What’s it Worth and What’s the Story?
Photos come in different shapes, sizes and mediums. They also come with stories. Let's take this image of Governor Blacksnake, aka Chainbreaker. I featured him in my book The Last Muster: Images of The Revolutionary War Generation. I'd found the image in the Extra Census Bulletin:...
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Identifying an Old Crayon Portrait
This crayon portrait passed from Geri Diehl’s grandmother to her mother, and ultimately came to be in her own collection. She asks, "Could this be the wedding picture of Elizabeth Goza and William Harrington who married in 1846?"On FamilyTreeMagazine.com, Photo Detective Maureen A. Taylor adds up the clues...
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Photo Wishes Really Do Come True
There are two success stories this week: an answer for the contest winner and a current connection for a 20th century mystery!First, there is a solution to the picture of the men dressed like Indians that I covered in Contest Winner Mystery and Contest Winner Revisted. A few people...
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Men’s Neckwear in Old Photos (From My Mailbag)
In this era of digital imaging, it seems like everyone has a scanner. That's not entirely true, which is why the submission guidelines for this column, "How to Submit Your Photo" includes a mailing address. You can send me a letter and a copy of a photograph (NO...
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Contest Winner Revisited
Last week I wrote about Juliann Hansen's photo of men dressed like Native Americans. It's definitely a mystery. No real breakthroughs this week. Genealogy Insider Diane Haddad found another collection of Cincinnati Butcher Supply Company material at the University of California at Davis. A small group of material was donated...
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The Family Home as Backdrop in Old Pictures
Before flash photography, candles and lamplight couldn't provide sufficient illumination to take a photograph of a large group indoors. Families often chose to be photographed outdoors, with the family home as a backdrop. Photo Detective Maureen A. Taylor analyzes two such images on FamilyTreeMagazine.com. Solve your family photo mysteries...
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Contest Winner Mystery
This is quite the photo problem. Contest winner Juliann Hansen and her family have tried for years to figure out the details in this photo. This week I'm going to outline what we know. It was found covered in dust at the Cincinnati Butchers' Supply Co. (CBS) at Elmwood Place...
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And the Winner Is? And a Runner-up
Thank you to everyone that contributed pictures to the Family Tree Magazine Photo Contest. So many great pictures....it was a tough decision. I'll be featuring many of your pictures in future columns. The winner is (drum roll please):Congratulations to J. Hansen! ...
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Clothing Clues in Photos of Male Ancestors
Women's fashion changes seem dramatic when compared to the subtle differences in men's clothing over time. That's one of the challenges when assigning a date to a man's portrait. In this FamilyTreeMagazine.com article, Maureen A. Taylor points out costume clues to look for in photographs of your male...
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Scenic Assistance
Thank you to everyone that attended last week's Photo Detective Live! webinar. Don't worry if you missed it. You can still watch and listen to it online. There's even a free PDF download to go with it. This week's photo was submitted as part of our call for images for...
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