Archives for Maureen A. Taylor
5 Clues to Solve an Old-Photo Mystery
Every old mystery photo is full of clues if you know where to look. Let's break this one down into five steps: 1. Consider the provenance.Phyllis Reakes' first cousin gave her this photograph. Phyllis knows the man sitting on the far right is her great-grandfather, born in 1839. That...
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5 Tips to Naming your Family History Book Premium
Need inspiration for titling your family history book? Let these ideas and real-life examples get your creative juices flowing: Use a theme from your family history: From Slavery to Freedom: The Watson-Dent Family by Tony Hall, Homestead, a Family History of Leon R. Hunt and Beth Carroll by Douglas Allen...
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Old Mystery-Photo Success Story: Six Years Later
So how long does it take to identify an old mystery photo? Sometimes it happens quickly, sometimes not. It all depends on how many facts you have about a photo and if you can rule out possible subjects. In Michael Boyce's case, it took six years. He's determined to bring...
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Identifying Mystery Photos in an Old Family Album
A family photo album opens the door to new genealogy discoveries, but reading the clues in an album isn't always easy. It often comes down to what you know about your family and who's depicted on each album page. The most important people to the person who laid out the...
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Twentieth-Century Childhood Fashion
Kyndahl Carlson's aunt is writing down all the family stories she can remember. A family photo album in a cousin's collection may contain key details to add to those tales. The album may have belonged to the cousin's grandmother, Ruth Scrivner Laughter. The photos are laid out with the elders...
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Spotting Light-Eyed Ancestors in Old Family Photos
Paul Newman, Frank Sinatra, Cameron Diaz, Daniel Craig and other Hollywood actors and actresses draw attention with their variously shaded blue eyes. Eye color is easy to spot in contemporary color pictures, but how can you tell if you inherited your baby blues from your maternal or paternal great-grandparent? The...
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Photo Detective: Using Photos to Discover Relatives Premium
To the careful viewer, family photos can tell a lot more about your relatives than just where they were at a particular point in history. See what the Photo Detective can infer about her relatives from looking at this picture.
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Finding Your Ancestors’ Graduation Photos
This time of year makes me think about graduations. I live near two universities and often see graduates in cap and gowns smiling for pictures. Our ancestors also posed for school pictures, whether they were graduating from eighth grade, a trade school, high school or a college/university. In the mid-19th...
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Head-to-Toe 1920s Wedding Fashion
June is a popular month for weddings, so Diane Smith's submission of a mystery photo is a perfect way to start off the summer bridal season. Her maternal great-grandmother owned this picture. Could this be a picture of Diane's great-grandfather's parents, who married in Poland in 1876? Diane's in for...
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A Memorial Day Tribute
While Memorial Day often marks the start of summer, it's also a time to reflect and honor those who served. Here are two meaningful ways to pay tribute to your ancestors this year.
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