Archives for Maureen A. Taylor
Photo Detective: MyPicture Puzzle Premium
Even photo sleuths get stumped sometimes. This week, it's your turn to help me. I'm hoping that someone will recognize the people in these pictures, the only two images of my father's family that I own. The photos don't provide many clues, so I haven't been able to identify the...
View Details
Photo Detective: Daycaps Premium
Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 If you were to ask a group of women about their hat-wearing habits, few if any would report wearing one except in inclement weather. While you probably don't wear a hat and may not even own one, for generations of American women, a...
View Details
Photo Detective: Photo-Sleuthing Supplies Premium
Gift ideas for the photo detective in your family.
View Details
Photo Detective: Changes in the Roaring 1920s Premium
Image A Image B Linda Prybysz submitted two photographs of the same couple to find out more about them. I usually see photographs of couples taken several decades apart, but in this case both pictures date from the 1920s. Can you tell which photograph—Image A or B—was...
View Details
Photo Detective: Building a Family Network Premium
What does it take to identify a photo? If you read this column regularly, you're probably shouting out answers such as these: a photographer's imprint, family information and clothing clues. All those answers are correct, but don't forget one of the most important resources: a group of interested family members...
View Details
Photo Detective: Holiday Photo Cards Premium
This week, I received my first Christmas e-card, complete with a digital photo attached—a 21st-century spin on an old tradition. Photographic holiday cards have been around since the medium's early beginnings, in the 1840s. If your family has been sending and receiving cards for a number of years—or even generations—then...
View DetailsSign up for the Family Tree Newsletter
Plus, you'll receive our 10 Essential Genealogy Research Forms PDF as a special thank you!
Get Your Free Genealogy Forms
"*" indicates required fields
Photo Detective: Gifts for Photo Fanatics Premium
The holiday season brings you opportunities to connect with relatives either in person or through cards and letters—and to show around those unknown family photographs and gather identification leads. Naturally, you're also hoping to give and get some great gifts. Show this wish list of photo-related presents to gift-givers in...
View Details
Photo Detective:Group Photo ID Premium
The idea of trying to identify the 10 adults and 10 children in this 14x17-inch picture overwhelmed Ginger Rogers. She found it in a trunk belonging to her grandmother Lorena Bagwell. According to relatives, Bagwell once referred to this picture as "The Real Bagwells," but she didn't name...
View Details
Photo Detective: Q&A Premium
Mystery photos generate a lot of questions, but sometimes they can provide a few answers, too. Maurla White sent me scans of this photograph, along with four questions. She says the image was handed down through her family, but no one can identify the woman. White thinks it's Maria Schwenk...
View Details
Photo Detective: Western Mystery Premium
Front Back In this case study, three different people wrote captions on the back of a photograph. The earliest identifies the image as "My dady (sic) + half brother." Other individuals named the men as "Great Grandfather Pugh, Grandma Youngs father + her brother" and "...
View Details