Archives for Maureen A. Taylor
Downton Abbey and Your Snapshots
It's finally here! If you're like me you couldn't wait for the premiere of season 4 of "Downton Abbey." My husband and I are avid fans of Crawley household happenings. Last year I wrote about "Downton Abbey" and your family photos.Here's another installment of Downton...
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A Look Back at Photo Detecting in 2013
It's time for the end of the year round-up just in case you missed one of these columns. Here are some of my favorites from 2013. JanuaryThe Inauguration of President Abraham Lincoln. On March 4, 1865, Lincoln began his second term in office. Photographers were there to capture...
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Identifying and Preserving Daguerreotype Photos Premium
The invention of the daguerreotype 175 years ago let our ancestors capture their own likenesses. Learn how to preserve and identify these pieces of the past.
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A Gleasure Family Story
Last week I wrote about Ben Naylor's letters from the Gleasure Family in Ireland and the photos in the collection. Here's more of the story. When Frank Gleasure emigrated to Natick, Mass., about 1900, he left behind a number of younger siblings. For several years, his brother Joseph wrote letters...
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The Old Man
Two years ago, Ben Naylor discovered this photograph of a older gent. Ben is stumped about the man's identity. Every photo tells a story and this one is no different. Ben's great-great-grandfather, Irish immigrant George Gleasure (1858-1921), had five children and raised them in Natick, Mass. ...
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Photo Storytelling on the Holidays
This week I took another look at all my family photos and was suddenly struck by a realization. My family takes pictures in the spring and summer. There are few images of autumn and fewer still of winter snow. We're warm weather photographers. Documenting This Year's...
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Old Family Photos on Postcards
Frieda Tata submitted this lovely photo of two women and a girl for some advice. She knows the young woman on the right is her grandmother Mae Davis (born 1888 in Brownwood, Mo.). This is a photo postcard. One of the most common questions about...
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Women in World War I
What did your WWI-era female ancestors do in World War I? On Veterans Day, we typically honor the men and women who served in the military. But what about all the women who didn't serve, but supported the war effort? The theme of Who Do You Think You Are Live...
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Women at Work: Switchboard Operators
Somewhere in these two pictures is Carilyn Bernd's maternal grandmother, Delma Ragan. Delma was born in 1902. She married Leo Ragan in 1922 and gave birth to twins in 1924. Just three years later, she died at age 25. At some point, Delma was a telephone switchboard operator...
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Photo Reunions after Hurricane Sandy
A year ago, Hurricane Sandy stormed into the East Coast of the United States destroying property and taking lives. Generations of family photographs were blown or washed out of destroyed and damaged houses. In the midst of the aftermath and chaos, one woman began focusing on images she found scattered...
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