A Photo Mystery, A Clue at a Time
Complex image identification often requires examining each piece of a photo story—historical context, family history, and costume history along with a bit of common sense. Jake Jacoby owns this wonderful image of a group of people onboard a ship. There is a caption, but I'll share that next week. I'm...
Read MoreFamily Across the Border
Like so many French-Canadians and Acadians, some of Marie-Josee Binette's family left Quebec in the 1890s to seek jobs in the United States. She owns a lovely photo album that documents this move in pictures, but she has no idea who the people are. Marie-Josee knows that her great-grandmother Elina...
Read MoreThe Search for Annie Moore
If you don't know who Annie Moore is, you haven't been following Megan Smolenyak's research on her. For several years, Megan has been intrigued by her. Annie Moore was the first person to step foot on Ellis Island when it opened Jan. 1, 1892—a pretty significant first. There...
Read MoreFinding the Story, Part Three
If you've been following the last two weeks' worth of Joan Lee's search for her husband's grandfather, you know how complicated this story is. In week one, I looked at a photograph reputed to be Fred Klingbeil and in week two, I explained some additional problems with the Lee/Klingeil family...
Read MoreIt’s a Family Tree Magazine Reunion!
In July, I wrote a column, Which Immigrant Is It, on a photo submitted by Jeannette Bias. Last week, another woman contacted me to say that she's related to Jeanette and is the great-great-granddaughter of Simon (1843-1892) and Mary (1850-1932) Dulas, the couple possibly depicted in this portrait. Except that...
Read MoreWhich Immigrant is It?
I've been asked to determine which wife is in a picture or which child, but this is the first inquiry that referred to an immigrant-ancestor mystery. Jeanette Bias told me that "she knows everything about her family," just not who's in this picture. It's a scan of a cousin's...
Read MoreSign 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