More on Backyard Snapshots
Last week I focused on the details in the background of this backyard snapshot of Francis (Frank) Q. Donnelly. It's a great picture of a man taken in the first half of the 20th century. His relative, Dennis Rodgers, has a lot of information about him.Frank Donnelly (1879-1940) was...
Read MoreBackyard Snapshots
Studio portraits are lovely and very formal, but to find signs of everyday life, there's nothing like a snapshot. Ever since George Eastman introduced the amateur camera in the late 1880s, our ancestors have taken informal pictures. Dennis Rodgers sent in this picture of a known relative—his great-uncle...
Read MoreReader-Submitted Multi-Generational Pictures
I've been thinking about holiday cards. On Thanksgiving all 14 members of my husband's family—three generations of relatives—stood in the yard and posed for a group portrait. I find the thought of having even more generations represented in a single image amazing. Yet that's just what a reader...
Read MoreMulti-Generation Portraits, Redux
Last week, I featured a multi-generation picture submitted by Mary Lutz. We've been communicating about this photo via email, and I have a few more details to share. The original post mentioned that the baby is Mary Ruth Talbott Godwin. There is one problem with that identification. She was born...
Read MoreMulti-Generation Portraits
It's Thanksgiving! If you're planning a family gathering and are wondering how to keep folks occupied until the meal is ready, try getting them to chat about family photos. It doesn't matter if they are identified images or a group of mystery pics. I'll be taking out a box of...
Read MoreA Veterans Day Salute
This weekend I attended the annual Daguerreian Society 24th annual symposium in Baltimore, Maryland. I love those early images. The shiny reflective surface makes the viewer a part of the image because you can see your reflection. There were approximately 56 vendor tables full of mostly unidentified images. These pictures...
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Historical Fact or Fiction?
Last week I wrote about ways to spot manipulated photos in your family collection. My inspiration was an exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City. Mathew Brady is the most well-known photographer of the Civil War. His studio documented well-known figures of the period as well as ordinary...
Read MorePhoto Manipulation Before Photo Shop
Last weekend I was in New York City for The Genealogy Event. If I'm going to be in New York City, I always make time for a visit to the Metropolitan Museum. I can't resist their photo exhibits. This time I saw Faking It : Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop. It...
Read MorePhotos and Family History Vacations
Last weekend I spoke at a meeting of the Genealogical Research Institute of Virginia (GRIVA). My last lecture of the day covered family history vacations and discussed ways to use photos of homes, cemteries and other places to create an itinerary. I talked about visiting old family homes in person...
Read MoreOld Family Photo Rediscovered After Three Decades
This year Jackie Corrigan's sister-in-law opened a suitcase that once belonged to her father. It hadn't been opened in 33 years! Bertram Corrigan lived from 1884 to 1979. The suitcase was in his belongings that family split up after his death. In the suitcase was a letter from 1892 and...
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