Three Clues that Identify an Old Photo
The clues add up differently in every photo. It's never just one thing that helps put a name with a face. In Pat Eiler's tintype the three clues are age, fashion and another picture. There is no mystery as to the identity of these three people. Pat knows they are...
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RootsTech 2016 Wrap-Up
More than 26,000 people attended this year's RootsTech conference, the largest US genealogy conference, held in Salt LakeCity and produced by FamilySearch. Your eyes aren't deceiving you: 26,000. That's a lot of genealogists. Three days of lectures, a full day of Innovator Summit presentations and an amazing exhibit...
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World War I Uniforms for Little Boys
A few months ago I featured a picture of a little boy in a German style military uniform and discussed how boys could dress like the servicemen in their family. Paul Daraghy sent in three photos of his father wearing a miniature World War I uniform complete with belt and...
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Old Photos in Print: A Collection of Tips
One of the first tips for finding images (photographs, engravings, and paintings) of your ancestors is to start at home and branch out from there. Those images could be hiding in plain sight on everything from passports to licenses. You're probably wondering when you can expect to find...
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Research Family Photographers in Old Newspapers
The name and address of a photo studio usually found on a card photograph contains clues to help you learn more about when and where a picture was taken. That information can narrow a time frame for a family photograph. While city directories are a standard resource for leaning more...
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King Family Photo Clues Found in a Newspaper
Last week's blog post featured three King family photos in Mary Roddy's collection. They lived in Amador, California and Douglas, Alaska. The photos proved that two branches of the family stayed in touch despite the distance. Alice Devlin King and her maid of honor Mary Jane Fields were more than...
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The King Family: Sorting Through The Clues in Three Old Photos
Photographs can provide proof of close family relationships among cousins now long forgotten. Sorting through the clues in one family's collection and digging deeper into genealogical research sources solves one picture mystery for genealogist Mary Roddy. She knows a lot about her family history but one mystery picture had hoping...
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A Year’s Worth of Photos: 2015
This was another amazing year of photo columns. Thank you for sharing your family pictures and for re-posting your favorite photo detective blog posts on social media. Can't wait to see what 2016 will bring!Here's a month by month overview of your favorites. Please click links to...
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Little Boys in Military Dress in Old Photos
Patsy Ellinger's picture of 3-year-old Paul Robert Engemann and his older brother Karl Engemann, age 5, is a charming portrayal of two little boys playing dress up. It was taken circa 1902. Both boys wear miniature military uniforms, copying those likely worn by soldiers in Silesia, Prussia. This...
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Wedding Wear, 1855
Lumber merchant Peter Whitmer (born 1828) and his bride Lucy Jane McDonald (born 1837) had the means to pose for two portraits when they wed in February 1855. In the first, the couple posed alone. Peter sits with top hat in one hand and his other gloved hand rests on...
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