Aerial maps of Delaware, spanning from 1937 to the present, are available in an online digital archives maintained by the Delaware Environmental Monitoring and Analysis Center. Initially captured during flights flown over the region, the photography shows what the region looked like at various points. Typically termed orthophotography once the data has been geocorrected, the…
Category: Research Resources
Eastern Shore of Virginia Newspapers Online
Special collections institutions continue to digitize newspaper collections rapidly, making them openly available to researchers. These valuable resources aid genealogists, local historians, and public scholars in digging into the past. On those old pages are many print columns about the local community and the people. While doing fieldwork on Lower Delmarva, I recently needed access…
A Research Resource Shows Family Name Distribution Patterns
An interesting page on Ancestry.com presents aggregated statistical surname data from an array of standard primary genealogical research materials. Drawing on sources such as census schedules, the Social Security Index, Civil War Enlistment papers, immigration records, and more, users query the searchable databases for surnames. In graphical and tabular formats, the inquiry yields information on where…
The Flickr Commons Has Many Old Photographs and Postcards
As a result of developing research materials for centuries many of the nation’s largest public libraries have vast collections of photographs and postcards from earlier times. These items, which are helpful to those digging into the past, have always been available, safely preserved and stored away for visiting patrons. But now access is greatly enhanced…