Marital Mystery in an Old Photo
Identifying couples in heirloom family photos can be tricky. Photo Detective Maureen Taylor shares her tools and tricks for identification.
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A Mysterious River Crossing in an Old Photo
Some photos contain layers of puzzling details. You look at them and say, “What?” That’s what Diane Detour did when she found this picture amongst family photos. First, it’s a mystery about who’s depicted. Second, it’s a challenge to identify what these men are hauling across a river. And third, is this a family photo […]
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A Halloween Mystery: Women Dressed as Men in an Old Photo
Our reader inherited this old family photo of young women dressed as men. When was it taken? Why the costumes? We'll examine the mystery photo for clues.
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Why Was Someone’s Face Cut Out of This Old Family Photo?
A genealogist was given an old black-and-white photo with someone's face cut out. She's not sure who the people pictured are—or why the image was defaced. Our Photo Detective is on the case!
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Identifying Unfamiliar Faces in an Old Group Photograph
Last week I shared three tips for identifying an old group photograph, using an early 1900s mystery photo of German-born inventor Emile Berliner with unnamed family members. We looked at the youngest person and the oldest person in the picture, then asked if census records could helps us identify the people in the picture. They […]
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3 Tips to Identify Your Old Family Photos of Groups
Are there mystery faces in the old group photos in your family album? Identify them using these three tips from Family Tree Magazine's Photo Detective.
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Old Military Uniforms in 19th-Century Photos
These four photos of men in military uniforms occupy a single page from a family photo album—but that doesn’t mean they’re from the same family. It was a common practice for our ancestors to share photos with friends and classmates. It’s possible that these four men knew each other from military service. The album belongs […]
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Old Photo of a Nurse in the 1890s
This lovely photo of a nurse was taken in the mid to late 19th century. Let's take a closer look to see what more we can learn.
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Two Faces But Just One Name in This Old Mystery Photo
We know the name of one young woman in this old mystery photo, thanks to the scrawled caption. But there’s no way (yet) to tell which person the name belongs to. Here’s what we’ve been able to figure out so far, and what to do next: The Eyes Have It These two women posed […]
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How Old Photos Make Time Travel Possible
Taking a vacation isn't new. Generations of our ancestors did the same thing (if they could take the time off work). Since it's August and a good time for a trip, I thought I'd share two older columns. A man bought this photo at a sale and then put it...
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