Frugal Genealogy: Photos

 Wishing you had a photo of your ancestor, her home, or her tombstone? Check out both FindAGrave and Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness (RAOGK). Both sites have volunteers that will offer to take photographs; FindAGrave volunteers are limited to tombstone photos only. However, see if FindAGrave already has a memorial page for your ancestor. The above photo is of Martha Susan (DEADMOND) WILBOURN, my husband's 3rd-great-grandmother, which I found on a memorial page for her after casually clicking on the "Find all Wilbourns in Chico Cemetery" link while viewing her daughter's memorial page that my sister-in-law created. We had no idea that Martha had immigrated from Texas to California to be near her children after she was widowed, and we certainly had no idea this photograph existed!

Volunteers at RAOGK have also taken tombstone photos for me, and one of my volunteer acts for the site has included taking photos of homes in the Spokane area in which requesters' ancestors lived.  Be gracious and make sure to thank the volunteer who filled your request, and pay it forward by becoming a volunteer yourself!


This post is part of a ten-part series on Frugal Genealogy, based on my most-requested presentation, "Frugal Genealogy, or How Not to Spend a Fortune on Your Family Tree." Each post in this series will focus on one of ten topics I discuss in my presentation, and I freely share one tip from each topic. If you would like me to speak to your group anywhere in the Pacific Northwest on this or any other subject, please contact me.