July 5, 2016

Identifying Old Photographs: How to Do It and How It Can Help Your Research



There are clues to your family history in old photographs. Discovering previously unknown family photos from generations ago is like uncovering genealogical gold. If you spend enough time online interacting with distant cousins you discover on genealogy websites, you will undoubtedly eventually find someone who has amazing photos they are willing to share with you. You may also have some old genealogical photos yourself. Maybe you know who they are. Maybe you don’t (not labeling photos was a big problem in generations past, as people just assumed everyone who saw the photo would know who it was, and didn’t think of future generations needing this information). Either way, your old family photos can tell you far more about your ancestors than just what they looked like. They can tell a very interesting genealogical tale of that person’s life, times, and family. All you have to do to unlock these stories is to know how to identify and interpret the photos. Here’s what you need to know to be able to do it...