AncestorNews: Image Search Engines

When I put together my family history book, I tried to add as many photos as possible. Having all the data was great, but photos added that special touch. Most of the time I import my own digital photos or old slides that I converted to digital images. At times, however, I’ve turned to the Internet to locate vintage postcards or old photos. (Keep in mind that anything you find online is probably copyrighted: Be sure to e-mail the Webmaster for permission to use images in any project you’ll publish).

AltaVista.com and Google.com both offer Web-wide image searches. If you go to Google, the default search category is Web. To search for specific images, click the Images tab, then enter your search term.

For example, I searched for Shelbyville, Ind., the home of some of my Hendrickson family members. The search returned 137 images, among them a postcard that depicted an old covered bridge, and another of a historic hotel. My favorite was a photo of a pioneer settler’s cabin, digitized by the state library.

The Google Image search engine is quick, and there’s an excellent Frequently Asked Questions section about using the Image searcher. Looking for other vintage photos? Try these resources, and if you know of one I haven’t listed, please let me know. I’d like to tell others about your suggested site.

• All The Web
www.alltheweb.com/?cat=img&cs=utf-8&l=any&q=

• AltaVista
www.altavista.com/image/default

• Historic Photo Database, Oregon State Archives
arcweb.sos.state.or.us/spllink/historicalphotoslink.html

• American Civil War Photo Database
carlisle-www.army.mil/usamhi/PhotoDB.html

• Photos From the Great Depression to World War II
memory.loc.gov/ammem/fsowhome.html

• American Environmental Photos, 1891-1936
memory.loc.gov/ammem/award97/icuhtml/aephome.html