Photo detective: retouched Images Premium
To correct photographic defects and damage, Lorie Zirbes used to hand-touch images. Now, thanks to photo-editing software, she can use her computer. But Zirbes still needs to identify some of her retouched photos. Here are before-and-after pictures of one of her unidentified family photographs. Zirbes would like to know when...
View DetailsPhoto Detective: Reunion Photo Fun Premium
If you're attending a family reunion this summer, think of it as an opportunity to learn more about your photographs—and create new ones—through creative activities. Invite the whole family to participate. Document the event. Every other year, I attend my husband's family reunion. It's always great to see...
View DetailsLocating Ancestors’ Photographers Premium
You've got questions about discovering, preserving and celebrating your family history; our experts have the answers.
View DetailsPhoto Detective: Which Husband? Premium
Doris Jordan is trying to identify a pair of portraits in her possession. She believes this picture to be her great-great-grandmother Mary Jane Colburn who was born in Alabama in 1846. The companion portrait is likely to be either her first or second husband. In 1873 Mrs. Colburn's first husband...
View DetailsPhoto Detective: Unknown Subject Premium
This week's submission is a photograph of an unknown woman. The owner of the image does not know who the person is or when it was taken. The first step in identifying this picture is to establish what type of image it is so that a tentative date can be...
View DetailsPhoto Detective: Year-Long Mystery Premium
It's hard to believe that a year has passed since this column debuted last February. Thank you for submitting your unidentified photographs. Every other week, I review the entire file of submissions and select one to feature in a column. Some of you are extremely patient, having waited months...
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Photo Detective: Snooping for Pictures Premium
When you visit your relatives, do you pay attention to the photographs they have on display? If you don't, you could miss a vital genealogical clue. Recently, when visiting a distant cousin, I asked if she owned any photographs. She said no and led me to a seat in...
View DetailsPhoto Detective: First or Second Marriage? Premium
Anne Sadrakula submitted this photograph of her great-grandmother Bridget White (born circa 1865) posed with one of her two husbands. Is the gentleman Maurice Keane who married Bridget in 1883 or from her second marriage in 1901? This carefully arranged photograph of the young couple contains a series of...
View DetailsPhoto Detective: Photo Riddles Premium
What's old, made of glass and found in a photographic case? If you answered "an ambrotype," congratulate yourself on your knowledge of photo history. Unlike the innovative daguerreotype and the widely popular tintype, ambrotypes are misunderstood and often confused with other cased photographs. It's time to give...
View DetailsPhoto Detective: What a Doll Premium
This photograph of two girls belonged to LaVonne Murray's great-grandparents Maitland Willits House and Louise Anna Gonion. The younger girl bears a resemblance to another relative, Lydia Lymburner (1867-1947); Murray wonders if the girl could be Penelope Lymburner (1897-1980), Lydia's niece. Assigning a date to this photograph would allow Murray...
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