Should photos of historical markers or statues be uploaded?

Question

I was walking around today and saw a plaque on the side of a building noting that it was the site of Capt. Robert Keayne's house, and it also has some information about him, and I took a picture. Would this be worth uploading? There's no image of him, and it's not a contemporary source (put up in 1923).

And the other day I was at the library and they had a statue of Henry Vane (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Vane-6), former governor of Massachusetts, so I took a picture. But it was sculpted in the 1800s, well after his death. Would that be worth uploading?

Thanks.

Answer 1

Yes! Definitely. If nothing else, it helps to tell the story and provides proof of that person's legacy and lasting impact. It can also provide a connection of that person to a particular location in the modern era. 

Plus, pictures help spruce up a profile! Even if you aren't one to work on the task of profile improvement (although adding photos is part of that: "See if you can add photographs, pictures, maps or other visual items."), you're giving material that others, keen to renovate a profile, can use later. Usually that's a big problem: not a lot of material to work with.

Additionally, if you're keen, dedicate the work under a permissive Creative Commons license, such as CC0 1.0: Public Domain Dedication or CC BY 4.0: Attribution. or CC BY-SA 4.0: Attribution ShareAlike. That allows others to modify and re-use the material that you've posted. Under those licenses it can also be further used by projects such as Wikipedia.

Reminds me... I should have a look through my vacation & travel photos to see if there's anything that I could upload.

Comments

I realized that the location of Keayne's house could help contextualize how far away he lived from various other historical places, e.g. the no-longer-standing town hall he founded and the cemetery where he is buried. Definitely useful! I love looking at historical markers...I should start taking more photos.

Answer 2

I would say that unless a prohibitive policy suggests otherwise, two instances come to mind where I think adding such photos is of value:

# Is it unique? Or is it essentially the same photo that's on e.g., Wikipedia, or Find A Grave, already?

# Is it a direct descendent? I think a "personal reflection" note about the artifact (even if it wasn't done contemporaneously - statues, for example, that are still around must be considered of some sort of artistic, heritage, or other historic value or they would not have been preserved), and how you feel it honors (or doesn't) the ancestor.

Either of these instances are worth strong consideration for inclusion, because the profiles we build are an extension of ourselves; so even the discovery expedition, or a purposeful one, is worth of documenting.

Comments

Both are already on Wikipedia--the plaque is essentially an identical photo and the statue is the same from a different angle.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Keayne#/media/File:Robert_Keanye_plaque,_Boston,_MA_-_IMG_6647.JPG

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Vane_the_Younger#/media/File:Sir_Henry_Vane_by_Frederick_William_MacMonnies,_Boston_Public_Library.jpg

Does that make a difference?

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It doesn't make any difference if the subject of your photo is already elsewhere on the internet - Wikipedia or any other website.  As long as you took the photo, ownership of it is yours so you know you have the right to upload it to WikiTree.  Images you find on other websites may or may not be copyrighted and, even if they're not copyrighted, sometimes the terms of use of the website may prohibit uploading them to WikiTree.

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Puritan Great Migration project 2 cents. What Gaile said. You took the photo, you own the copyright. You never can be sure of other internet photos, so definitely post them. Make sure to give yourself credit (in the area provided), that let's us know it's ok to be here.

Answer 3

Yes!  A WikiTree profile is a digital monument to the person, created after his or her death (especially these days).  It is 100% appropriate to include images of other types of monument to the person.  If the plaque or sign or statue contains historical errors, just consider that fodder for an interesting biography.