Free Updates
Navigation
Categories
| May, 2013 (3) |
| April, 2013 (5) |
| March, 2013 (4) |
| February, 2013 (4) |
| January, 2013 (4) |
| December, 2012 (5) |
| November, 2012 (4) |
| October, 2012 (5) |
| September, 2012 (4) |
| August, 2012 (5) |
| July, 2012 (5) |
| June, 2012 (4) |
| May, 2012 (4) |
| April, 2012 (5) |
| March, 2012 (4) |
| February, 2012 (4) |
| January, 2012 (5) |
| December, 2011 (5) |
| November, 2011 (4) |
| October, 2011 (5) |
| September, 2011 (4) |
| August, 2011 (5) |
| July, 2011 (5) |
| June, 2011 (6) |
| May, 2011 (7) |
| April, 2011 (4) |
| March, 2011 (5) |
| February, 2011 (3) |
| January, 2011 (5) |
| December, 2010 (4) |
| November, 2010 (5) |
| October, 2010 (4) |
| September, 2010 (4) |
| August, 2010 (5) |
| July, 2010 (4) |
| June, 2010 (5) |
| May, 2010 (4) |
| April, 2010 (4) |
| March, 2010 (5) |
| February, 2010 (4) |
| January, 2010 (4) |
| December, 2009 (3) |
| November, 2009 (5) |
| October, 2009 (4) |
| September, 2009 (4) |
| August, 2009 (5) |
| July, 2009 (4) |
| June, 2009 (5) |
| May, 2009 (4) |
| April, 2009 (5) |
| March, 2009 (6) |
| February, 2009 (5) |
| January, 2009 (5) |
| December, 2008 (4) |
| November, 2008 (4) |
| October, 2008 (6) |
| September, 2008 (5) |
| August, 2008 (5) |
| July, 2008 (4) |
| June, 2008 (6) |
| May, 2008 (5) |
| April, 2008 (5) |
| March, 2008 (4) |
| February, 2008 (4) |
| January, 2008 (5) |
| December, 2007 (4) |
| November, 2007 (4) |
| October, 2007 (6) |
| September, 2007 (4) |
| August, 2007 (4) |
| July, 2007 (5) |
| June, 2007 (4) |
| May, 2007 (3) |
| April, 2007 (2) |
| March, 2007 (1) |
Search
Archives
| | Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|
| 28 | 29 | 30 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 1 | | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
by Maureen A. Taylor
More Links
|
 Monday, August 27, 2012
Identifying Unknown Faces in Old Photos
Posted by Diane
Over the years, a lot of you have sent me emails talking about a "picture moment." Genealogists are taught to look at census records, city directories and vital records, but if you read this column then you know that a photo can trigger a genealogical response. Gazing at an ancestral face suddenly makes you want to know more about the person.
That's what happened to Julie Magerka of Ontario, Canada. This photo is the image that encouraged her to start researching her family tree. It's a nice image of an older woman surrounded by her descendants. In her email, Julie told me that her paternal roots "are in dark and mysterious Romania in a small village (now part of Ukraine) in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains."
Julie's great-grandmother Catherine is the woman seated in the middle. Her dad is the boy on the right, with his mother behind him. Only her grandmother immigrated to Canada and sadly, never talked about her family. She's surrounded by her siblings in this picture, but no one in the family knows their names. Julie's father saved other photos of his aunts, but unfortunately, they are a mystery.
This picture, taken circa 1916, generates some other questions:
Individuals often posed for a family picture before moving away. That could the reason for this picture.
- Where is Catherine's husband?
It's difficult to tell the color of Catherine's head scarf, but if her husband was deceased, she'd be wearing a dark-colored scarf. So why isn't he in this photo?
The persistent mystery in this picture are putting names with the faces of the siblings. I'm hoping that by posting this picture online that someone will recognize them.
If you have a blog can you re-post this column to spread the word. Let's see if we can get the online community of genealogists to participate.
Catherine and her sisters were aware of the fashions being worn in the circa 1916 period. Skirts were at the ankle and blouses featured the variety of collars worn by these women.
The date for this image is based on the subjects' clothing but also on the birth date of Julie's father. He was born in 1911, and could be at least 5 years old in this photo.
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
1910s photos | group photos | Immigrant Photos | women
Monday, August 27, 2012 3:11:56 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00) 
|
|
Monday, August 20, 2012
Genealogy Fashions: Is Your Ancestor's Hat Back in Style?
Posted by Maureen
Fashion is looking back not merely to the 1970s, but all the way to the
1920s and even 1880s, at least as far as hats are concerned.
Last Sunday's
New York Times fashion supplement featured advertisements showing old-fashioned-looking hats by designers
Louis Vuitton and Donna Karan. Even the Bloomingdale's ad featured a
model in a vintage style hat.
I can't show you the Louis Vuitton ad, but I can show you hats that
resemble the ones worn by the models in the New York Times ads. It was a fashion spread for
handbags, but the head wear looked liked these workmen's hats from the 1850s. I'm serious! Vuitton added a grosgrain band above the brim, but the shape is very similar.
Donna Karan's ad is online. The hat on the woman in the video strongly resembles those worn in the 1880s. In fact, I featured a similar looking hat in Photo Contest Submissions: Shirley Jenks Jacobs submitted this photo of a woman in a rolled brimmed hat with trim and a high crown.
One more blast from the past was the Bloomingdale's ad of a young model wearing a plush hat with a very wide brim and a plume of animal fur. It looked something like this image I own of a wedding from circa 1920. Don't you love his hair? It helps date this image.
So which hat style will you wear this season? I'll be looking through the photos in my Fashionable Folks: Bonnets and Hats, 1840-1900 for more matches.
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
1850s photos | 1880s photos | 1920s photos | hairstyles | hats | ShopFamilyTree.com | unusual photos
Monday, August 20, 2012 3:55:13 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
|
|
Monday, August 13, 2012
Props in Old Family Photos
Posted by Maureen
Don't you just love it when family history artifacts pop up in family photos? This is exactly what happened for genealogist Dorothy Jackson Reed.
In 2007, she became the owner of a Book of Worship with the name Mary K. Fricke embossed in gold on the cover. According to the title page, this book was published by the Lutheran Publication Society in Philadelphia. It has a copyright of 1870, but a section of the book was revised in 1888.
Four years later, Dorothy's sister Miriam gave her a photograph of Mary K. Fricke taken by the London Studios in Baltimore. In the picture, Mary appears to be holding the Book of Worship.
Mary was born in 1878 and lived until 1953. Fashion clues date this image to the mid-1890s:
- The style of the wicker chair. Most photo studios featured wicker furniture at the end of the century.
- Her large puffy dress sleeves. In the 1890s, women's sleeves are quite distinctive.
- The color of the cardstock. White was a popular color in that decade.
If this picture was taken circa 1895, Mary would've been 17. She's dressed like a girl with long braids and a skirt above the ankles.
Could this be a confirmation photo? It's quite possible since personalized Bibles were usually given to commemorate religious events.
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 | props in photos
Monday, August 13, 2012 3:57:45 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
|
|
Thursday, August 09, 2012
And the Winner is...
Posted by Maureen
Several weeks ago we put out a call for images for inclusion in my new book, Family Photo Detective (available for preorder in ShopFamilyTree.com). Pictures poured into my inbox and the Family Tree Magazine inbox, and many were posted on the Family Tree Magazine Facebook page.
Congratulations to Michael Hanrahan, who sent in the winning image and will receive a copy of the book!
You'll have to wait for the book for the full story of his photograph, but I thought you'd like to see the picture:
And a closer look:
It's a really fun picture of a group of women at a party. Here's what Mike says about it: "These ladies include my great-grandmother, grandmother, and numerous great-aunts. I'm thinking the picture was taken around 1910 in Elmira, NY."
I'll tell you more about this photo in the future.
You can view the other entries in our slideshow on Flickr. I'll be featuring many of these images in future blog posts.
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
Improve your genealogical skills and connect with other
family historians from the convenience of home at Family
Tree University's Fall 2012 Virtual Genealogy Conference,
taking place Sept. 14-16. Early bird registration ends Friday,
Aug. 10 at 11:59 p.m.—just enter code FTUVCEARLY at
checkout to save $50!
1900-1910 photos | group photos | unusual photos | women
Thursday, August 09, 2012 1:44:18 AM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
|
|
Monday, August 06, 2012
It's a Family Reunion
Posted by Maureen
Have you ever been to a family reunion? I'm writing this from my husband's reunion. It's an every-other-year event that's been held since the mid-20th century. There's a lot of debate about when the first one was held.
Here are two observations:
- The coordinator is an energetic cousin who plans activities and dinners. She's also become involved with creating a family website. What's interesting is that she doesn't consider herself a genealogist. I disagree: iPad in hand, she's busy interviewing family members about past generations to put the information online. Yup ... you guessed it, she's collecting photos, too. The site isn't live yet, but based on her enthusiasm, it will be soon. Can't wait to see what she's created!
- Family history is everywhere. Whether it's a wedding that happened two weeks ago or figuring out when everyone first got together, there's a lot of history being collected. It's also being made everyday. Another cousin chronicles each reunion. She creates an album for every event with the photographs sent to her afterward. Each album is a time capsule.
If you've been to a reunion (or are planning one) can you comment below and share with readers ideas for photo-related activities to incorporate? We take a family photo at each reunion and snap lots of pictures. What have you done at your reunion?
Reunions magazine has a great website. Click any tab and you'll find suggestions for planning a reunion, activities for young and old, and details on sharing the pictures later. The resort where our event is held has a Pinterest site so guests can share photos they've posted. Reunions magazine also has a Pinterest page with dozens of boards. There are family history related t-shirt ideas, invitations, illustrated family trees and more.
I'm off to fill biodegradable water balloons for the traditional water balloon fight. Back next week with a family history 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
Want to improve your genealogical skills and connect with other
family historians—all from the convenience of home? Check out Family
Tree University's Fall 2012 Virtual Genealogy Conference, happening Sept. 14-16. Early bird registration ends Friday,
Aug. 10 at 11:59 p.m.—enter code FTUVCEARLY at
checkout to save $50!
Photo-sharing sites | preserving photos | Reunions
Monday, August 06, 2012 3:52:19 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
|
|
|