Wordless Wednesday - In the bottom of a pond

Clifton, Rose Mary and Buford White in the bottom of a new pond, circa 1940

Findagrave.com doesn't belong to you

I love Findagrave.com. I've been able to locate death information on countless ancestors and make connections that I would have had to visit cemeteries across the country to pull together. I have also saved many of the photos on the site to my collection and even posted some on my Ancestry.com tree and on this very blog. However, I just made the realization that Find A Grave doesn't belong to me...or you.

A Findagrave.com photo that I took and don't care who knows it.

I'm a little embarrassed that I never thought about it, but the truth is that all photographs uploaded to the Findagrave.com website belong to the individual that shot the photo. (I'm sure that many of the photos uploaded were done so without the express permission of the "actual" photographer, but I digress). In order to use the photos on Find A Grave for your personal tree or blog you are required to ask permission of the submitter. The Legal Genealogist discusses these copyright issues in the great post Grave terms of use, so I will not try to explain here. However, I will complain here.

If you have read this blog for any amount of time you know that I hold copyright very dear to my heart. I have posted numerous links to public domain photos and content. But I believe that Find A Grave should be in the same realm. The photos are uploaded by users for the intent of sharing content. If they didn't want them shared with the world they wouldn't have posted them in the first place. I have posted numerous photos and have seen the same photos on several trees on Ancestry.com. I don't care because I wanted to share the images to help other people. After all, that is the intent of the Find A Grave site.

From the Findagrave.com FAQs page:

Why did you create Find A Grave?
We believe this information is important for many reasons. It is of great historical importance to have a record of all those who have been a part of our collective humanity. Burial information is a wonderful resource for people researching their families (genealogists). Most importantly, visiting a gravesite is a way of keeping the memory of someone alive. We aim to create a comprehensive 'virtual cemetery' where loved ones can visit graves, leave flowers, etc. when they cannot do so in real life due to geography, finances or other circumstances.

So, what is the issue? If Find A Grave is a free site whose content is loaded by its end users, why the need for the copyright restriction? I completely understand Find A Grave's need to cover themselves with the copyright mention on their facts page. However, I believe that in order to post images to the site the users should comply to an agreement that the photos they upload become part of the public domain available for use by the general public. After all, we're talking about photos of gravestones, not something you are going to sell at an art gallery. As for photos of individuals and newspaper clippings, that is the user's choice, but newspaper clipping images don't technically belong to them either.

The bottom line is this: If you want to retain copyright to an image and squirrel it away for yourself, don't post it on a publicly accessible and free website. It's that simple. I don't think there is any need, in this instance, to request the use of the photos. I think it should be inherent. What are your thoughts?

Military Monday - Arlus Moyer, WWI mystery album

As I mentioned here a few months ago I was able to score some great old photo albums on ebay. I must admit that I got carried away and spent more than I should, but I just felt drawn to these albums. My hope is that one day I will be able to get them to family that will treasure them. So today I will feature some items in one of the albums in the hope of connecting with someone and to honor a military hero.

Arlus Ruben Moyer was born in Prospect, Marion County, Ohio on October 21, 1895, to Frank and Ada (Kirts) Moyer. He had an older sister, Ruth, born March 24, 1894.

The above registration certificate is glued into the photo album. Arlus registered for World War I on June 5, 1917. Note that his father was the registrar.

According to the book Ohio Soldiers in WWI 1917-1918, it appears that Arlus joined the military on October 6, 1917, though it is unclear whether he was drafted or chose to enlist.

Arlus served with the 158th Depot Brigade, out of Ohio from his enlistment to February 24, 1918. He was then transferred to Company B, 6th Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division. He was a bugler and was promoted to Corporal on March 22, 1918. Arlus was at the two large battles at St. Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne and was overseas from April 19, 1918 to July 22, 1919.  He was honorably discharged on July 30, 1919.

1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division, July 1919. Presumably taken as the Battalion prepared to return to America.

A leave pass which seems to give Corporal Moyer the run of the land.

The photo album includes several mementos from Arlus' service and many family photos. Unfortunately, the photos are pasted into the album and I'm a little leery of pulling them up.


I believe that the Soldier in the photo above is Arlus Moyer. I also think that the four women are all related to each other because their faces all have the same shape.

Esther, myself and Ruth

In the above photo I believe that "myself" and Ruth look so much alike that they could be related. Arlus' first wife was name Esther and his sister was Ruth but there are too many women in these photos for me to make connections based on the information I know.

The second half of the photo album is filled with military action photos. Each one is generic and they were probably available for purchase to Soldiers overseas.

Arlus Moyer died in 1961. His headstone states that he earned the Silver Star, a very prestigious medal for bravery. I'm not sure how he earned this award, but I am very proud to have this album of keepsakes from a hero. If you know anything about Arlus Moyer or his descendants I would love to hear about it and try to return this album where it belongs.

Surname Saturday - Happy

Some of the more recent Happy generations.

Last week I wrote a post about Marcella Reed who married in to my Happy family line. Queen Bee, of The Bees Knees Daily, asked if I knew the origin of the surname: Happy. It was a good question and one that I quickly realized I didn't have an answer for.

Based on a biography of my third great-grandfather, Elijah Happy, I know that the family lived in Kentucky in the early 1800s and moved to Missouri sometime in the 1840s/1850s. Elijah's parents were James Happy and Catherine Vaughn. James was born April 25, 1804 and Catherine was born August 20, 1809, both in Fayette County, Kentucky.

And that is the end of the wealth of information I have on the Happy line. There are a myriad of trees on the Internet that trace this family back to Germany, but not a single one (that I have found) lists any references for this information. I have searched through the Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky Secretary of State, posted messages on the genealogy boards and surfed various and a sundry sites for Fayette County, Kentucky, all to no avail. Once the family moves to Missouri they are easy to trace but I can't seem to get any further back. Any suggestions are welcome! It's funny, I never realized this was a brick wall until Queen Bee reminded me!

Follow Friday - Favorites for February 22, 2013

Favorites is my weekly list of favorite genealogy, history and random finds from across the Net.

My Genealogy Hound bringing free biography info to genealogists

Couple reunited with long lost WWII love letters

Kathryn of Kathryn's Quest blogs her surnames by county...a great idea!

Cold War Mania at Many Branches, One Tree

Dig through the United States, Bureau of Land Management Tract Books, 1820-1908 on FamilySearch; this coverage table will help

A Japanese passport mystery at Discovering my Lane Family Roots

Part 4 of an in-depth military ancestor search at My Tapley Tree...and its Branches

Adventures in Genealogy shares a link to the Library of Congress Railroad map collection

A "Little Country Boy" and his presidential correspondence

Metal tube family treasures at Jana's Genealogy

Yet another great site for public domain images



What are your thoughts on cemetery behavior?

This past weekend I was reading through the online version of the Kansas City Star and came across a Dear Abby column where the writer lamented the behavior of children at cemeteries. In short, the author was disturbed by parents that allowed their children to use a cemetery as a playground.

I was also disturbed by the thought of children running through a cemetery, pulling up flowers and taking the mementos left on the headstones as their own treasures. That is clearly a parenting issue. But the more I thought about it, the more I began to think that Americans seem to have a very "Victorian" idea of death. It's something we don't talk about and we haven't changed our ideas on death in a very long time. The author made me feel as if I must walk through a cemetery as if I were part of a constant death march.

Please don't misunderstand, I firmly believe that a cemetery should be a place of reflection and respect for those that have passed before us. And I don't believe that children should be climbing on headstones or "treasure hunting" among mementos. But I also don't believe that myself or my children must remain quiet as a tomb as we explore cemeteries. Unless, of course, there were a funeral taking place. But in that instance I would wait to explore the cemetery at another time.

My little one leaves a treasure for his 3rd great grandparents.

I take my children with me to cemeteries because I often don't have a choice. But I also believe that they must understand what death means. And they also need to be exposed to cemeteries so that they can be taught the proper way to behave. If it is a beautiful day and my son feels like skipping through the grass while we hunt for an ancestor, I don't have an issue with that. After all, life goes on, and I think this simple type of act is the embodiment of that. What do you think?

Wordless Wednesday - Minnie with her baby

Minnie (Dudgeon) White holding Buford White in 1917. The little boy behind her is either Houston or Clifton White.