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by Maureen A. Taylor
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 Sunday, June 17, 2012
Family Photos Shared at Jamboree: Threshing Wheat
Posted by Maureen
I love going to genealogy conferences. The people, the photos and the stories all add up to a fantastic experience. For the last four years I've trekked out to California for the Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree. It's a regional conference with a national feel—a big program with nationally known speakers.
Every year, folks stop by to show me their photos. Some people come back each year and as you might expect, friendships develop.
Here's a picture of Mildred "Millie" Vander Hoeven and me at Jamboree in 2010.
Millie stops by to chat and share stories of her childhood. She's sent me pictures of her childhood and her parents.
Family photo collections are an amazing array of people portraits and other types of pictures. These next two images of Millie's show men threshing wheat. I need to chat with her to get a bit more information.
Can anyone—perhaps someone familiar with farming—comment on what the crews are doing in these photos? Click Comments below to share your thoughts.
Solve your family photo mysteries with these books by Maureen A. Taylor:
Fashionable Folks: Bonnets and Hats 1840-1900
Preserving Your Family Photographs
Fashionable Folks: Hairstyles 1840-1900
Finding the Civil War in Your Family Album
Genealogy events | occupational | unusual photos
Sunday, June 17, 2012 2:57:07 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00) 
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Monday, June 11, 2012
Jean-ealogy: Ancestors in Blue Jeans
Posted by Diane
When I was working on my book Finding the Civil War in Your Family Album, I spent a lot of time looking for all sorts of clothing examples.
As one of the photo shows, I found this picture of a man wearing what looks like blue jeans. Today jeans are an American export, possibly our most popular clothing style overseas.
The ancestor of the jeans we wear today dates back to 1873.
Levi Strauss, an 1840s German immigrant, immigrant is responsible for our blue jean obsession. He sold canvas pants reinforced with copper rivets, which were strong enough to withstand the rigors of mining. You can learn more about the history of these pants online.
During the Civil War, there was a cotton twill called jean cloth. The man in this late-1860s image wears an overcoat and trousers that look like they are the predecessors of the canvas jeans. 
In his right hand, the man holds what I think is a divining rod for looking for water.
Got a picture of an ancestral family member in blue jeans? I'll feature it here in a timeline of the pants in family photos. Email me your picture with a brief description.
1860s photos | Civil War | hats | men | occupational | props in photos | unusual clothing
Monday, June 11, 2012 6:23:32 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Sunday, June 03, 2012
Westward Bound! Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree
Posted by Maureen
This week I'm off to the Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree and a meeting of the California Genealogical Society. I hope to see you there! Please stop by my booth at the Jamboree to say hello.
All this California travel makes me think about western American style clothing worn in family photos—in particular Stetson hats, jeans and frontier bonnets. Do you have a photo of someone dressed for the West? I'd love to see it. You can email me.
I love the story of the Stetson hat. It's an example of American ingenuity. John B. Stetson, son of a Philadelphia hat manufacturer, took a trip West to recover from consumption. He showed his companions how to make felted fabric and created a hat from that material.
In 1865, Stetson founded his hat company. He called his hat the "Boss of the Plains." It wasn't a new design: Similar style hats were worn by Army units, and wide-brimmed hats were also popular on plantations because they offered shade.
It was Stetson's marketing efforts that made his hat a success. He wore his hat everywhere and each hat bore a gold leaf Stetson on the inside to mark it as authentic.
Wearers could use them to retrieve water for washing or drinking, earning them the nickname, "10 gallon hat."
You'll find more information on Stetsons and other types of western hats in my book Fashionable Folks: Bonnets and Hats 1840-1900.
Solve your family photo mysteries with these books by Maureen A. Taylor:
Fashionable Folks: Bonnets and Hats 1840-1900
Preserving Your Family Photographs
Fashionable Folks: Hairstyles 1840-1900
Finding the Civil War in Your Family Album
1880s photos | men | unusual clothing
Sunday, June 03, 2012 5:39:02 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, May 28, 2012
Call for Photos! Maureen's New Book
Posted by Maureen
I'm working on an updated and revised version of Uncovering Your Ancestry Through Family Photographs. To reflect all the new content, it has a new name, The Family Photo
Detective: 
When I was at the NGS Conference in Cincinnati,
Genealogy Insider Diane Haddad, Managing Editor Allison Dolan and I sat down to brainstorm ideas for the new book. We thought it would be exciting to include photographs from readers of this space.
So...do you have a mystery photo you'd always wanted to know more about? You can email it to us or post it to the Family Tree Magazine Facebook page. There are more details on the Genealogy Insider.
I'm looking for a photo to feature in my Photo Detective column for Family Tree Magazine, and maybe in the book. I'll select one photo to win a copy of the book (due out in 2013).
Can't wait to see what you've got in those family boxes of photos or tucked away in photo albums!
Please send in your submissions by June 4th.
Monday, May 28, 2012 10:19:55 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, May 21, 2012
NGS Photo Spotlight
Posted by Maureen
The owner of last week's photo, Larae Schraeder, sent me some additional information on her family. I love the connection between family history and photography! That's no surprise to all the readers of this space.
Last week, I showed details giving evidence that this picture was taken by an itinerant photographer. One correction to that post. The photo was found in Schraeder's great-grandparents' collection of images. It depicts Caleb and Eliza C. (Jeffers) Coon/Kuhn.
If you're wondering about the alternate spelling of the Coon/Kuhn name, Caleb's Civil War pension file contains information on his formal name change.
What's the most unusual detail you've found in a Civil War pension file? Add it to the Comments section below. I discovered that my great-grandfather had red hair. No one in the family since has had red hair.
Caleb was born in Washington County, Ohio, in 1846. He died in 1927 in Vernon, Mo. His wife, Eliza, was born in Gallia County, Ohio, in 1847, and she died in Vernon in 1929.
Caleb's family moved to Gallia County and their farm adjoined Eliza's family farm. Caleb didn't farm; he worked in coal mining.
Solve your family photo mysteries with these books by Maureen A. Taylor:
Fashionable Folks: Bonnets and Hats 1840-1900
Preserving Your Family Photographs
Fashionable Folks: Hairstyles 1840-1900
Finding the Civil War in Your Family Album
1890s photos | Civil War | group photos
Monday, May 21, 2012 1:52:46 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, May 14, 2012
What I Saw at the National Genealogical Society Conference
Posted by Maureen
Thank you to everyone who stopped by my booth at the National Genealogical Society Conference last week! I looked at a lot of photos and many people promised to send in submissions for this column.
Larae Schraeder showed me two photos. Here's one of them (I'm still working on the other):
It's a portrait of the Jeffers Family of Missouri. There is so much to like about this picture.
It was taken circa 1890, based on the women's peaked shoulder seams.
This was the style for a few years from 1889 to 1892.
The whole family dressed up for this group portrait, likely taken by an itinerant photographer. Look closely at these two details:
- You can see the temporary wall set up and the edge of the backdrop.
- In the second closeup, you can see that the backdrop stands on legs and the grass beneath the family's feet.
The family took their excursion to the photographer very seriously by dressing up for the portrait and posing with solemn expressions.
This photo from the Ralph M. and Nettie Finley Jeffers collection is a family history treasure.
Solve your family photo mysteries with these books by Maureen A. Taylor:
Fashionable Folks: Bonnets and Hats 1840-1900
Preserving Your Family Photographs
Fashionable Folks: Hairstyles 1840-1900
Finding the Civil War in Your Family Album
1890s photos | group photos | hairstyles | unusual photos
Monday, May 14, 2012 3:45:39 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, May 07, 2012
More Family Photos of Ancestral Children
Posted by Maureen
Last week I showcased your photos of ancestral children and this week it's a second installment.
This little guy is Sandra Jerome's grandfather, Ralph Frederick Jerome. He was born September 7, 1894 in Jordan, Scott County, Minnesota. He's wearing attire approximate for boys less than 5--a skirt. It's paired with a short jacket and a wide collared shirt. A cute hat sits on his head. He doesn't seem old enough to be able to ride the photographer's tricycle prop. It was likely taken circa 1899.
Can you spot the school photos in your family album? They usually look something like this. This 1899 photo depicts 11 year old Jennie Young. She's Bonnie Bolster's great aunt.
The boy in the front row holds a sign--Coral School District no. 1 May 27, 1898. The children wear a wide array of styles popular in that period. The flags in the background are likely for Memorial Day.
Thank you for sharing pictures of your ancestors as children! I'm off to NGS in Cincinnati, Ohio. Please stop by my booth 712 and say hello.
Solve your family photo mysteries with these books by Maureen A. Taylor:
Fashionable Folks: Bonnets and Hats 1840-1900
Preserving Your Family Photographs
Fashionable Folks: Hairstyles 1840-1900
Finding the Civil War in Your Family Album
1900-1910 photos | children | school photos
Monday, May 07, 2012 5:58:04 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, April 30, 2012
Ancestor Mystery Photos: Unidentified Kids
Posted by Maureen
Thank you for all the pictures of your ancestors' cute kids!
These little girls are named Josie Powell and Nannie Wilson. Don't you love their identical outfits? They are in a photo album owned by Gwen Prichard. She's trying to establish a relationship between them. Perhaps their mothers were friends? The two girls are even the same height.
Candace Buchanan emailed this lovely trio dressed for winter. The boy in the middle wears attire from his family's cultural background. Buchanan bought the image at an auction and only knows that it was taken in Waynesburg, Pa. Is the dog real or a stuffed prop? It looks a bit unnatural to me.
This unhappy little fellow (look at that expression) posed with hat in hand in the 1860s. Bonnie Bybee-Bolster isn't sure if he from her Young or her Brown family line. The families lived in Baraboo/Delton, Wis.
Another 1860s pose. You can see the brace at this girl's feet. I love the fact that she holds a parasol. Rachel Pierce bought this image because of the little girl's shoes. Unfortunately, the photo is completely unidentified.
Shelley Baumeister isn't sure who the child is wearing an oversized collar in this photo. She thinks the child is a girl. I think she's right because of the center part in her hairstyle. This photo was passed down through Shelley's maternal line. This child posed in 1887 in Dubuque, Iowa.
I'll be back next week with more photos of children. My inbox is full of gorgeous images.
Solve your family photo mysteries with these books by Maureen A. Taylor:
Fashionable Folks: Bonnets and Hats 1840-1900
Preserving Your Family Photographs
Fashionable Folks: Hairstyles 1840-1900
Finding the Civil War in Your Family Album
1860s photos | 1880s photos | children
Monday, April 30, 2012 3:16:20 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, April 23, 2012
Identifying Old Photos of Children
Posted by Diane
Genealogists need a sense of humor. You never know what you're going to find. Loretta Gillespie, author of the blog Barking Up the Wrong Tree, submitted this photo of two children. Last week I dated it to the mid to late 1880s.
To try to solve this mystery, Loretta sent me a link to her Ancestry.com family tree. Her ancestor Isabelle Pierce Wright had 11 children. Loretta is hoping this tintype depicts the two youngest children, Charles Pearl Marion Wright (b. 1877) and Geneva "Neb" Wright (b. 1880). Loretta sees the "Wright ears and weak chin."
This is a possible identification. Having other photos of the children taken later in their lives would help verify it.
Loretta's great-grandfather (and Neb's nephew) William Gillespie wrote a poem about Neb:
Aunt Neb was the youngest, about 16 years old. Her learning was slight, if not zero.
She'd chew her tobacco and fight for her share,
And woe to the hombre that got in her hair.
She could swim like a seahorse and dive like bear,
And frighten the fish as she came up for air!"
Next week is all about cute kids. Thank you for submitting all those pictures! (And if you have one to submit, click the "How to Submit Your Photo" link on the left.)
Solve your family photo mysteries with these books by Maureen A. Taylor:
Fashionable Folks: Bonnets and Hats 1840-1900
Preserving Your Family Photographs
Fashionable Folks: Hairstyles 1840-1900
Finding the Civil War in Your Family Album
1880s photos | children
Monday, April 23, 2012 2:58:47 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, April 16, 2012
Sorting Out Children's Clothing
Posted by Maureen
It's been awhile since I've put out a call for photos from your collections. If you have a photo of a child wearing interesting clothing, please send it to me. I'd love to run a series on what kinds of clothing children wore, and when.
This week's photo came from Loretta Gillespie. She asks, "With men's clothing being more difficult to date and [this girl's] clothing being a little unconventional, how do I narrow down the time frame?" Great question.
Studying clothing clues is all about the details—collars, cuffs, sleeves, trim and accessories.
In this case, the clothing suggests that this tintype was taken in the mid-to-late 1880s.
The horizontal bands with prominent buttons combined with horizontal contrasting fabric was a key feature of girl's clothing during the mid-1880s. Her dress was likely made at home. It's a printed cotton fabric.
The high collar with the slight ruffle and the cuffs also help date the photo.
Joan Severa's Dressed for the Photographer: Ordinary Americans & Fashion (Kent State University Press, 1995) is wonderful resource for clothing styles.
I'll be back next week with another installment of this photo mystery.
Solve your family photo mysteries with these books by Maureen A. Taylor:
Fashionable Folks: Bonnets and Hats 1840-1900
Preserving Your Family Photographs
Fashionable Folks: Hairstyles 1840-1900
Finding the Civil War in Your Family Album
1880s photos | children | men
Monday, April 16, 2012 1:27:20 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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