You may still be living in the town where you were born and grew up.
But odds are that you can't say the same for every one of the
thousands of members of your family for the past 10 or 12
generations. People move. That's one of the facts of life.
That is also one of the fascinating (some would say frustrating)
aspects of genealogy. Learning about the places your ancestors lived
can be almost as interesting as learning about the lives they led.
The best way to learn about your ancestral homeland, whether it's
Bern, Switzerland or New Bern, North Carolina, is to visit the area
and see it for yourself. But what if you don't have the time or money
to take the trip?
For decades family historians have considered locally-produced
photographs to be the next-best thing to taking their own.
Photographs can be found in brochures produced by the local chamber
of commerce or travel bureau, or they can be found on postcards.
You can write to the local offices of travel bureaus, or you can
locate local postcards and other photographs via the Internet. There
are several specific websites, like Postcards.com
(http://www.postcards.com), or you can use one of the large search
engines and enter such criteria as postcards+bern, or "new
bern"+postcards, or switzerland+photographs to locate websites that
have online pictures from the city or region where your ancestors
lived.
Remember that these photographs may be copyrighted, meaning you can't
use them in your own publication. But if your purpose is to enjoy the
sights your ancestors may have seen during their lifetimes, these
photographs can fit the bill.
