Family History Month: Focus on One Old Photo Collection
Thank you Darlene Sampley! I met Darlene last month in San Diego at an all-day seminar for the San Diego Genealogical Society. We started talking about her family photo collection and I started thinking about Family History Month, which genealogists traditionally observe in October. Hmm. Wouldn't it be...
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Wavy Hair in Your Family Photos
Last week, I wrote about how "radium perms" gave our ancestors' hair smooth curls. Two readers sent me pictures of their female ancestors with wavy hair. Whether permed or created with a curling iron, these female ancestors ended up with lovely 'dos. Sharon Haskin Galitz sent in a 1928 graduation...
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Toxic Hairstyles in Old Family Photos
What's the weirdest thing you've ever done to your hair? Bad hair happens to everyone unless your hair is too short to go astray. You know what I'm talking about. Generations of women (and men) have spent money on preparations to make their hair conform to the latest...
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Old School Photos: Best of Photo Detective
It’s a good thing many families documented school days in pictures. Those photographs tell the story of your ancestor’s education. Here’s an assortment of past Photo Detective blog posts featuring students and teachers.
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Figuring out Where an Old Family Photo Was Taken
Laura Katz knows that this is picture of her paternal great-grandparents Baruch and Asna Lipitz. They immigrated from Russia in 1906, and Laura wonders if this picture was taken there or in the United States. Comparing the date the photo was taken to the date of the couple's immigration should...
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3 Next Steps in Photo Identification
Last week's How to Tell Men's Faces Apart in Old Photos examined two photos thought to be the same man. Two branches of the family identified him as Patrick Sheridan, but the facial clues didn't add up. When looking at pictures, it's important to examine other family history details as...
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How to Tell Men’s Faces Apart in Old Photos
Pat Dwyer reached out through Facebook to ask a question about some confusing family photos. This post is the first of two. Pat owns a photograph of Patrick Sheridan, and her cousin thinks he does too. Patrick Sheridan Unknown man thought to be Patrick SheridanWhen comparing two pictures of men...
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4 Tips to Identify Faces in Old Group Photos
Joseph Martin has a great photo, a big group portrait. You guessed the problem: figuring out who's who. He knows the identity of three of these individuals, but the rest he's not sure about. Here are four tips you can apply to group portraits in your family collection.1. Estimate...
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Political Memorabilia in Old Time Photos
Political memorabilia first appeared in John Adams' campaign of 1796, but that was too early for photographic political pins and advertisements. It was another 60-plus years before followers could wear pictures of their candidates. Tintypes of Abraham Lincoln's face debuted in his 1860 campaign: WikipediaCheck your family photos for banners...
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The Love Family Revisted
In the July/August 2016 issue of Family Tree Magazine, the Photo Detective column, "An Afternoon Outside" focused on this photo. It's from the collection of Bradley Richardson. His mother inherited the photo and knew it was from either the Love or Allan sides of her family. Bradley shared...
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