Tuesday, October 27, 2020

Discovery on Digital Public Library of America via Podcast

circa 1900 
Description -Note hitching post in front. Nursery had both citrus and "deciduous stock".  
Creator Clarence Tucker, d. 1970
Location - Covina, California
Originally form Covina Public Library
Material in the public domain

I LOVE genealogy podcasts. Listen to them on the way to and from work. Also, while out for walks around town. With each episode, I learn something new about family history research.

One of my favorite podcasts is Generations Cafe Podcast by Amy Johnson Crow. She shares helpful websites and genealogy methodology. 

On a recent episode called "7 Free Genealogy Websites That You Might Be Overlooking" Amy discussed the DPLA (Digital Public Library of America). 

DPLA states:

"The Digital Library of America empowers people to learn, grow, and contribute to a diverse and better-functioning society by maximizing access to our shared history, culture and knowledge". "Discover 40,786,219 images, texts, videos, and sounds from across the United States".

On the site there is a page entitled "The Family Research Guide to DPLA". Here it states:

"DPLA is totally free to use and open to all -- no library card, subscription, or sign-up required! Our collection, with items from many institutions, offers a unique research resource for family historians and genealogists."

Listed on the page are collections such as family photographs, family bibles, local maps, yearbooks and oral histories. There you will find amazing images, some in the public domain.

The above photograph is a small glimpse of the Covina Nursery in California. The nursery was co-founded in the early 1900s by Aaron L. Keim. He was the husband of my 1st cousin 3x removed, Mattie Estella Judd. 

I have read several articles about the citrus industry in California. Aaron was a prominent figure in this community. On the website Town Square Publications we find a page entitled Covina History. There it states with others "A.L. Keim started Covina's citrus industry by raising seedlings in their nurseries". 

I discovered additional information about A.L. Keim on Google Books. In "Covina Valley Citrus Industy", published in 2011, we learn Keim became one of "Los Angeles County's largest citrus suppliers. 

Discovering the image was such a lovely surprise. Exciting to gain this small part of Aaron and Mattie's life. 

Thanks to Amy for sharing this website. And, thanks for making my commute/walks so educational. Check out her podcast.

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