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Techniques and strategies to identify old photographs. Date an old photo and find other important clues in your old family photos.
Do you have unidentified photographs of your ancestors in your collection? I think many genealogy researchers do. Among my own personal collection I have a large number of photographs of unknown individuals. It’s actually a wonderful problem to have!
Are they family? Friends? Neighbors? I’m really not sure on some. I expect it’s a mixture of both.
When you come across old family photos that are not labeled, the question very quickly becomes “How do we identify those individuals? Is it even possible?”.
As researchers, we must first educate ourselves about those old family photographs. We have to learn how to place a photograph in time and place, and we have to learn how to interpret the family history clues in the photo itself.
It’s an “Identify Old Photographs” Round Up!
Below, find sixteen (16) Are You My Cousin? posts all containing techniques and strategies to identify various types of photographs, fashions and other important clues to learn more about your ancestors’ photographs.
It's a Round- up! Find all the Are You My Cousin? articles about your old family photos here! Let's start putting ancestor names to faces.
How To Determine the Date of an Old Family Photograph
Do you have old family photos in your closet? Wondering which ancestor is in those photographs? Explore 5 tips for dating your old family photos - the first step in the process.
Identify Old Family Photographs - Who IS That Couple?
Do you have a box of old family photographs? Wondering who those people are? Learn tips and strategies to identify those old family photographs.
How to Identify 5 Types of Old Photographs
Dating old photographs provides clues to identifying your ancestors in the old family photos. The type of photo indicates the date a photo was taken.
Case Study: 5 Steps to Identify a Family Photograph
Explore the steps you need to begin evaluating and identifying your heirloom photographs.
How to Date Antique Photographs Using Tax Stamps
The presence of tax stamps on an antique photograph will narrow down the date the photograph was taken. Learn more about these stamps & when they were used.
Would You Recognize Your Ancestor's Wedding Photo?
Do you have a wedding photo of your ancestors hiding in your collection of old family photos? Would you recognize it as your ancestor's wedding photo?
5 Resources To Identify Your Ancestor's Friends
Not all of the photographs you have in your collection will be of your ancestors. You may well have photographs of individuals who are not related to you.
Date a Photograph By Your Female Ancestors' Hairstyles
Have you thoughts about your female ancestors' hairstyles? Have you considered how your female ancestor's hairstyle could date her photograph? It is no different from how we look back at our own photographs and know when it was taken by how we wore our hair.
Colorize Family Photos with MyHeritage in Color & Spark New Life Into Those Photos!
Colorize family photos using the MyHeritage in Color tool and bring new life to your photos. It's easy and is a great way to share your family history!
How a 1950's Photograph Led to a Family Reunion
This 1950's photograph led to our attending a family reunion - the first one 60+ years. Get those photos out of their box and start sharing them.
Preserve Your Family Photos...Preserve Your Family History
An easy way to scan and preserve your family photos to keep family memories safe for the future generations. Use the Photomyne app to start scanning photos!
Tuesday's Tip - How to Label A Photograph
Do you have photographs of your ancestors that are not labeled? (Me, too!) Let's label those photographs safely to preserve our ancestors for generations to come.
Finding Hidden Clues In Old Family Photos
Find hidden clues in old family photos. Candid photos work great for discovering fun details to fill out your family histories.
3 Great Benefits of Crowdsourcing Family Stories From Old Photos
Crowdsourcing family stories hidden in old family photos creates connections with family. See how Ponga helps you bring the stories to life.
Your Ancestors + Funeral Photography
For years, I thought my relatives were strange for having these photographs. Then I started my genealogy research and learned taking post mortem pictures were not just some weird thing my ancestors did.
It was a common practice at one time.
Now it’s your turn!
Pull those family photos out of the closet. You know the ones – those in the shoebox in the top of the guest room closet? Blow the dust off and get started identifying those unknown individuals.
I am going through my grandfather’s old photo album and there are a lot of people I do not know. I am going to try and put some out on the net to see if anyone in my lost family may know them or have the same picture in an old album. The are from around 1887-88. . Thanks for putting your info out for us to review.
You’re welcome! How great that you have those old family photos! Best of luck as you work to identify them.
I have a lot of ancestors that there picture was on a postcard. Would you happen to know time when postcards were used?
Thanks so much for including me!