At each junction of your family tree photographs and other visual representations of ancestors are either handed down or discarded. Before you claim that your ancestors weren’t interested in pictures or were too poor to afford them, remember that photography began in 1839, which means it’s possible your ancestors sat for a picture anytime in the last one hundred and seventy years. Even before the first camera, individuals captured their visages in paintings, sculptures, engravings and silhouettes. The fact is you just never know where they are going to turn up.
Image Search Engines
All the major web search engines have image search capabilities, but Google’s Image Search is probably one of the best known. Enter your ancestor’s name into the search box using quotation marks and see what turns up. Try refining the search by adding a place of residence.
Another part of Google is Google Books
It’s a digital library of fully searchable books. Do another search to see if your ancestor’s name and possibly a picture shows up in either a downloadable full view book or in a book that you can’t preview. If it’s the latter, ask your public library to order the volume on interlibrary loan.
Genealogy Sites
Search Ancestry.com under the tab, “family trees.” We Relate is a relative newcomer to the genealogy field but this wiki allows you to search site content, comment on the genealogical information and photos – and even create tags (captions) for them. Footnote.com also has searchable image databases. On Footnote, individuals can add their own family pictures to story pages.
Message Boards
Find one related to your ancestral place of residence or surname by using major sites such as Rootsweb.com. Post a query including your question and the full name of the ancestor you’re seeking. Include what you know about them-date of birth and towns of residence.
Library and Historical Society Websites
While the Library of Congress (LC) has its own prints and photograph online database, increasingly so do local historical societies.
Orphan Photo Sites
These photo reunion sites are a great way to locate “missing” family pictures. Try Dead Fred and Ancient Faces to search for your ancestors.
Happy Hunting!
Ask Maureen to Analyze Your Family Photos
Don’t let heaps of unidentified, damaged, or disorganized family photos get you down. The Photo Detective can help!
If you would like to have Maureen, the Photo Detective, analyze your own family photographs, here’s how the process works. And now you can receive an audio file of your consultation with Maureen!
- Simply supply me with a photo or photos that you would like to know more about. You can do this online at my website.
- Tell me as much as you already know about the photo and upload your photo(s). I’ll email you back with an estimate for costs and you’re good to go. My new per picture rates won’t bust your budget either! I will combine the skills of a private detective with those of a historian/genealogist and look at identifying characteristics in the photo such as background, hair styles, clothing styles, jewelry, uniforms, quilt patterns, make of automobiles, etc. and even facial resemblance if necessary, to begin solving the mystery of when and where the photo was taken and who is pictured. Ill compare findings against any known family history or if additional genealogical research is necessary that can be discussed.
- I’ll give you my findings in a telephone conversation which will be recorded; after the call, I’ll send you a copy of an mp3 file so that you have the recording for yourself to listen to over and over again.
I hope we will have the opportunity to work together to
solve the mysteries of your historical photos!
Tucked away in historical societies, archives, and family attics are the forbearers of today’s scrapbooks. These testaments to personal expression are a lot more than just scraps and paste.
By Maureen Taylor
And while we’re on the topic of preserving your old scrapbooks, our team at ScanDigital would like to remind you that having your scrapbooks digitally preserved is a great way to assure they will be around for future generations. Physical scrapbooks will fade, curl and yellow over time, and no matter how well you preserve them, will run the risk of decay. Once your memories are digital, that aging process in essence will be stopped. Our highly trained editors can enhance the photos on your pages almost back to new, leaving you with a better-than-the-original copy. For more information, please learn more about our 
Have an old family photo but have no idea where it’s from? You know, the ones you’ve forgotten about or didn’t know you even had and found unlabeled? That’s where Maureen Taylor, also known as the 
Maureen is famous in the world of genealogy and really knows her stuff. She’s written a bunch of book and magazine articles on the topic, as well as being a contributing editor at Family Tree Magazine and editorial board member of Legacy Magazine. She’s also been a featured expert on CNN, the Today Show and in Martha Stewart Living.
