically appear.

Webinar time

The webinar will be live on Friday, December 1, 2023 at:

• 2pm Eastern (U.S.)
• 1pm Central
• 12pm Mountain
• 11am Pacific

Or use this Time Zone Converter.

Here's how to attend:

1. Register at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com today. It's free!
2. You will receive a confirmation email containing a link to the webinar.
3. You will receive a reminder email both 1 day and 1 hour prior to the live webinar.
4. Calculate your time zone by clicking here.
5. Check your GoToWebinar connection here.
6. Click on the webinar link (found in confirmation and reminder emails) prior to the start of the webinar. Arrive early as the room size is limited to the first 1,000 arrivals that day.
7. Listen via headset (USB headsets work best), your computer speakers, or by phone. 

We look forward to seeing you all there!

The recording of today's webinar by Annette Burke Lyttle, "The Erie Canal and the Opening of the Midwest” is now available to view at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com for free for a limited time.

The Erie Canal revolutionized 19th-century travel and offered our ancestors a high-speed route from the eastern United States to the Midwest. It made settlement of the Old Northwest Territories economically possible by providing an efficient means of exporting agricultural products to the markets and ports of the east. But it was also one of the most challenging and fascinating projects ever undertaken in America.

To ensure that your webinar connection is ready to go, click here.

Can't make it to the live event?

No worries. Its recording will be available for a limited time. Webinar Subscribers have unlimited access to all webinar recordings for the duration of their membership.

With our Google Calendar button, you will never forget our upcoming webinars. Simply click the button to add it to your calendar. You can then optionally embed the webinar events (and even turn them on and off) into your own personal calendar. If you have already added the calendar, you do not have to do it again - the new webinar events will automatically appear.

Webinar time

The webinar will be live on Wednesday, December 29, 2023 at:

• 2pm Eastern (U.S.)
• 1pm Central
• 12pm Mountain
• 11am Pacific

Or use this Time Zone Converter.

Here's how to attend:

1. Register at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com today. It's free!
2. You will receive a confirmation email containing a link to the webinar.
3. You will receive a reminder email both 1 day and 1 hour prior to the live webinar.
4. Calculate your time zone by clicking here.
5. Check your GoToWebinar connection here.
6. Click on the webinar link (found in confirmation and reminder emails) prior to the start of the webinar. Arrive early as the room size is limited to the first 1,000 arrivals that day.
7. Listen via headset (USB headsets work best), your computer speakers, or by phone. 

We look forward to seeing you all there!

The recording of today's webinar by Daniel Horowitz, "The Good News About Historical Newspapers” is now available to view at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com for free for a limited time.

We're pleased to offer Legacy Family Tree Webinar members a new, short ten minute or less TechZone video just for them! Enjoy "Use Two-Factor Authentication" by Thomas MacEntee. This will be available to everyone through November 30, 2023.

Use Two-Factor Authentication for Added Security

More and more genealogy apps and websites, like MyHeritage, 23andMe, and Ancestry, are moving to Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) to prevent account hacking and secure user privacy. Some sites like 23andMe and MyHeritage utilize the Google Authenticator App in order to manage your 2FA account and generate the 6-digit code to gain access to your account. You’ll learn how the Two Factor Authentication concept works and see how you can enable it on your accounts to protect your privacy and data.

About the Presenter

Historical newspapers are treasure troves of valuable information, not just about major historical figures and events, but also about ordinary people who lived in the past. Join Daniel Horowitz, Genealogy Expert at MyHeritage, for a deep dive into the vast collection of newspapers on MyHeritage and learn what you can find in them about your ancestors.

To ensure that your webinar connection is ready to go, click here.

Can't make it to the live event?

No worries. Its recording will be available for a limited time. Webinar Subscribers have unlimited access to all webinar recordings for the duration of their membership.

With our Google Calendar button, you will never forget our upcoming webinars. Simply click the button to add it to your calendar. You can then optionally embed the webinar events (and even turn them on and off) into your own personal calendar. If you have already added the calendar, you do not have to do it again - the new webinar events will automatically appear.

Webinar time

The webinar will be live on Tuesday, November 28, 2023 at:

• 2pm Eastern (U.S.)
• 1pm Central
• 12pm Mountain
• 11am Pacific

Or use this Time Zone Converter.

Here's how to attend:

1. Register at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com today. It's free!
2. You will receive a confirmation email containing a link to the webinar.
3. You will receive a reminder email both 1 day and 1 hour prior to the live webinar.
4. Calculate your time zone by clicking here.
5. Check your GoToWebinar connection here.
6. Click on the webinar link (found in confirmation and reminder emails) prior to the start of the webinar. Arrive early as the room size is limited to the first 1,000 arrivals that day.
7. Listen via headset (USB headsets work best), your computer speakers, or by phone. 

We look forward to seeing you all there!

Webinar Shorts are a new bonus feature for members at Legacy Family Tree Webinars that provide you with genealogy classes in 20 minutes or less.  Enjoy this new Webinar Short "Hudson’s Bay Company Archives Biographical Sheets" by Janice Nickerson.

Webinar Short Description

Did you know that the Hudson’s Bay Company Archives is the largest private archives in the world? Let me show you one very special resource this archive has made available online: the Biographical Information Sheet. These goldmines provide a window into the HBCA’s records pertaining to 1000s of historical employees.

About the Presenter

The recording of today's webinar by the Board for Certification of Genealogists and LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson, JD, LLM, CG, CGL, FASG, "Why Standards Are for Everyone” is now available to view at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com/BCG for free for a limited time.