Photo Detective
Sports in the Family
Like many of you, I'm glued to the TV and online news sources watching the Olympics. While I don't have any Olympic hopefuls in my house, there are plenty of athletes on the family tree: In one oft-told tale, my husband's grandfather had an opportunity to play for a major...
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Medical Conditions and Family History
Two weeks ago I put out a call for photos showing medical conditions. There are three images and one blog link in this post so be sure to read all the way to the end. The inspiration for that request was a photo that Elizabeth Vollrath emailed me in May...
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The Weller Family Revisited
My search for living descendants of the little girl in Finding Family Photos on the Web is ongoing. It's a perfect example of how not everything is on the web. Having looked at census records and whatever else was online, I ran into a virtual brick wall—I'm sure you know...
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Spotlight on Family Health History–The Photo Side
There was a very interesting story about Pio Pico, California's last governor under Mexico, in the July 19 Los Angeles Times. "What made Pio Pico so, well, ugly?" focuses not on the political happenings of his administration, but on how a daguerreotype of him helped identify a medical condition...
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Finding Family Photos on the Web
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how one genealogist created a short video about her online photo discovery. I was so intrigued by her effort that I decided to try putting together a short piece with images depicting flags. It's one of my collecting areas—I can't...
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Is This the Same Man?
Charles Blyth found this handsome daguerreotype in a group of identified family photographs. He thinks the man might be a colleague of his great uncle, but isn't really sure. It's beautiful and in pristine condition, so I couldn't resist this challenge. It's important to remember daguerreotypes are reversed. Before comparing...
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Photo Reunion Live!
In the July 2008 issue of Family Tree Magazine, I wrote an article, "Charmed Life," about how genealogists connect with lost family—people, history and artifacts. It was a lot of fun to work on. Midge Frazel, one of the women featured in the piece, has created a video of...
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Loopy Photo Labels
A big thank you to Leanne M. Baraban! She bought this photo to share with me (and you). It's a great example of how good-intentioned labeling can go so very wrong. Below are all the identifications, and the woman who made them added a note: "I numbered these...
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Sisters or Mother and Daughter?
A reader named Judy sent me a picture mystery that's a lot like choosing the answer to a multiple choice question—a, b or c. This makes my brain and eyes hurt. Here goes: On the back is written Great Grandma Frances Huffman. Huffman was born in 1838.In...
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Wicked Weather and Your Family Heirlooms (Photos included)
It's that time of year when weather leads the news reports--tornados, floods and hurricanes. Also in the news are pictures and footage of folks clutching family photos they've rescued from disaster. There is a lot you can do to save your family heirlooms from the wild and wicked...
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