Research with YouTube



Here is an idea most people don’t think of to locate little-known information about a family ancestor or hometown. Using the online YouTube you might discover a series of photos or better yet a video placed on YouTube that you didn’t know existed. It could be the historical district of a hometown, it might have about certain businesses and their owners, outstanding citizens listed by names, etc. It could also have the town’s regular citizens part of some presentation. Anything is possible.

This video sharing site started back in February 2005 and there are now thousands of videos and viewed by millions of people.

Many times vintage films (dating back to the 1920s) are located made digital and then posted on YouTube to share with the world. There could be a historical video documentary made showcasing a town, its churches or businesses.

Start by calling up the YouTube site. In the search box at the top place an ancestral hometown name and state and the word “history.” So you could have “Manchester, Maryland, history”. Videos titled “7 Little Known Facts about Manchester”, “Drive Though Manchester in 2012”, “Downtown Manchester in 2016”, “Veteran’s Day in Manchester”, and an interview with Julie Berwager – part of a whole series titled “Carroll County Remembers”.

There could be all types of surprises in some of those videos, things you did not know. Being a video, it is all there for you to play and replay as often as you need.

If you have any vintage films from the family hometown, have them made digital (a photo / video shop) and have it have it posted to YouTube to share with others.

Photos: YouTube logo

Related FamilyTree.com Blogs:

Make a Short Video with Photos

Video Tape Family Stories

1896-1900 Film

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