Resolutions for the New Year
I've spent the last six months cleaning out every closet, file drawer and cabinet in my house. After 17 years in the same house, there was a lot of stuff. It feels good to start the new year with a fresh outlook. If you feel the...
Read MorePainted Woods Update
Richard Levine has taken on this mystery photo, which he originally thought was taken in Painted Woods, ND. We've emailed back and forth about his progress and I thought it was time to update all of you about what he's been up to. This is the photo featured...
Read MoreStorytelling Pictures
You never know what you're going to find in a family photo collection. If you have an odd picture, please send it along. You can email it to me.Dario X. Musso sent me a lovely family photo:Seated on the right side is Nikita Radionov. Dario's grandmother is...
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 MorePainted Woods Mystery: Part Two
Yesterday morning, I called Richard Levine to discuss his photograph of a family group possibly posed at Painted Woods, ND. I featured the photo and the mystery in last week’s column. Levine has known about this photo for only a few months. His cousin Sally showed it to him and...
Read MoreIs this Painted Woods, North Dakota?
Photographs and history go hand in hand. Take this photo for instance. It likely represents a bit of North Dakota history.Richard Levine's cousin Sally sent him this photo. Her mother had given it to her. The mother always thought it depicted a group at the Painted Woods settlement in...
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Trick or Treat in Your Family Album
It's Halloween and time for trick or treat. You might have images of this holiday in your family album. These two young girls, c. 1920 are dressed in the style popular for the period. On the right the dots on this girl's outfit suggest she's a...
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 More1890s Fashion in Color
It's so easy to look at a vintage photograph and image that our ancestors dressed in drab colors. If you're as curious as I am about fabrics and colors then watch my new video on hand-colored images. These two women wear cotton dresses from the circa-1890 period. Their sleeves and...
Read MoreMother and Daughters
Family photographs are endlessly fascinating. There is the life story of the individuals in a picture and then there is the story of the person who took the image. I've looked a thousands of photographs over the years so I can spot a talented studio photographer just by looking at...
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