The Story Behind Unknown Faces in Photos
Last week, I featured Julie Magerka's genealogical photo mystery. As you know, I believe that every photo tells a story. By piecing together the clues present in a photo—photographer's imprint, props, faces, clothing and photographic format—you can let that photo talk. Even if you can't identify...
Read MoreCensus Diving: Browsing for Facts
As genealogists, we mine census records for our ancestors and the details of their lives. For the last two weeks I've written about Richard Levine's puzzling pic in Is this Painted Woods North Dakota? and Painted Woods Mystery: Part Two. One of the tools I used to research the photo...
Read MoreAsking Permission
Last night I had an interesting discussion with a colleague. She mentioned that she's researching a Civil War soldier from Vermont and that she'd found a great website, Vermont Civil War. It includes lists of photographs of men from various units. On the site was a mention of the man...
Read MoreA Possible Identity for the Lady
Last week I wrote about Jay Kruizenga's photo of a woman with long hair. He read the column and quickly wrote back to say thank you. It appears that the lovely woman with the long locks has a name!He believe that this picture was taken 1883-85 because the cardstock...
Read MoreAsking the Big Questions
I sat with a friend today as she showed me her latest online family history discoveries. It was all very exciting. She's worked on this particular genealogy problem for several years. All of a sudden, an unknown distant relative joined an online site and posted family information and lots of...
Read MoreIt’s a Family Tree Reunion!
Last week I wrote about June Thomazin's search for information on a picture, featured in my Research Rewards post. A relative had identified the subjects, but June thought the photo depicted someone else. All her digging finally paid off. One of the readers of this blog contacted me to say...
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The 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 MoreHow to Win the Family Photo Lottery
I've lost track of exactly how long I've been writing this column. The first edition of my book Uncovering Your Ancestry Through Family Photographs was published in 2000, and I started this column in February of the following year. That means you've been reading about identifying family photographs...
Read MorePhoto Storytelling
The holiday season is nearly upon us! It's a time of year I associate with food, family and friends, but it's also storytelling season. One of the traditions in my family is looking at old pictures—not just those taken a century ago, but those considered "old" by the kids in...
Read MoreCollecting Pictures of Your Ancestors
Genealogists are famous for collecting relatives, but what about acquiring images of those folks? Is it really possible to find previously unknown photos of family members from the advent of photography in 1839? The answer is that it depends. Family circumstances, their comfort level with photography and the availability of...
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