Photo Detective
A Timeline of Portraits
Candace LaPrade send in several images of one of her ancestors. She's very lucky to have more than one picture of this man! When you have multiple pictures of the same person, try to put them in chronological order using their attire and age as a guide. Peter...
Read More
Twentieth-Century Mustache Mania
From the White House to Hollywood, mustaches of the 20th century were iconic and considered manly. The underlying message was that strong men wore facial hair. Teddy Roosevelt to Clark Gable and beyond, the presence of a mustache conveyed a sense of strength in personality and actions. Each of these...
Read More
The True Story of Abraham Lincoln’s Beard
Abraham Lincoln was the first President to have a beard. Learn the brief history of why he grew one.
Read More
Beards and Mustaches: Identifying Facial Hair Styles in Old Photos
Here is a quick overview of the history of facial hairstyles in the United States. From frontier beards to waxed mustaches, here’s what you need to know to identify key clues in your ancestors' facial hair.
Read More
Halloween in Old Photos: Three Clues to Spot
This weekend ghouls, goblins and princesses will ring my doorbell looking for treats. There will also be some movie characters as well such as Darth Vader given the interest in the new film. The choice of costumes at every Halloween reflects what figures are popular at the cinema, on television...
Read More
Teasing the Clues Out of An Old Photo
Larry Calhoun thinks this is a gathering of either the Benfield or the Calhoun family in western North Carolina. Last week, I discussed how Annie Oakley influenced frontier dress for women. This week, let's study the other clues in the same image and see if they help Larry figure out...
Read More
Annie Oakley and Your Old Photos
What does Annie Oakley have to do with your family photos? More than you think. Larry Calhoun sent a group portrait he thinks was taken in western North Carolina. It could be members of the Calhoun or Benfield family. I took one look and said, "Whoa, that woman...
Read More
Mourners in Old Graveside Photo
This old graveside picture is proof that family photographs are inherited differently in every family. Sometimes the pictures go to the oldest, sometimes the youngest, and sometimes they get scattered among descendants. The same can be true for genealogical information. Huge online genealogy databases like Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org...
Read More
Graveside Clues in an Old Photo
Our family photo collections are full of pictures of happy occasions, such as weddings, parties and kids having fun. But sometimes the camera was used to document a sorrowful family history moment. Pam Fisher owns this graveside group portrait from the Shepardson family. She thinks it was taken in southern...
Read More
Crowdsourcing an Identity in an Old Vacation Picture
Alex Jenner of Ipswich, Suffolk, England, bought this photo at a "boot sale." He's fascinated by it and he'd like our help figuring out who posed. Crowdsourcing is a way of spreading information on the internet and trying to find answers through the viral qualities of the web. It...
Read More