Put names and dates

to mysterious old family

photos with step-by-step
guides and investigations of
real-life cases from Family Tree
Magazines professional picture
sleuth, Maureen A. Taylor
PHOTO
DETECTIVE
B
e
s
t

o
f

t
h
e
E
very family has boxes or albums full of old photos
including pictures whose subjects or dates are a
mystery. But those images contain hidden clues that
can help you determine whos in them and when they were taken.
How you do know what to look for? Family Tree Magazines Photo
Detective, Maureen A. Taylor, is a professional photo historian and
genealogist who specializes in identifying historical images. Here
weve compiled some of her best advice and most interesting cases so you can discover
how to tease out those cluesand solve your photo mysteries.
If you like what you see, youll nd more of Maureens advice in Family Tree Magazine
and on our Photo Detective blog, where Maureen tackles readers photo conundrums
and shares tips for identifying and preserving pictures from the past. A new blog post is
featured each week in the free Family Tree Magazine E-mail Update newsletter. Youll
also nd in-depth help in Maureens book Uncovering Your Ancestry Through Family
Photographs, available through bookstores and online retailers. For more on Maureens
professional photo identication services, visit <www.photodetective.com>.
Contents
Click any bulleted item to to go to
that article.
Starti ng Strategi es
Step-by-step photo identication
guide and worksheet
Success stories
Clues i n Clothi ng
Styles by era, 1840 to 1900
Ethnic dress
Women in pants
Halloween costumes
Childrens fashion
Answers i n Accessori es
Hats and headwear
Political campaign jewelry
Evi dence i n
Group Portrai ts
Two photos of the same family?
Unknown faces in a crowd
Class portraits
Wedding portraits
Capti on Conundrums
Labels as a starting point
Inaccurate captions
Obj ect Lessons
House photos
Automobile images
Speci al types
of Photographs
Salt prints
Photo postcards
Unusual Cases
Woman under a blanket
Doctored photos
Visit the Photo Detective blog
Learn more about this book
May 2005 19
Having trouble
attaching names to
the faces in your
family portraits?
Fill in the blanks
with our step-by-step
photo-identication
guide and worksheet.
By
Maureen A. Taylor s s
S
o your great-aunt Alma bequeathed
a boatload of family photos to you, but she didnt label themnow
what? Whatever you do, dont throw them away. Identifying and dat-
ing old pictures can be a challenge, but its also a good way to learn more about
your relatives. Have you ever wondered where you got your curly hair and
freckles? Nows the time to nd out. You might discover youre the spitting image
of Great-great-grandma Lucille. Are you curious which side of the family a
group portrait depicts? With a little research, you can discover that, too.
The worksheet on page 23 will help you solve your picture puzzles one step
at a time. By writing down everything you know about an image, youll uncover
ancestral connections and ultimately save yourself plenty of genealogical grief.
Just ll out the form and attach a copy (not the original!) of your mystery photo
for your future reference. Well walk you through the entire photo-identication
process so you can start piecing those puzzles together like a pro.
Calling
the
shots
[
f i r s t S T E P S
]
P
H
O
T
O
S
:

C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

M
A
U
R
E
E
N

A
.

T
A
Y
L
O
R
Page18-23.qxd 2/16/05 10:38 AM Page 19
20 TRACE YOUR FAMI LY HI STORY
1. Type of
photograph
Begin by identifying the photographic
method: Do you have a daguerreotype, tin-
type, ambrotype or paper print? Certain
types of photos were popular at different
times. The rst photographs, daguerreotypes
(1839 to 1860), are easy to spot because they
have reective metal surfaces, and you must
hold them at an angle in order to see the
image. Youll usually nd glass ambrotypes
(1854 to 1860s) in protective cases
(see step 2); look for holes in the
backing material. Iron tintypes
(1856 to mid-1900s) resemble
daguerreotypes because both are
made of metal, but they stayed
popular longer than daguer-
reotypes and ambrotypes. Paper
prints (1855 to the present), of
course, have endured the longest,
and have come in a wide vari-
ety of colors and sizes. For help
identifying early paper prints,
consult Care and Identica-
tion of 19th-Century Photo-
graphic Prints by James M. Reilly (Eastman
Kodak Co., out of print).
2. Type of enclosure
During the 19th century, daguerreotypes and
ambrotypes generally came in cases. Con-
sumers could buy tintypes in cases, too,
though these images often had paper enclo-
sures instead.
Cases came in a variety of sizes, shapes and
designsfrom simple to elaborate. Wood-
framed cases, such as the one shown at left,
were popular in the 1840s and 1850s. They
were replaced by union cases, which were con-
structed from gutta-percha (a tree resin) and
other substances that could be molded into
sturdier cases with elaborate surface designs.
Various shades of velvet line the insides
of most cases. Brass mats (plain in the
1840s and embossed in later decades) frame
the images.
To learn more about cased images, con-
sult Adele Kennys Photographic Cases: Vic-
torian Design Sources, 1840-1870 (Schiffer,
$59.95). Note the type of enclosure (case,
paper mat or frame) on your worksheet.
3. Size
Measure your photograph in inches (width
by height) and write down the dimensions.
Cased images (daguerreotypes, ambrotypes
and tintypes) were made in standard sizes,
from the sixteenth plate (2x2 inches) to
the mammoth plate (6
1
2x8
1
2 inches or
larger). Diminutive 1x1-inch tintypes,
known as gems or thumbnails, came in
paper enclosures.
Most 19th- and early-20th-century
paper photographs were mounted onto
cardstock or cardboard for support.
These images also came in standard
sizes. The carte de visite,
which rst showed up in
the United States in 1859,
measured 4
1
4x2
1
2 inches;
the cabinet card (1866)
was 4
1
2x6
1
2 inches; the
Victoria (1870), 3
1
4x5
inches; and the Prom-
enade (1875), 4x7
inches. After you see
how your mystery photo mea-
sures up, use these dates as a
guide to when it could have
been created.
c
Both tintypes (top) and
daguerreotypes (bottom)
are made of metal.
signed, sealed,
DELIVERED
Certain clues can immediately date an image.
Between Aug. 1, 1864, and Aug. 1, 1866, the US
government levied a tax on photos. Photographers
had to affix stamps to the backs of their images, and
hand-cancel each one with their names or initials and
the sale dates. If your mystery photo has one of these
stamps, youll know exactly when it was taken.
Pay attention to postage stamps and cancellations
on picture postcards and old envelopes that held photos,
too. These clues can place a picture in a certain country
at a particular time. Postal history books such as the
Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue series (Scott
Publishing Co.), available in print and on CD-ROM at
large libraries, will help you date international stamps.
P
H
O
T
O
S
:

C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

M
A
U
R
E
E
N

A
.

T
A
Y
L
O
R
COURTESY OF MAUREEN A. TAYLOR
Page18-23.qxd 2/16/05 10:39 AM Page 20
May 2005 21
4. Photographers
imprint
Finding a photographers name and/or
address, known as an imprint, on a picture is
like winning a prize. That one detail can tell
you where and when a photograph was
taken, narrowing the identication possibili-
ties considerably. On cased images, youll
likely nd the imprint scratched into a plate
attached to the case, or on the brass mat or
velvet interior of the case. Bear in mind,
though, that the majority of cased photos
dont have imprints. With paper prints, you
dont have to hunt quite as hard for the pho-
tographers name: Youll see it on the front or
back of the image. Study the photographers
imprint carefully, and record the information
exactly as it appears. Then see the next step.
5. Photographers
dates of operation
Once you have a name, you can nd out
when the photographer was in business. Look
him up in the surname section of an old city
directory (a listing of a towns residents, sim-
ilar to todays phone bookssee the August
2003 Family Tree Magazine for help nding
one), or consult the commercial listings for
photographers in the back of the book. Use
several directories to track his business over a
period of time. You also might nd him in
Biographies of Western Photographers by
Carl Mautz (Carl Mautz Publishing, $50) or
a similar directory. And check out Photogra-
phers: A Sourcebook for Historical Research
edited by Peter E. Palmquist (Carl Mautz
Publishing, $25) and the Finding Photogra-
phers Web site <www.findingphotographers.
com> for a list of books and online resources
arranged by geographic focus.
6. Subjects &
caption
A caption such as Aunt May or
Aunt Mays sister gives you a
possible identicationbut take it
with a grain of salt. You dont know
who wrote the caption or how reli-
able the information is. Copy the
caption onto your worksheet and
then try to conrm it. Start
by comparing your photo-
graph to identied images of
Aunt May or her sister, and
see if the facial features match
up. Examine the handwriting:
Does it resemble other writing
samples in your collection? Try
to gure out whose it is.
7. Costume
descriptions
Take out a magnifying glass and
look closely at your ancestors
outts. Notice the shapes of their sleeves, the
lengths of their skirts, the widths of their
trousers, their hairstyles and accessories. Fash-
ion constantly evolves, and clothing clues
such as these can tell you if youre looking at
a picture of your great-grandparents or your
great-great-grandparents. Write down every-
thing you see. In the next step, well explain
how to date your images based on these clues.
Note that baby boys and girls dressed
alike until about age 5. You can tell them
apart by their hairstyles: Girls usually wore
their hair parted in the middle, and boys
parted on the side. After their toddler years,
children generally dressed like mini adults.
Clothing can convey more than a time
period. For instance, folk costumes clue you
in to your ancestors ethnicities,
and fraternal-order regalia
such as medals, buttons, sashes
and badgesprovide evidence
of membership.
8. Costume time frame
By comparing the clothing in your photo-
graph with fashion depicted in a costume
encyclopedia such as Dressed for the Pho-
tographer: Ordinary Americans and Fashion,
1840-1900 by Joan Severa (Kent State Uni-
versity Press, $60), you can establish a time
frame for the image. To get started, use this
19th-century style timeline. You can learn
more about costume dating from the August
2004 Family Tree Magazine.

1840 to 1849: Dresses had long, tight

bodices with fan-shaped gatherings that usu-
ally were pointed in the front. Women often
wore ngerless gloves, gold watches on long
chains, caps, bonnets and ribbon bracelets.
Mens outts consisted of coats with extra-
long, narrow sleeves; tailored white shirts
with small, turned-up collars; and dark neck-
ties worn in horizontal bowknots.

1850 to 1859: Broad-collared dresses had

sleeves that were narrow at the shoulder and
widened at the wrist, displaying white under-
sleeves. Men wore generously cut suit coats
with vests and wide-legged pants. Shirt col-
lars turned over 2-inch-wide ties, worn in
wide half-bows.

1860 to 1868: Women wore hoop-skirted

dresses with military trim and sleeves gathered
[
f i r s t S T E P S
]
Pay attention to the hairstyles,
clothing and props in your photos.
A photographers imprint can point
to the date and place where your
photo was taken.
F
R
O
M

T
H
E

C
O
L
L
E
C
T
I
O
N

O
F

J
A
N
E

S
C
H
W
E
R
D
T
F
E
G
E
R

F
R
O
M

T
H
E

C
O
L
L
E
C
T
I
O
N

O
F

P
A
T

S
T
R
A
S
S
E
R
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

M
A
U
R
E
E
N

A
.

T
A
Y
L
O
R
Page18-23.qxd 2/16/05 10:39 AM Page 21
at the wrist or ared. Accessories included
shawls, hairnets, wide belts, elaborate earrings
and brooches. Men favored white shirts with
narrow ties, oversized sack coats, wide-legged
pants and suspenders.

1869 to 1882: Ruffled bodices and neck-

lines were all the rage. Skirts trimmed with
apronlike overskirts had large bustles. Com-
mon accessories were hairpieces, black-velvet
neck ribbons and large jewelry. Between 1875
and 1877, skirts had smaller bustles and long
overskirts and trains. Into the early 1880s,
bodices extended over the hips, and women
posed with fans and parasols. Wide black or
striped ties worn in a loose knot or overlap-
ping ends accented mens close-tting jackets,
which were buttoned only at the top to display
the vest and watch chain underneath.

1883 to 1889: Form-tting bodices extended

below the waist and had low-standing col-
lars and tight, three-quarter-length sleeves
with trim at the cuff. Women accessorized
with muffs and novelty jewelry. Men sported
a variety of hats, from straw sailor hats to
black homburgs (felt hats featuring dented
crowns and shallow, rolled brims).

1890 to 1900: By mid-decade, women

favored balloonlike leg-o-mutton sleeves
worn tight at the wrist. After 1896, sleeves
got smaller, with fullness at the shoulder and
a slight are over the hand. Feather boas, large
fans and parasols show up in pictures from
1893 to 1896. Later in the decade, women
wore small earrings, watches pinned to their
bosoms, and small decorative combs placed
high on the back of the head, but visible from
the front. Throughout the 1890s, men wore
narrow coats buttoned to the top, narrow
black or patterned bow ties and slim trousers.
9. Props & background
description
Its easy to overlook background details, but
they can be the most telling parts of a picture.
Some people sat for portraits with tools of
their trade: A milkmaid might have posed
with her stool in one hand and bucket in the
other. Perhaps you have a picture of an ances-
tor holding a foreign-language bookthats
a clue to his origins. Use antiques guides such
as Treasures in Your Attic by Joe L. Rosson
and Helaine Fendelman (HarperCollins, $18)
to research such props.
10. Owners name &
contact information
Note the name of the images current owner
and her contact info. Ask where she got the
photo and if she knows who originally owned
it. Tracing the pictures provenance can lead
to more photos held by the owners relatives.
11. Clues in
genealogical records
Once youve narrowed the photos time frame,
use genealogical records to identify the sub-
jects. Vital records provide a persons life dates,
census records and city directories conrm a
place of residence, and military papers supply
evidence of service and sometimes a physical
description. If your portrait was taken in
Boston, for instance, scan your research for a
relative who lived thereeven for a short
time. Record any details that look promising.
This is a good place to jot down family sto-
ries associated with an image, as well.
12. Possible subjects &
their life dates
After examining clues in the photo and rum-
maging through records, you should have an
idea when the picture was taken. Now list
each family member whose age, sex and loca-
tion at the time make him a possible match
for the photos subject(s). Further narrow the
options by comparing the mystery image to
identied pictures of people on your list.
Store your photo worksheets with your
genealogical research forms (see page 65) so
youll have all your data in one place. We
guarantee this form will keep nagging you to
ll in the blanks until you nally solve your
picture puzzles. 3
Contributing editor Maureen A. Taylor is the
author of Uncovering Your Ancestry Through Family Pho-
tographs, revised edition (Family Tree Books, $21.99).
22 TRACE YOUR FAMI LY HI STORY
Paper stereographs, which you view through a special lens for a 3D effect, usually date from 1854 to
1938. Most stereographs were collectible scenesits rare to nd one showing a family member.
c
ask the PRO
Having trouble identifying a family
photograph? Send it to photo
historian Maureen A. Taylor. If she
selects your image for identication,
well publish it along with Taylors
analysis in the online Identifying
Family Photographs column < www.
familytreemagazine.com/ photos /
current.htm>.
Scan the picture youd like to
have identied in JPG format with a
resolution of at least 300 dpi. Then
send it as an e-mail attachment to
mtaylor@taylorandstrong.com. If
you cant scan the photo, mail a
photographic copy (no originals,
please!) to Family Tree Magazine,
Attention: Identifying Family
Photographs, 4700 E. Galbraith
Road, Cincinnati, OH 45236. Sorry,
we cant return photo submissions.
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

M
A
U
R
E
E
N

A
.

T
A
Y
L
O
R
Page18-23.qxd 2/16/05 11:58 AM Page 22
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

f
a
m
i
l
y

t
r
e
e

m
a
g
a
z
i
n
e
2
0
0
5
photo-identication worksheet
Solve your family photo mysteries one step at a time. Using the accompanying article as a guide, ll in the following information
about your mystery photo, then attach a copy of the image to the form. (Feel free to photocopy this form for personal use.)
Type of photograph
Type of enclosure
Size
Photographers imprint
Photographers dates of operation (cite source)
Subjects & caption
Costume descriptions
Costume time frame
Props & background description
Owners name & contact information
Clues in genealogical records
Possible subjects & their life dates
Page18-23.qxd 2/16/05 10:41 AM Page 23
34 Family Tree Magazine February 2005
S
herlock Holmes solved many a mystery, but his exploits
dont compare to the patience and persistence required by
genealogists trying to identify old family photos. Ive spent
four years analyzing readers picture puzzles for the Identifying
Family Photographs column at FamilyTreeMagazine.com <www.
familytreemagazine.com/ photos / current.htm> and the Photo
Detective column in this magazine. Although I havent cracked every
photographic code, I have put names to dozens of unfamiliar faces.
Successful identications result from partnerships: Readers supply
their family data, and I sort through the clues. Faithful readers know
its possible to identify a picture based on their knowledge of family
history and attention to photographic details, such as image type,
photographers imprint and costume clues.
The following eight strategies have brought me success, either by
dating a picture, identifying the subjects or eliminating suspects.
Employ these surere methods to tackle your own mystery pics.
OF SUCCESS
Our expert photo sleuth reveals how she solved
8photographic mysteriesand how
you can piece together your own picture puzzles.
BY MAUREEN A. TAYLOR
Pictures
Page34-39.qxd 11/15/04 1:29 PM Page 34
www. familytreemagazine. com 35
Get fashion conscious, and you
could solve a photo mystery. The
womans dress in the picture
above helped date the image.
Sometimes you have to consult
genealogical resources in order
to make a positive identication.
An obituary conrmed the
identity of the man at left.
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

M
A
U
R
E
E
N

A
.

T
A
Y
L
O
R
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

B
A
R
B
A
R
A

D
I
M
U
N
N
O
Page34-39.qxd 11/16/04 11:51 AM Page 35
1. Consult family.
In 2001, Rita Werner sent me a candid pho-
tograph of two women and a young girl (see
above), which appeared in the column
Theyve Got PersonalityBut Who Are
They? at <www.familytreemagazine.com/
photos/ may10-01.htm>. Werner had found
the image in an album that belonged to her
grandparents, both born in 1910. At the time,
she wrote, Its possible that
this picture is of my grand-
mothers mother, who was
orphaned in Indiana and
raised by family members in
Illinois. She had shown the
picture to several relatives, but
no one could identify its sub-
jects. Yet they did notice a
strong resemblance to her grandmothers side
of the family.
Werner specically wanted to know if the
picture predated World War I. The little girls
hair bow and the length and style of the
womens dresses dated the image to 1900 to
1910. Although I answered Werners ques-
tion, I couldnt identify the images subjects.
The photo seemed to be a dead end. No
one could identify the group, and having a
date didnt help, either. Then a cousin mailed
Werner the missing piece to the puzzlean
early 1900s picture of her grandfathers fam-
ily (see above left). Werner sent me a jubilant
e-mail: When I saw this picture along with
the original one in question, I knewbeyond a
doubt that I had the identity! Notice the tiny
waist on the woman on the right in both pic-
tures. Also, the hairstyle of the woman on the
right is the same in both pictures.
Connecting with family and comparing
images resulted in a positive identication.
The women belonged to Werners grandfa-
thers side, not her grandmothers, as others
had suggested. Werner discovered that the
woman on the left in both pictures is her
great-grandmother Adah (Whitaker) Brown,
born in 1880. The woman on the right is
Adahs sister Dessa Mae Whitaker, born in
1885. The child in the rst picture is Dessa
Mary Gerzella Brown, the only sister of
Werners grandfather. She was about 5 years
old when the picture was taken. Werner
recalled that her great-aunt never went by
Dessa Mary, only Gerzella. Now when I look
at her with fresh eyes, I can see the resem-
blance to my grandpa! she wrote. Gerzella
was born in 1904. So now I know that its
Gerzella holding onto her mothers and aunts
hands in a picture taken prior to 1910 because
thats when Grandpa was bornand as you
can see, Adah is denitely not pregnant.
2. Use genealogical resources.
Some of the same resources used to collect
family history informationsuch as city direc-
tories, newspapers and vital recordscan
solve picture puzzles, too. The photographers
imprint M. Chandler, Marsheld, Mass. on
the mans portrait on the previous page
started the identication process. (See Unrav-
eling the Past <www.familytreemagazine.
com/ photos / june10-04.htm>.) By checking
A Directory of Massachusetts Photographers
by Chris Steele and Ronald Polito (Picton
Press, $89.50), I learned that a Martin Chan-
dler worked in Marsheld between 1853 and
1896. You can nd information about the
photographers of your family pics by con-
sulting city and professional directories and
the Web site Finding Photographers <www.
findingphotographers.com>. Knowing when
a photographer was in business can help nar-
row a pictures time frame and the identica-
tion possibilities. In this case, a date appeared
on the back of the image: 1879.
In 1879, Marsheld was still a small town,
and it couldnt have had many residents
around this mans age (I guessed he was at
least 90). Working with that hypothesis, a col-
league checked Vital Records of Marsheld,
Massachusetts to the Year 1850 compiled by
Robert M. Sherman and Ruth Wilder Sher-
man (Society of Mayower Descendants, out
of print), which actually included vital data
beyond 1850. A quick scan of the listings pro-
vided a possible candidate: Samuel Curtis,
died 21 August 1879, aged 100, 22 days.
The nal clue was Curtis obituary in the
Boston Daily Advertiser Aug. 25, 1879. This
sentence conrmed my hunch: On his last
birthday he had his photograph taken twice,
once alone and once in a group.
3. Get fashion conscious.
Recognizing fashion details, such as a
leg-o-mutton sleeve or a shawl col-
lar, and knowing when they were in
style can help you date a photograph
at a glance. When Barbara DiMunno
submitted a group portrait of a woman
and her children (see the previous page
and More Than Meets the Eye
<www.familytreemagazine.com/photos/
may08-03.htm>), owned by either her
great-aunt Lillian (Clark) Hewitt (1873-
1955) or Lillians mother, Harriet (Ogden)
Clark (1842-1912), she asked for help dat-
ing the image.
The womans clothing provides the most
clues. With one hand on her hip and the
other on the photographers chair, she draws
attention to her small waistline, which is held
36 Family Tree Magazine February 2005
Unsolved
Mysteries
Need help identifying one of your
family photos? Send it to photo
historian Maureen A. Taylor. If she
selects your photo for identication,
well publish the picture and
Taylors professional analysis in
the biweekly Identifying Family
Photographs column, online at
<www.familytreemagazine.
com/ photos / current.htm>.
Scan the picture youd like to
have identied in JPG format with a
resolution of at least 300 dpi. Then
send it as an e-mail attachment to
mtaylor@taylorandstrong.com.
If you cant scan the photo, mail a
photographic copy (no originals,
please!) to Family Tree Magazine,
Attention: Identifying Family
Photographs, 4700 E. Galbraith
Road, Cincinnati, OH 45236. Sorry,
we cant return photo submissions.
A cousin could
provide the
missing piece of
a picture puzzle
in this case, it was
another image.
g
P
H
O
T
O
S
:

C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

R
I
T
A

W
E
R
N
E
R
Page34-39.qxd 11/15/04 1:31 PM Page 36
www. familytreemagazine. com 37
in by a restrictive corset. According to Sup-
port and Seduction: A History of Corsets and
Bras by Beatrice Fontanel (Harry Abrams,
$19.98), these undergarments were popular
from the 1870s through 1914, which pro-
vides a tentative time frame for the image.
John Peacocks costume encyclopedia
20th Century Fashion (W.W. Norton & Co.,
$31.85; see the box on page 38 for other
resources) indicates that the mothers dress
with the deep V-neck opening, white high-
necked shirt with full collar, and tight lower
sleeves with fullness at the upper arms
resembles dresses worn around 1906. These
details suggest the picture was taken between
1900 and 1910, accounting for style varia-
tions within the decade. The three girls in this
photograph wear dresses of similar design
and fabric. Girls attire mimicked womens
fashions; notice that the oldest child wears her
hair in a topknot like her mothers.
At this point, DiMunno cant name the
family in the portrait. Hewitt would be the
right age for the picture, but other portraits
of her disprove this theory. Although the cos-
tume clues werent enough to identify these
individuals, they did allow DiMunno to nar-
row the possibilities.
4. Know your photo history.
Determining the photographic method can
establish an images time frame and correct a
misidentication. Dif-
ferent types of photos
were popular at differ-
ent times. For instance,
the earliest images
shiny metal daguerreo-
types (1839 to 1860),
glass ambrotypes (1854
to 1865) and iron tin-
types (1856 to mid-1900s)all debuted in the
mid-19th century, but only the tintype
remained popular into the 20th century.
Daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes and
paper prints all came in cases like the one
above, which Carole Dolisi Bean discovered
in her grandmothers sewing box. (See the
June 2004 Family Tree Magazine.) If you
have to hold a cased image at an angle
to view it, you know its a daguerreotype.
Ambrotypes often have holes in their backing
material; this makes them look transparent.
Tintypes are magnetic. If at rst glance you
cant determine the photographic method,
resist the temptation to remove the image
from its case. Doing so can cause irreparable
damage to both the picture and the case. The
cover glass is missing on Beans image, so I
could tell that its a paper print.
Dating an images enclosureframe, mat
or casealso can aid the identication process.
Cases came in a variety of sizes, shapes and
designs. Two great guides to cased images are
Floyd and Marion Rinharts American Minia-
ture Case Art (A.S. Barnes, out of print) and
Adele Kennys Photographic Cases: Victorian
Design Sources, 1840-1870 (Schiffer, $59.95).
The Rinharts book lists names and locations
of case manufacturersa handy reference tool
if your case bears its makers name.
All the evidence in Beans photo casethe
wood frame and ornate matdates the
image to the 1850s. The mans patterned vest,
colorful tie, white shirt and loose sack coat
with velvet collar suggest the picture was
taken in the late 1850s. These clues disproved
Beans theory that the subjects her great-
grandmothers brother August Edward Moll
(born 1847). Using the photos date, shes still
trying to discover the mans identity.
5. Magnify your images.
The key evidence in the photograph at left,
submitted by Valerie Moran, was so obvious
that she initially overlooked it. (See Star
Signs<www.familytreemagazine.com/photos/
june05-03.htm>.) Sometimes the smallest
details can be your biggest clues. In this case,
the details were the ags. By simply magnify-
ing the image, counting the number of stars
on each ag and reading up on Old Glorys
history, I discovered the picture was taken
within a four-year time frameJuly 4, 1908,
to Jan. 6, 1912.
Can you name the type
of photograph in this
case (right)? Knowing
your photo history will
make the identication
process easier.
The key to dating this picture was
the number of stars on the ags.
Magnify your images to see details
youd otherwise overlook.
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

C
A
R
O
L
E

D
O
L
I
S
I

B
E
A
N
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

V
A
L
E
R
I
E

M
O
R
A
N
Page34-39.qxd 11/15/04 1:31 PM Page 37
Everyone in this picture wears summer
attiremost of the women have on white
summer dresses or shirts, while the men pose
without jackets. The womens pouched-front
blouses, wide belts, straight skirts and Gibson
Girl hairstyles t the ags time frame.
When identifying a photograph, I usually
try to narrow the time frame even further. The
ags history came in handy here. Oklahoma
joined the Union Nov. 16, 1907, but the new
ag didnt debut until July 4, 1908. The sub-
jects summer attire and crisp ags suggest
these people were celebrating the Fourth of
July, or maybe the introduction of the new ag.
Based on her family data, Moran suspects
the photograph was taken in 1912. She thinks
the young man on the right is Clifford John
Caminade (born 1885), who would have
been 27 that year, and the older man on the
left is his father, Louis Cass Caminade (born
1852). Their apparent ages and the photo-
graphs date support this conclusion.
6. Examine props.
Many photos submitted for analysis have
identications, but no dates. Such is the case
with Betty Ann Tysons hand-colored tintype,
tentatively identied as Grandma Tyson
(see above left and A Rosy Glow <www.
familytreemagazine.com/ photos/ may22-03.
htm>). Positive identications rarely rely on
a single piece of evidence; you must add up all
the clues before drawing a conclusion. Here,
the childs dress and chair date the picture. The
girl wears a white summer dress with a wide,
open neckline; ruffled (perhaps eyelet) trim;
and shoulder bowsfeatures of dresses
popular in the late 1860s and early 1870s,
according to The Child in Fashion 1750-1920
by Kristina Harris (Schiffer, $29.95) and
Dressed for the Photographer: Ordinary
Americans and Fashion, 1840-1900 by Joan
Severa (Kent State University Press, $60).
The chair in this image was a common
photographers prop during the same time
period. Since it usually took a few minutes for
a camera to capture a scene, photographers
used furniture or special braces to hold sub-
jects still. Youll nd examples of this furni-
ture in Identifying American Furniture by
Milo M. Naeve (Altamira Press, $15.95) and
The Tasteful Interlude: American Interiors
through the Cameras Eye, 1860-1917 by
William Seale (Rowman & Littleeld,
$19.95). Judging by the furniture, clothing
clues and subjects age, were sure this image
depicts Betty Anns grandmother Lizzie
Tyson, who was born in 1867.
38 Family Tree Magazine February 2005
Style
Sources
Reading up on yesterdays fashion
trends can help you analyze your
ancestors dress and ultimately date
those old photos.

Battledress: The Uniforms of the

Worlds Great Armies 1700-Present
by I.T. Schick (Artus Co., $95)

Illustrated History of Hairstyles 1830-1930

by Marian I. Doyle (Schiffer, $39.95)

Mens Fashion: The Complete

Sourcebook by John Peacock
(W.W. Norton & Co., $29.95)

20th Century Jewelry: The Complete

Sourcebook by John Peacock
(W.W. Norton & Co., $35)

U.S. Army Headgear, 1812-1872 by John

P. Langellier and C. Paul Loane (Schiffer
Books, out of print)

Victorian Costume for Ladies 1860-1900

by Linda Setnik (Schiffer Books, $29.95)

Vintage Hats and Bonnets, 1770-1970 by

Susan Langley (Collector Books, $24.95)

Womens Shoes in America 1795-1930

by Nancy Rexford (Kent State University
Press, $60)
Be sure to examine
the props in your pictures.
Mid-1800s photographers used this
style of chair to hold children still.
i
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

B
E
T
T
Y

A
N
N

T
Y
S
O
N
Family is
more than
DNA
Our past includes food
and the time we spend
with our family in the
kitchen and at the table
sharing our lives with
one another.
CookBook
Maker

Gather family recipes

so you can publish
them using CookBook
Maker

software. The
software includes a
space for a short story.
Tabs, margins, and
page breaks of your
cookbook are preset for
you.
Preserve your food
heritage for
generations to come.
For information go to:
CookBook-Maker.com
or call (402) 253-2382.
Page34-39.qxd 11/15/04 1:32 PM Page 38
www. familytreemagazine. com 39
7. Network online.
By connecting with cousins over the Internet,
Michael R. Boyce has discovered that some
of the seemingly far-fetched stories his father
told himincluding the one about their
relation to a Dutch sea captainare true.
(See Tall Tales and True Stories <www.
familytreemagazine.com/ photos/ may16-02.
htm>.) Through these Internet cousins,
Michael also has uncovered a surname change,
an unexpected link to his ancestor Stephen V.
Boyce and a tintype (above) of a man he thinks
is Stephens father, John Boice (born 1794).
Conrming that identication requires
comparing family pictures to eliminate other
prospects. Michael thinks the portrait above
depicts his third-great-grandfather because he
already has identied images of two of Johns
three brothers. The third brother died as a
young man, so this couldnt be him.
Clothing clues further support the identi-
cation. This man wears work clothes sug-
gestive of the 1860s. At that time, John would
have been in his 60s.
Although Michael still cant conrm this
mans identity, hes off to a good start. Per-
haps his photographic family tree posted on
the Buys/Boice/Boyce Web site <webpages.
charter.net/ boyceweb> will help bring new
information forward. Consider creating your
own family Web site, or connect with distant
kin through surname message boards, such as
those at RootsWeb <www.rootsweb.com>.
Through photo-reunion sites such as DeadFred
<www.deadfred.com> and AncientFaces
<www.ancientfaces.com>, you might even
nd some long-lost images of your ancestors.
8. Be persistent.
It took Jackie Hufschmid three years, but she
nally identied the young couple in a photo
shed submitted for my rst Identifying
Family Photographs column (see Frame of
Reference <www.familytreemagazine.com/
photos/ feb08.htm>). Initially, I researched
the photographer, Bonell, and the couples
clothing to place the portrait in Eau Claire,
Wis., between 1875 and 1890, but thats as
far as I got.
An amazing thing happened when the
picture appeared online and then again in the
August 2000 Family Tree Magazine. We
received e-mails from several people who said
theyd seen the photograph beforesome
even owned copies of it. A network of family
historians developed, and they worked
together to try to identify the couple. Huf-
schmid refused to give up.
In summer 2003, she nally found the
missing link to Eau Claire. A cousin in
Wisconsin revealed that two of their female
relatives had moved there in the late 19th
centuryone to open a dress shop and the
other to work in it. Upon hearing their
names, Hufschmid realized that she had
another picture of the couple taken years later.
Once she placed the identied 1920s image
of the couple and their children next to the
original portrait of the young couple, she
knew she had a match. The mystery people
are Julia Gullickson (1872-1948) and her
husband, James Wood (1868-1933). Scan-
ning and enlarging sections of the images
to compare facial features conrmed the
identication.
Like Hufschmid and these other Family
Tree Magazine readers, you can date and
identify your own old family photos. Just put
on your detective cap, pull out the magnify-
ing glass and start sleuthing. All it takes is a
little time, perseverance and old-fashioned
genealogical research. 3
Contributing editor Maureen A. Taylor is the
author of Preserving Your Family Photographs (Better-
way Books, $19.99). Her Identifying Your Family Pho-
tographs (Family Tree Books) is due out this fall.
Still cant put a name to that mystery face?
The owner of this tintype found success by
networking via the Internet.
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

M
I
C
H
A
E
L

R
.

B
O
Y
C
E
www.FamilyTreeDNA.com
HI S T ORY UNE ART HE D DAI LY
Have
you hit a
brick
WALL?
It's time to try the lastest
technology to solve your
genealogical puzzle
Family Tree DNA provides DNA
testing for genealogists, and
is the pioneer in the new field of
genetic genealogy. Your ancestors
left clues to your genealogy in
you and other descendents.
Unlock the clues with DNA testing.
SEARCH YOUR SURNAME
Your surname could already be part
of a current project or, you could
qualify to start a new Surname
Project. Family Tree DNA provides
a full spectrum of management
tools for those interested in a
Surname Project to focus on a
surname or subset of a surname to
determine who is related to whom.
FAMILY TREE DNA ALLOWS TO:
Determine if two people are related
Determine if two people descended
from the same ancestor
Confirm your Family Tree
Find out who with your surname
is related
Prove or disprove a research theory
Find others to whom you are related
Get clues about your ethnic origin
To search for your surname or for more
details, please visit our web site
www.familytreedna.com
For additonal information, please e-mail to
info@familytreedna.com or call 713-868-1438
THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY FOR YOUR GENEALOGY
available from Family Tree DNA
Page34-39.qxd 11/15/04 1:32 PM Page 39
Tracking ~ e s terday's fashion trends could solve your picture
P uzzles. We'll show you how to analyze your ancestors' dress
for successful photo identification. BY MAUREEN A. TAYLOR
When we hnk of destones in US hstory
hats in her youth, the image likely dates back to the 1840s. (Of
the Revolutionary WX Civil Wir and civil
course. W'II have to examine other clothing clues to certain.)
, ,
nghts movement immdately come to mind
Once you've narrowed the photo's time frame, you should
consult your genealogical records to determine whether your
Knowing the details of events such as these female ancestors' ages at that time correspond to the age of dx
picture's subject. With luck, you'll find a match.
puts your ancestors into historical context.
You don't have to be a fashion maven to spot clothing clues
But rnrning points in American fashion
in photog~~phs. JW follow these identification t i p and OW 19th-
century fashion-trend timelines, and you'll be putting names to
history-for instance, the first riveted blue
those mystery faces in no time.
jeans (1873), sunglasses (1885) and nylon
stodungs (1940) -matter, too. Match them
with clothing and accessories in old photos,
and you can identify those mystery faces.
Fashion constantly evolves, and our photographs reflect
the changing styles. By examining the clothing clues in your
unidentified images, you can narrow their time frames to just
a few years, and determine which relatives peer back at you.
Even a single accessory could tell you whether you're looking
at your great-grandmother or your great-great-grandmother.
For example, during the 1840s, women wore daycaps (bon-
nets made of starched white cotton) for everyday and special
occasions. By the 1850s, this headgear had fallen out of fashion,
though elderly women continued to wear them for several more
decades. If you have a picture of a relative wearing one of these
STYLE baSzc~
Begin by enlarging segments of an unidentified picture with a
magmfymg glass or by scanning it. Examine every detail of the
subject's outfit. Look at the shape of a woman's bodice, neckline,
sleeves and skirt-and don't forget accessories and hairstyle. Pay
attention to a man's coat shape, trouser width, necktie style, hair-
style and accessories. Any of these details could clue you in t o
when the photo was taken. Of course, shoe styles have changed,
too, but they're usually difficult to distinguish in old photos.
Most family portraits show relatives dressed in their "best."
I
In the 19th century, popular magazines such as Godey's Lady's
Book advised women on what to wear. But if your ancestor
lacked the latest accessory, some studios kept shawls, pins and
hats on hand for patrons to borrow. After all, a happy cus-
tomer meant repeat business and referrals.
4
Our ancestors' economic circumstances did influence their
clothing choices, but style variations between classes usually
aren't significant. Women who lacked financial resources or 1
period, though
the center part is ~
not. The bride's 1
dress has a tight 1
bodice, small
ustle and trim
- t the wrist and I
alongthe hem. ,
Her short, frilzed
hangs andflower-
dorned veil
Iso suggest the
lived in rural areas still followed fashion trends-they would
remake dresses or add a few accessories to fit the current styles.
You'll find more-significant style variations in portraits of
recent immigrants or ancestors living in foreign countries.
These differences actually could simplify the identification
process, though. For instance, a headdress worn for a wedding
photo could tell you whether the image comes from your Russ-
ian mother's side or your Scottish father's side of the family. See
the February 2002 Family Tree Magazine to learn more about
clues in immigrant images.
Dating a photograph through costume requires some
knowledge of fashion historyand that's easy to get. Consult
the books on page 39, and keep this guide handy. Here, we
identify key components of 19th-century fashion since the
advent of photography, decade by decade, so you can sta.rt solv-
ing even your toughest picture puzzles now.
WHAT women wore
Women's fashion has changed dramatically
through the years, so even the length of a skirt or
the shape of a sleeve can help you date an image.
Accessories such as gloves, jewelry, hats and fans
-
have fallen in and out of fashion, which means they can aid
identification, too.
The basic elements of our female ancestors' clothing remained
the same regardless of their economic status. Pants weren't pop-
ular unt~l the mid-1900s, so women typically wore dresses. Fru-
gal women often pieced together two or more dresses to create
an oudit reflecting current styles. Be on the lookout for dresses
Before drawing conclusions about your photographs, be sure
to add up all the clues, rather than focusing on a single style
detail. When in doubt, make a list of an outfit's significant char-
acteristics. Look not only at the shape of a sleeve, but also the
width of the cuff. Since most women made their own clothes
until the 20th century, you will see some style variation. But
watch out for these common elements:
The first photographs, known as daguerreotypes, appeared in
the United States in 1840. Throughout the next decade, a resur-
gence in religious and moral conservatism led women to dress
in modest, restrictive clothes, which often inhibited natural
movement, according to Dressed for the Photographer by Joan
Severa (see box, page 39). Worn over corsets, back-fastening
dresses had long, tght bodices with fan-shaped gatherings. The
wide, shallow, horizontal necklines gradually narrowed later in
the decade, when high-standing collars came into vogue. Sleeves
were long and tight, especially on the upper arms. Popular
accessories included fingerless gloves, gold watches on long
chains, ribbon bracelets and bonnets that extended past the
chin. Women wore their hair close to the head, with a center
part, long ringlets and large combs.
Women's fashion loosened up a bit in the 1850s, and ladies'
magazines such as Godey's increasingly reported on the
with bodices and skirts made of different materials. trends. Dress sleeves were still narrow at the shoulder, but
collars; center-parted koirr
hoopskim ,
'18338s
clothjng clues: draped ovmkirl
ered at the wrist once again.
During the Civil War, women selected bodices that buttoned trimmed with apronlike overskirts, and bustles--some quite
down the front and had pointed or round waists decorated large-expanded underskirts. Accessories included black vel-
with di t ar y braid. Most dresses featured high, narrow, round vet neck ribbons with brooches or charms attached to the
collars, but some had V-necks with lapels. Sleeve styles varied: front, large lockets on gold chains, crosses, and long jet-bead
Some came in at the wrist, and others flared. Skirts worn over necklaces with matching earrings. Women continued to part
hoops were pleated, and some looped up (with assistance of their hair in the centel; and began to wear false locks with large
cords on the inside of the skirt) to expose underskirts. Women combs. They often braided their hair at the crown and left the
accessorized with shawls, hairnets, wide belts, elaborate ear- rest streaming down their backs. Small hats and bonnets
rings and brooches. They wore their hair with a center part trimmed with feathers, lace and flowers accented these high,
and covering their ears. Some opted for braids or short ringlets. full hairstyles.
Bonnets changed shape from round to oval early in the decade.
As hairstyles became more elaborate after the war, women
sported smaller hats.
(1875 t0 1877)
During the mid-1 870s, waistlines lengthened, and two-piece
(1869 to 1874)
dresses gained popularity. Front-opening necklines featured
low collars or V-necks with ruffles. Sleeves were narrower and
Ruffles were all the rage during t hs era: Bodices featured ruf- decorated with trim. Skirts began to lose their fullness, and
fles and large, prominent buttons; necklines were high with had long overskirts and trains.
1
to the chin. In the early 1890s, women wore large, balloonliie
"leg-o-mutton" sleeves that were tight at the wrist. After 1896,
sleeves got smaller, with fullness at the shoulder and a slight
flare over the hand. Skirts were smooth at the hips, but flared
dramatically. Between 1893 and 1896, women favored feather
boas, large fans and parasols. At the end of the decade, they
accessorized with small earrings, watches pinned to their
bosoms, and small decorative combs worn high on the back
of the head, but visible from the front. Short bangs, worn with
a small topknot, remained popular during the first part of the
decade, but went out of style by 1896. Then, women parted
and flattened their hair into waves along the temples. Although
older women still sported bonnets, most young women had
switched to hats, especially small hats with vertical trim. By the
end of the decade, wide-brimmed hats also were popular.
By the late 1870s, the full hoop skut had gone out of .style, and
the bustle disappeared. Skirts now fell straight from hip to fl oo~
Front buttons adorned tight-fitting bodices, which came down
over the hips. Necklines were high with low-standing collars,
and sleeves remained narrow. Women continued to part their
hair in the center, and wore short, frizzed bangs.
By the mid-188Os, women had entered the work force as sec-
retaries, telephone operators and department-store clerks, and
demanded less-restrictive clothing. Draped overskirts, often
apronlike in shape, appeared. The bustle returned in 1883 and
reached its maximum size in 1886, before deflating the next
year. Tight bodices extended below the waist, and had high
necklines with low-standing collars. Tight, threequarter-length
sleeves with trim at the wrist also were popular. Look for lace
parasols, muffs and novelty jewelry. Hair remained frizzed
around the face with a bun in back. Women chose hats in a
variety of styles, the most popular being high-crowned hats
with wide brims and elaborate trim.
- CLOTHES make the man
Men's clothing is harder to date because style var-
ied little in the 19th century. Their dress clothes
comprised a coat, sh~rt, trousers, necktie and pos-
'w - sibly a vest. Work attire consisted of a collarless
shirt, no tie, pants, suspenders and sometimes a vest. The best
clothing clues are hats, vests and shirts, as these garments changed
the most over time. You'll have to look closely for subtle clues.
The demand for less-restrictive clothing increased as women During this decade, men wore coats with extra-long, narrow
began to exercise outdoors. As a result, corsets loosened, and sleeves; tailored white shirts with narrow sleeves and small
shirtwaists came into vogue. Necklines had high collars worn turned-up collars; and dark-colored neckties in horizontal
Clothing clues:
leg-o-mutton
sleeves; high, st$
I""
bowknots. Smocklike work shirts came in a variety of colors
and patterns. Men kept their hair at ear length and parted high
on one side. Most were clean-shaven, but some sported fringe
beards that framed their jaws. Hat styles included wool stock-
ing caps, black felt bowlers and shiny silk top hats.
Narrow sleeves remained stylish into the first part of the
1850s. Around 1854, generously cut suit coats (worn with
vests) and wide-legged pants came into vogue. Shirt collars
turned over Zinch-wide neckties, worn in wide half-bows.
Men wore dress shirts in a variety of colors and patterns. They
also bought fancy starched shirtfronts to dress up their attire.
Most men were clean-shaven until the end of the decade,
when full beards appeared. They wore their oiled hair long on
top and combed into a wave at the center of the forehead.
Later in the decade, their hair grew long enough to cover the
ears. Young men wore cloth caps, which resembled railroad
caps. Tall black hats with flat brims also gained popularity.
The popular sack coat got shorter and narrower during this
decade, and buttoned only at the top in order to display the
vest and watch chain worn underneath. White, striped and
plaid shirts were made without collars-our ancestors bought
those separately. They wore wide black or striped neckties in
loose knots with overlapping ends. Fur hats and coats also
gained popularity at this time.
In the 1880s, men's coats got even shorter and narrower, and
they closed high at the throat, nearly con&g the necktie. Our
ancestors wore these coats with narrow, creaseless pants and
wide shirts. Neckties varied in width. Throughout the decade,
young men sported a wide variety of hats, from straw sailor hats
to black homburgs (felt hats featuring dented crowns and shal-
low, rolled brims), which businessmen favored.
Men's suit coats came in a range of new shapes in the 1860s- Narrow was the key characteristic of 1890s men's fashion: nar-
the most popular being the long, oversized sack coat, worn row coats worn buttoned to the top, narrow black or patterned
with wide-legged pants that were longer at the heel and held bow ties and narrow trousers. White shirts had small, stiff,
up by suspenders. A white, striped or plaid shirt and narrow pointed collars at the beghmg of the decade and high, stiff col-
necktie completed the look. Men parted their ear-length hair lars at the end of the decade. Men wore their hair short and
on the side and grew whiskers, rather than full beards. After grew large mustaches. Bowlers and derby-style hats' popular-
the Civil War, they continued to wear military caps to work. ity exploded during this decade.
' WEB S I TES
,* ,.,
r Accessible Archives
K www.accessible.com >:
Subscribe to this archive of 18th-
and 19th-century publications to
view the full texts of Codey's Lady's
Book from i 830 to i 880.
Bissonnette on Costume
<dept.kent.edu/museum/
costume>: This visual fashion
dictionary from Kent State
University Museum covers 1700
through today.
The Costumer's Manifbsto
cwww.costumes.org>: Follow the
links to histories of corsets and
underwear, ethnic dress, military
uniforms, religious dress and more.
m International Costumers' Guild
<www.costume.org>: Created to
"bring hobbyist and professional
costumers from around the world
together," this organization offers
three fashion-focused mailing lists
and links to costume-related resources.
Saundra Ros Altman's: Past Patterns
<www.pastpatterns.com>: Re-create
your 19th- and early 20th-century
ancestors' outfits with these patterns.
m 20th Century Fashion by John Peacock
(Thames and Hudson, $34.95)
B 20th Centuryjewelry: The Complete
Sourcebook by John Peacock (Thames
and Hudson, $34.95)
m The Child in Fashion 1750-1920
by Kristina Harris (Schiffer, $29.95)
Dressedfor the Photographer: Ordinary
Americans and Fashion 1840-7900 by Joan
Severa (Kent State University Press, $60)
B An Illustrated History of Hairstyles 1830-
1930 by Marian I. Doyle (Schiffer, $39.95)
m Men's Fashion: The Complete
Sourcebook by John Peacock
(Thames and Hudson, $29.95)
B U.S. Army Headgear 1812-1872
by John P. Langellier and C. Paul Loane
(Schiffer, $69.95)
Victorian Costume for Ladies 1860-7900
by Linda Setnik (Schiffer, $29.95)
= Vintage Hats and Bonnets 1770-
1970 by Susan Langley (Collector
Books, $24.95)
B Women's Shoes in America, 1795-1930
by Nancy E. Rexford (Kent State
University Press, $60)
KI D- F RI E NDL Y~ ~ J ~ ~ O~
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, babies of both sexes wore
long dresses; current adult fashion trends dictated the gowns'
lengths and details. Toddlers sported shorter dresses to accom-
modate movement. The best way to tell girls and boys apart is
to look at their hairstyles. Girls usually wore their hair parted
in the middle, and boys' hair was parted on the side.
Parents dressed their older sons in short pants and their
daughters in dresses. Children's fashion generally followed
the same trends as adults'. As children grew older, their
clothing styles changed-which enables you to estimate a
child's age based on his or her clothing. For instance, the length
of a girl's s k i gradually got longer as she approached adult-
hood. Boys wore short pants until approximately age 12, then
donned long pants.
Frances Hodgson Burnett started a fashion trend for boys
when her book Little Lord Fauntleroy was published in
1886. Until the early 20th century, mothers dressed their sons
in outfits that mimicked those in the book's drawings by
Reginald Birch. A typical outfit consisted of a white shirt with
a full Vandyke collar (a large linen or lace collar with a scal-
loped edge), a satin sash, a plumed hat and long, curled hair.
ALL IN fbe details
Not only can clothing help you date an image, but it also can
clue you in to your ancestors' experiences. Keep an eye out for
these telling details:
rn Traditional ethnic dress: Upon arriving in America, immi-
grants often abandoned their full ethnic dress so they could
better assimilate. But occasionally, accessories such as caps,
head scarves and mantillas will identify their ethnicity. Robert
Harrold's Folk Costumes of the World (Sterling Publishing Co.,
$29.95) offers an overview of clothing styles around the globe.
r Fraternalorder regalia: You might find photographic evi-
dence of an ancestor's membership in a fraternal order, such as
the Freemasons, Modern Woodmen of America or Elks.
Medals, buttons, ribbons, badges, sashes and jewelry (includ-
ing watches, fobs, pins and rings) could contain symbols and
slogans of one of these organizations. For tips on researching
fraternal orders, see the June 2004 Family Tree Magazine.
Military un'ihrms: Studying headgeq buttons, shlrts, pants,
weapons and decoration can date a photograph and provide
evidence of military service. For instance, during the Civil Wal;
many Union volunteers wore belt buckles with their states'
abbreviations; Confederate soldiers wore buckles with the
No-FindNo-Feeservice
'
I' fromBritishResearchers ,
Since 1999, British Ancestors has helped over
3,000 clients worldwide
A nationwide research service with Fesearchers
in every county record office, and all other major
repodtories in England and Scotland
Birth, marriage & death certScates, Church of
England baptism, marriage &burial registers,
nonconformist registers, census returns, wills,
poor law, quarter d o n , and other records.
No-Find No-Fee (if we are unsuccewfd, you pay
Research Projects mm as little as $62
Nothing payable in advance
For a fFee re8earch assessment visit
or e-mail us at
BA Research Service8 Ltd. - Providing quality
family history services since 1999
DO YOU HAVE A MALE RELATIVE
BORN BETWEEN 1872 & 1900? L
&&malesinVleU.Y. -cmens~auens-wnowere~ornoerween 1 3 q eplafr an
12 Sep 1900 (pfdy exqtioa: those already in active duty service) were R E Q W
1 to fill in draft r e gi s ~bn mds- OVER 24 MILUON MEN! EVBN IP YOUR ANCBS
TOR OR WLUlVX MD NOT SERVE in WorldWar I (less than 5 million American
did), his draft registration card contains a @Id mine of i nf odon such as:
* ~ n me a n d a d h s ;
date of birth, e, and caw;
menship status, a l &en, dtbm of what country;
hploytuL Rame d address (and, nearly always, person's occupation);
@e
hair color, height, build, anydisabilities (and often whether bald) ;
(or mark) of applicant, and date of regbtmtion;
Many of the cards also mclude:
place of birth (including town in old country, if immigrant!)
Nurnber and type of dependents - father /mother / minor brothers or sisters,
wife / children;
Marital status;
Description of my pteviaus military semic0, U.S. or foreign!
Any groundsdaimed for exemption - rdigious, occupational, sole tapport, etc.
Nearest rei&ve's m e aud address!
Faflier's p b of birth (including town in OMcountry, if i f p t ! ! )
s md t h $15 (if his residence was rural, or small town mder 30.000 pop.);
$30 (if laiger town/clt)r and you can prodde his street ad*];
$35 (if lager townLcity and you m o t provide street &m):
emelom.
Youwill receive a photoco of the a d ~egistmtion d, front and back, if found,
including all infomation gn, as wetl as cost esthmte to provide all Evds of thaf
summe in tiM iocal d i m I
ACCURACY the top pdority! 25 p%rs research qerienee Plesse allow 2-4 weeks
I
Paul Douglas Schwdde
Professlanal Genealogist
142 E. Maple Ave. (P) Van Wert. OH 45891 I
letters CSA, whch stood for Confederate States of America. If
you're trying to trace Civil War ancestors, those belt buckles
It's easy to misidenufy both the person and the time period
'
if yau look onIy at costume clues. Wedding pictures, for
instance, can offer conflicting evidence if the bride wears an
heirloom gown. So be sure to look for other hints, such as
props, before drawing a conclusion.
Once you've used costume clues to estimate a picture's time
frame, consult magazines and store catalogs from that period,
or flip through books with historical photos to confirm your
analysis. If you're still having trouble placing the photograph
could give you enough clues to locate military records.
Occupational clothing: Look for hats, aprons or props sug-
gesting your ancestor's employment. Consult Dressed fov the
Job by Christobel Williams-Mitchell (Blandford Books, out of
print) for pictures of people on the job.
Religious attire: Photos of altar boys, priests, nuns and
other people in religious garb can be difficult to date because
the clothing styles don't change. But these portraits can pro-
vide clues about your ancestors' religious affiliation. Look for
Bibles, candles, flowers and other religious symbols.
COLLECTIVE evidence
As you add up all the costume clues in your photographs,
remember: Looks can be deceiving. Just because your ances-
tor's outfit seems to date to the 1880s, that doesn't mean it
actually does. For example, in some tourist spots, you can have
your picture taken in period clothing. One of my friends has a
tintype of himself in a Civil War uniform. Not only did the
photographer copy the 19th-century photographic process, but
the clothing looks authentic. To an unsuspecting descendant,
this photo might appear older than it actually is.
within a fashion context, youmight w&t to consuit a costume
professional. Some historical societies and museums have staff
who specialize in costume history.
Over the years, I've developed a fascination with historical
fashion. The clothing provides glimpses into our ancestors'
everyday lives and insights into their personalities. The next
time you pose for a picture, think about what you're wearing-
and what those clothes will say to your descendants. *
Contributing editor MAUREEN A. TAYLOR is the author of Preserving Your
Family Photographs (Betterway Books. $19.99) and Identl@ing Your Fam-
ily Photographs (Family Tree Books), due out next fall. She helps solve read-
ers' picture puzzles in Family free Magazine's Photo Detective column
and the biweekly Identifying Family Photographs column at <www.
farnilytreernagazinexornlphotoslcurrent.htrn>.
PUBLISHERS, INC.
Ifere is an 880-
page Ri.story of a
very large fnmily,
wit11 375 pictrtns.
a fa mi!^ tree, and
a 30-page index,
Yorfr own firnily
Iristory corrld he
like this. Why
not?
A 11
Exarriple
of
a
Special
History Book
Send for our FREE brochure on
How to Prepare Your History and How to get it Published
Write 845 South Main St., Bountiful, UT 84010
or call 801 -295-7490 or E-mail jayl@qwest.net
- v-
3 a L d aw 30mum
70 Family Tree Magazine February 2007
3
photo de t e c t i v e
Ancestral
Wear-abouts
Your kins ethnic dress can tell you where
they came from. Heres how to read the clues.
| By Maureen A. Taylor
I
f you have a family photograph of
people in unfamiliar attiresuch as the
outts on these two womenyou might
wonder What in the world? Instead, ask
Where in the world? That photo could
show your immigrant ancestors dressed in
clothing common in their homeland.
Fortunately, you neednt make a trans-
Atlantic voyage to gure out the origins of
a foreign photograph. Finding your familys
homeland based on a picture is easier and
cheaper than buying a travel package on
Orbitz. The same clues that helped me sort
out this photo mystery can lead to break-
throughs in your own immigrant ancestry.
Fashion ction
First, lets clear up a myth regarding immi-
grant forebears: People from other coun-
tries didnt always wear ethnic-looking
folk costumes like those on the women
here. Your ancestors everyday clothing
depended on their country of origin and
whether they lived in a city or the coun-
tryside. Urban dwellers often wore the
same fashions popular throughout Europe
and the United States. For instance, in the
1890s, the leg-o-mutton sleeve (a puffy
shoulder tapered to a narrow forearm)
showed up on Western-style dresses in
Copenhagen, Paris, Rome and Ankara,
Turkey. In rural areas, attire was usually
a mix that depended on cultural identity,
economic status and lifestyle. Women
occasionally accented everyday clothes
with ethnic headgear, such as the beaver
hats shown here.
Outt origins
Unusual clothing requires a special cos-
tume guide. Check libraries for Auguste
Racinets The Complete Costume History,
rst published in 1888 (reprinted in 2003
by Taschen, $200). It covers the entire his-
tory of costume, most of which predates
photography, but the final chapter is a
genealogical gem full of color plates illus-
trating traditional fashions up to 1800.
A smaller book, Robert Harrolds Folk
Costumes of the World (Sterling, $29.95),
describes the history of Welsh dress,
which became a symbol of national iden-
tity. Today, ladies might wear outts like
those shown here for occasions such as
St. Davids Day, which honors the patron
saint of Wales.
This 19th-century photo is sepia tone,
but Harrolds illustrations let you imag-
ine the clothing in full color. A typical
late-1800s or early-1900s Welsh costume
consisted of a tall black beaver hat with
a white frilled bonnet, a white blouse
with red trim at the cuffs, a bright red
underskirt, a checked apron and a shawl.
These women arent wearing bonnets,
white blouses or folded-back skirts, but
one sports a checked apron and both
have shawls and hats. According to the
Welsh National Costume Web site <www.
welsh-costume.co.uk>, women started
wearing these hatsbased on the mens
top hats popular from 1790 to 1820
during the 19th century. The longevity of
this style of dress doesnt do much to nar-
row the photos date.
Informative imprints
Ideally, your picture will bear a photog-
raphers imprint, which provides the stu-
dio name and, often, its location. Then
you can research the localein this case,
Holyheadusing gazetteers. The 1884
Gazetteer of the World (Lippincott, out
of print) tells me Holyhead was an island
off the coast of Wales (its now called Holy
Island), home to a town of the same name.
I also found out the closest port is Dublin,
which was under British rule during the
19th century. This last bit of information
would come in handy when searching for
a point of emigration.
Pay attention to the style of the pho-
tographers imprintwhether its printed,
script or part of a decorative logo. This
2x4-inch gilt-edged beveled card has the
photographers name in script, common in
the mid-1880s. To learn more about nar-
rowing a photos time frame by research-
ing photographers imprints, see my online
Identifying Family Photographs column at
< www.familytreemagazine.com / photos /
apr13-06.htm >.
1

4
2
Foreign Affairs
Head case. Women often
mixed traditional accessories with
contemporary clothing.
By the book. Costume
encyclopedias supply clues these
womens outts are Welsh.
Sense of place. A gazetteer puts
this town on an island off the coast
of Wales.
Back up. The elaborate painted
backdrop dates to the mid-1880s.
Got a picture puzzle? Post
your photo questions on the
FamilyTreeMagazine.com
Photo Detective Forum at
< www.familytreemagazine.
com / forum >.
1
2

4
If your photo lacks a photographers
name and youre not sure where the sub-
jects came from, try browsing costume
books for clothing similar to whats in
your picture. You also can compare your
photos to the images of immigrants in
native dress in Augustus F. Sherman:
Ellis Island Portraits 1905-1920 (Aper-
ture, $40). For descriptions of props and
backdrops, such as the painted one in
this photo, see Linda Setniks Victorian
Costume for Ladies 1860-1900 (Schiffer,
$29.95). The next time you see a foreign
image, instead of wondering What in the
world? you can say Aha! And if you
can make that trans-Atlantic voyage after
all, plan a trip to your ancestral homeland
and check out a few genealogical docu-
ments while youre there. Dont forget to
take a copy of the picture in case you meet
some long-lost relatives. 3
Contributing editor and photo historian Maureen
A. Taylor is the author of Uncovering Your Ances-
try Through Family Photographs, 2nd edition (Family
Tree Books, $24.99).
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

M
A
U
R
E
E
N

A
.

T
A
Y
L
O
R
3
classifieds
Family History Online
AncestorSpy.com. We found the records
so you can FIND ANCESTORS! Visit
www.AncestorSpy.com TODAY!
Family History Products
Fun Stuff for Genealogists
over 500 items including T-shirts,
jewelry, mugs, magniers,
pedigree charts, maps & more!
www.FunStuffForGenealogists.com.
For orders, call Toll Free 877-259-6144.
Help Wanted
$400 Weekly Assembling Products from
home. For free information, send SASE:
Home Assembly-FT, PO Box 216, New
Britain, CT 06050-0216.
International Genealogy
Research
CanadaNational Archives and Library
research. All provinces. Prompt reply. BA
(History). David Agar, 1712A Lamoureux
Drive, Orleans, Ontario, K1E 2N2.
Dagar@ncf.ca
Wales & English MidlandsResearch
by experienced local researcher. Contact
vince@ichthusfamilyhistory.com;
www.ichthusfamilyhistory.com.
www.familytraits.co.uk Searching
the record offices and archives of
Scotland and Northumberland.
Contact onadean@familytraits.co.uk
19 Sunnyside Mews, Tweedmouth,
Berwick Upon Tweed, Nothumberland
England TD15 2QJ United Kingdom
Research
Software data-entry, typing,
transcriptions, proofreading, Scottish/
Texas research. Carolyn McNicholl,
P.O. Box 7894, Round Rock, TX 78683,
(512) 388-1976, kcmcn@texas.net;
Web: kcmcn.home.texas.net
Texas Research FREE Consultations
www.affordablegenealogy.com; 3003
Country Club Dr., Pearland, TX 77581
Societies & Associations
"Were Your Ancestors German
Immigrants from Russia?" Let us
help you find them! Join the American
Historical Society of Germans from
Russia. Phone: (402) 474-3363.
Web site: www.ahsgr.org
Translations
Expert Italian & Latin Translation.
Handwriting specialist.
Juliet Viola Kniffen, M.A.,
1908 Grant Street, Berkeley, CA 94703;
email scans to: julietviola@comcast.net;
www.julietviola.com.
Translator of old German Script. Free
estimates. Gordon Hartig, P.O. Box 931,
Westford, MA 01886. (978) 692-5781
www.familytreemagazine.com 71
BELARUS ANCESTRAL RESEARCH
Trace your past through archive and cemetery research.
jhrg@jhrgbelarus.org
We are based in Belarus
Free consultations and estimate.
www.jhrgbelarus.org
Genealogy research in Denmark
and Sweden
info@scandgen.com
Interested in advertising
your services or products
in the next issue of
Family Tree Magazine?
Its not too late!
For more information, contact
Diane Grosvenor
(800) 283-0963, ext. 1831
diane.grosvenor@fwpubs.com
20 Family Tree Magazine February 2006
3
Your Aunts in Pants
Fashion clues may not apply if women wore the
britches in your family photosbut you still can
identify gender-bending images. | By Maureen A. Taylor
F
ace it: The hoop skirts, bustles and cor-
sets our female ancestors wore most of
the time werent exactly comfortable, espe-
cially for active pursuits. In Women in Pants:
Manly Maidens, Cowgirls, and Other Ren-
egades (Abrams, $35), Catherine Smith and
Cynthia Greig explain why genteel ladies of
the pastsuch as the pair pictured here
sometimes donned mens clothes. From
the early feminists of the 1850s to Calam-
ity Jane in the 1890s, photos prove women
wore bloomers, knickerbockers, breeches,
pantaloons, pants and trousers.
Pants were outside the norm for 1800s
and early 1900s ladies, though, so a fash-
ion encyclopedia might not help you inter-
pret a portrait of Great-aunt Nell sporting
the latest in trouser wear. Instead, learn
about your female relative by using other
photo details and focusing on the interests
and activities her legged outt reveals.
Pretty political
Clothing reected our ancestors economic
status, personality and, for womens rights
advocates such as Amelia Bloomer, their
politics. In 1851, Bloomer began publish-
ing articles in her biweekly newsletter, The
Lily, advocating less-confining clothing
for women. In place of their heavy dresses
and restrictive undergarments, Bloomer
wrote, ladies should wear shorter skirts
over ankle-length pants (a garment eventu-
ally named for its proponent). A few brave
early feminists, including Susan B. Anthony
and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, embraced
bloomers, but the style faded around the
end of the decade. Several different types
of photographs existed during the 1850s,
so look for a photographers name (called
an imprint) on the back of a paper print,
or embossed in the brass mat of a cased
picture. Then look up the business in city
directories and consult your research to see
who lived in the area at that time.
Secret service
Mary Livermore, who headed the Mid-
west area of the US Sanitary Commission
during the Civil War, estimated more than
400 women disguised themselves as men to
enlist. Perhaps the female soldiers agreed
with Medal of Honor recipient Mary
Walker, one of three women surgeons
known to have served the Union, who
declared, Patriotism has no sex. Such
convictions werent conned to the Civil
War: Until women were ofcially allowed
to join the armed services, they inltrated
the ranks in all wartime conflicts. Some
managed to remain undetected; others
were sent home once injured and discov-
ered. These soldiers carefully concealed
their identities, and many are indistinguish-
able from men in photographs. Maybe you
have Civil War photos but no male relatives
the right age, or the soldier pictured bears
a strong resemblance to a female ancestors
portrait. If you suspect your soldier is really
a woman, pay attention to family folklore,
look for military records (see the October
2005 Family Tree Magazine for research
advice) and read Richard Halls Patriots
in Disguise: Women Warriors of the Civil
War (Paragon House, out of print).
Good sports
In the late 19th century, special bifurcated
costumes, practical for recreational activities,
offered women acceptable alternatives to
wearing their husbands altered clothing. All
sorts of legged costumes became fashionable
for horseback riding, gymnastics, swimming,
bicycling and tennis. Compare clothing in
your photos with the examples in Smith and
Greigs book and in American Dress Pattern
Catalogs, 1873-1909 edited by Nancy Villa
Bryk (Dover Publications, $14.95).
Business casual
Women engaged in farming, ranching,
painting and carpentry found pants com-
fortable for doing mens work. In Eng-
land, women who worked in mines donned
mens attire for safety and ease of move-
ment. Unlike men, however, women often
complemented their pantaloons with simple
accessories, bodices reminiscent of dresses
and, as the two ladies in the photo above
demonstrate, hats to shade their faces from
the sun. Honing in on those details gives you
more clothing evidence to work with. The
exact occupation of these women is unclear,
but their bucket, large-brimmed hats and
at shoes suggest an outdoor endeavor.
photo de t e c t i v e
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

M
A
U
R
E
E
N

A
.

T
A
Y
L
O
R
2
3
4
5
1
www.familytreemagazine.com 21
Sometimes, dressing in mens clothing
was scandalous but reasonable. When
Katherine Hepburn and Marlene Dietrich
wore pants in the 1930s, they were taking
cues from theater mavens such as Sarah
Bernhardt, who often played male roles.
Although 19th- and early 20th-century
social conventions suggested women
belonged in skirts, strong-willed, indepen-
dent ladies often felt otherwise. Rather than
trying to wear the pants in the family,
the majority of women photographed in
trousers wore the unconventional costume
to ease their work or recreational activities.
Date these pictures using enclosures, pho-
tographers imprints, genealogical informa-
tion and clothing clues, but dont overlook
the larger story they tell about your familys
founding mothers. 3
Contributing editor Maureen A. Taylor helps
solve your picture puzzles in her online column. Learn
how to submit photos for free analysis at < www.
familytreemagazine.com / photos / photohelp.htm>.
Getting a Leg Up
Clothes call. These feminine tted
bodices with minimal trim date from
the 1880s.
Professional advice. Some props,
such as the one-handled bucket in this
photograph, are occupational clues.
Fancy footwork. Compare shoes to
the descriptions in Nancy E. Rexfords
Womens Shoes in America, 1795-1930
(Kent State University Press, $60).
Background information. During
the 1880s, photographers often
decorated their sets with props such
as wooden fences, rocks and hay.
Twenty questions. Asking family
members about unusual photographs
may be the best way to get the scoop.
3
5
1
4
2
Question
What do our nation's best
Iamily History & Genealogy
Libraries have in Common?
Answer
Tey are adding the Fami/y Maps
series of Iederal Land Patent
books by Gregory A. Boyd to
their collections, just as quickly
as they can.
Boyd has mapped over 1 Million
land-parcels for 1st Land-owners
in these states
Iind out more at


www.arphax.com
www.familymaps.com
1-800-681-5298
or
or call
Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana,
Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska,
Oklahoma, Utah, & Wisconsin (with more states coming soon).
Arphax Publishing is releasing these in book form, county-by-
county, with 3 new books released each week, on average.
- Available in both Spiral-bound and Hardbound editions -
Arphax Publishing Co.
2210 Research Park Blvd.
Norman, OK 73069
62 Family Tree Magazine November 2007
3
photo de t e c t i v e
Costume
Clues
Dont be scared!
Theres nothing tricky
about gleaning
genealogical treats
from Halloween photos.
| By Maureen A. Taylor
D
onning a Halloween costume, ringing
doorbells and getting a pillowcase full
of candy is one of the great joys of child-
hood. The curious group portrait here
one of a set Sandy Forest ownsshows
big kids enjoy celebrating in masquer-
ade, too. With a few photo-research tricks,
Forest can treat herself to the story behind
this intriguing image.
Revealing identities
The woman in buccaneer attire is Forests
aunt Connie, who was born in 1908 and
lived in the town of Maspeth on Long
Island, NY. Forest doesnt recognize any-
one else in the photo, but a comparison of
facial features suggests the clown on the
left has a similar nose, mouth and face
shape to Connies. Perhaps shes a relative.
Such comparisons are subjective, of course,
so dont take physical resemblances as evi-
dence of relationshipsinstead, use them
to form hypotheses for further research.
This group also could be high school
friends. To investigate further, Forest should
find out when her aunt graduated and
browse school yearbooks for familiar faces.
The local public library, historical society
or school district ofce might have year-
books, or Forest can peruse digitized annu-
als on sites such as Dead Fred < deadfred.
com > and DistantCousin.com < www.
distantcousin.com >.
Mastering disguises
Obviously, you cant rely on the shape of
a sleeve or trim on a bodice to date the
clothing here. Instead, examine the sub-
ject of impersonation. In the 20th century,
cartoon character and politician costumes
joined the standard witch, goblin and
pirate Halloween fare. For example, dur-
ing the Depression, going as a hobo was a
popular choice.
Connie poses here in a buccaneer outt
complete with a hat and knife. Two come-
dic harlequins standing in the back sport
pom-poms and rufed collars; the woman
between them is wearing a flapper-style
dress and headpiece. Seated on the left is a
lady dressed as a Spanish princess (holding
a fan); a fashionable 18th-century woman
perches next to her. These costume choices
were common during the 1920s.
Commercially produced costumes
werent available until the 1930s. But an
illustration in Dressed for Thrills by Phyl-
lis Galembo (Harry N. Abrams, $24.95)
shows a 1925 Pictorial Pattern Co. sewing
pattern for Connies outt, from her hat to
her swashbuckler boot tops. She modied
the patterns skirt hem.
Collecting yourself
In addition to studying the details of each
photo, look at all your family photos as a
group. Connies costume and the identical
background make it obvious the images
shown here are part of a set. But Forest also
has wedding and rst communion photo-
graphs of family members standing in front
of the same painted scene. Though the pho-
tographers imprint doesnt appear here, the
backdrop is evidence her family frequented
the same photographer. She can use city
directories to nd studios in the neighbor-
hood and, based on years of operation, esti-
mate date ranges for the photos.
Check the backs of all your photos, too.
The single portrait of Connie is a photo
postcard, printed on sturdy cardstock with
designated spaces on the back for a mes-
sage and stamp. The stamp box design
can indicate when a photo postcard was
4
1

2
1
2

4
P
H
O
T
O
S
:

C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

S
A
N
D
Y

F
O
R
E
S
T
www.familytreemagazine.com 6
printed. I compared the stamp box on the
back of Connies portrait with the examples
in Real Photo Postcard Guide: The Peo-
ples Photography by Robert Bogdan and
Todd Weseloh (Syracuse University Press,
$39.95). It was used around 1910, then
reintroduced in 1926.
Clowning around
Private parties to celebrate Halloween were
all the rage in the Victorian period; later,
cities and towns began holding festivities.
Its likely this group marched in a parade,
then had their portrait taken. Connies
boldly patterned costume makes her stand
out in the group photo, and her front-and-
center position suggests she organized the
Kodak moment. Forest could sweeten this
family history treat by checking the areas
historical newspapers for coverage of Hal-
loween celebrations. 3
Contributing editor Maureen A. Taylor blogs
about mystery photos at < www.familytreemagazine.
com / photodetectiveblog >.
Tricks of the Trade
1

4
Costume check. Date Halloween
photos based on when the costumes
were in vogue.
Unmasked. Try to identify mystery
friends using high school yearbooks.
Familiar faces. Use a magnier
to examine subjects faces. Treat
similarities as clues, not evidence.
Cool and collected. Study your other
photos for those taken on the same
occasion or in the same studio.
Faced with a frightening photo
mystery? Post your picture on
our Photo Detective Forum at
< www.familytreemagazine.
com / forum >.
2
Northeast Texas History
and Genealogy Center
Located in the W. Walworth Harrison Public Library
# 1 Lou Finney Lane, Greenville, Texas
Phone: 903-457-2992 Web: www.greenville.lib.tx.us
Located in historic
Greenville, Texas
encouraging the exploration and appreciation of the
rich historical legacy of Northeast Texas.
The Center offers access to a wide range of rare
items, records, newspapers, photographs, and
databases to ensure generations can understand and
share in their unique heritage.
The Center is a research facility dedicated to
2007, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Salt Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau
SALT LAKE
the best deal around
With free access to the worlds largest genealogy database,
hotels under $100 and free downtown transportation,
you cant afford to search anywhere else.
Find out more at
or contact Stephanie Pace, Director of Tourism Sales,
at space@saltlake.org, 801.534.4909.
Hello
Its the tops for
genealogy research
Can I go now?
Lovely places to
stay and visit
Are we done?
68 Family Tree Magazine December 2006
3
photo de t e c t i v e
Oh, Boy or Girl?
Thats rightonce upon a time, little boys
wore long hair and skirts. Use our photo
pros secrets to practice some genealogical
gender discrimination. | By Maureen A. Taylor
D
uring the 1960s, older folks used to
say it was hard to tell the boys from
the girls because of the unisex fashion
trends and long hairstyles. But the same
can be said for your youthful ancestors
in family photos from the late 1800s and
early 1900s: Both boys and girls wore
curly locks and skirts, like the tyke shown
at right, so its not hard to make a gender-
bending mistake. If you cant tell whether
youve got a picture of Aunt Ethel or Uncle
Bert, use these head-to-toe tips for distin-
guishing the males from the females.
Hair it is
Many a genealogist looks at a photo, sees
a skirt and long hair on the subject, and
immediatelyoften incorrectlyconcludes
its another picture of Great-grandma
Mabel. But looks can be deceiving, so rely
on this identication tip thats so simple its
hard to believe: Check out where the childs
hair is parted. Mothers parted their daugh-
ters hair in the center and their sons hair
on the side. (For the record, the child shown
on this page is a boy.) When boys reached
school age, they usually started sporting
shorter haircuts.
Wear apparent
A quick glance at a fashion tome such as
The Child in Fashion 1750-1920 by Kris-
tina Harris (Schiffer Publishing, $29.95)
shows you cant rely on short hair and
pants to pinpoint boys. Throughout the
19th and early 20th centuries, babies of
both sexes wore long dresses until they
learned to walk. Thereafter, moms dressed
those restless toddlers in skirts that were
short enough to let them motor around.
Diaper changing and toilet training were
easier in these outts, too. School-age chil-
dren are simpler to identify in photos
thats when boys and girls began wearing
distinctive attire.
Juniors clothing usually mimicked
designs for womens dresses. That means
you can date kids outts by comparing
them to signicant ladies fashions from
the same period, such as the bolero jack-
ets of the 1860s and the pointed bodices
of the 1840s. Also use the following child-
hood fashion trends, which Joan Severa
describes in Dressed for the Photogra-
pher: Ordinary Americans and Fashion,
1840-1900 (Kent State University Press,
$60): During the 1840s, young boys
and girls both wore dresses, either the
frock type or ones with set-in belts and
full skirts, although little boys sometimes
wore full-length dark trowsers under
the frock. From the 1850s through the
1880s, boys dresses came in tartan plaids
or featured military trim, which differen-
tiated their clothing from their sisters.
Outt for a prince
In this 1890s photo, the boy poses in a
skirt, short jacket, rufed shirt and large
bow similar to the velvet suits rst seen
during the 1860s. This is a feminine look
by modern standards, but it became
wildly popular for boys when author
Frances Hodgson Burnett published her
childrens novel Little Lord Fauntleroy in
1886. The velvet knickerbocker suit with
a lace Van Dyke collar and broad sash
turned into a persistent fashion trend that
forever after was associated with Burnetts
main character.
Eventually, the Little Lord Fauntleroy
look encompassed all velvet suits (includ-
ing those with pants) and any suit with a
lace collar. You can learn more about this
fashion fad at < www.sallyqueenassociates.
com / fauntleroy.htm >.
Aging well
In addition to noting gender-related fash-
ion details, try to estimate the childs age
by examining his clothing. Heres your
basic rule: Boys wore long white dresses
until about age 3, and short skirts until
they turned 5. School-age boys dressed
in knee-length pants until around age 12,
when they donned long trousers like their
fathers. The boy shown above is prob-
ably 3 to 5 years oldthe photographer
who took his portrait captured his pride
at wearing grown-up attire.
3
1
2
www.familytreemagazine.com 6
Prop yourself up
If you still have any doubts about the sex
of the child in your picture, look at the
props. Photographers kept toys on hand
to occupy dgety tots, and the selections
were pretty stereotypicalits a safe bet a
wagon means the subject is a boy, and a
doll indicates a girl.
Now you know its a snap to tell boys
from girls in vintage photos. After you
decide whos who, date fashion trends and
compute the childs age, rely on other fac-
tors, such as the type of image (daguerreo-
type, tintype, photo postcard) and your
genealogical data, to verify the time
frame. No more mixing up family photos
of Bert and Ethel: With this discriminating
advice, youll make the right ID. 3
Contributing editor Maureen A. Taylor ana-
lyzes readers old photographs in her free, biweekly
online column, Identifying Family Photographs.
See < www.familytreemagazine.com / photos /
photohelp.htm > for instructions on submitting
your photo.
Boys Will
Be Boys
Parting ways. Boys hairstyles
were parted on the side, as shown
here; girls wore their hair parted
in the middle.
Trend watch. Compare outts
to fashion reference books and
adult clothing. This boys Little
Lord Fauntleroy look dates to
the 1890s.
Age-old advice. The length of
this childs skirt puts him
between 3 and 5 years old.
See solutions to readers
photo mysteries online at
< www.familytreemagazine.com /
photos / current.htm >.
1
2
3
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

M
A
U
R
E
E
N

A
.

T
A
Y
L
O
R
Family History Online
AncestorSpy.com. We found the records
so you can FIND ANCESTORS! Visit
www.AncestorSpy.com TODAY!
Family History Products
Fun Stuff for Genealogists over 400
items including T-shirts, jewelry, mugs,
magnifiers, pedigree charts, maps & more!
www.FunStuffForGenealogists.com
For orders, call Toll Free 877-259-6144.
Film Transfers
Transfer Home Movies & Photos to DVD.
We make Family History Videos, a story
for future generations. Video-7
(800) 490-7434
www.videoXpressions.com
International Genealogy
Research
BELARUS ANCESTRAL RESEARCH
Trace your past through archive and cemetery research.
jhrg@jhrgbelarus.org
We are based in Belarus
Free consultations and estimate.
www.jhrgbelarus.org
Canada National Archives and Library
research. All provinces. Prompt reply. BA
(History). David Agar, 1712A Lamoureux
Drive, Orleans, Ontario, K1E 2N2.
Dagar@ncf.ca
Wales & English Midlands Research
by experienced local researcher. Contact
vince@ichthusfamilyhistory.com;
www.ichthusfamilyhistory.com.
www.familytraits.co.uk Searching
the record offices and archives of
Scotland and Northumberland.
Contact onadean@familytraits.co.uk
19 Sunnyside Mews, Tweedmouth,
Berwick Upon Tweed, Nothumberland
England TD15 2QJ United Kingdom
Research
Software data-entry, typing,
transcriptions, proofreading, Scottish/
Texas research. Carolyn McNicholl,
P.O. Box 7894, Round Rock, TX 78683,
(512) 388-1976, kcmcn@texas.net;
Web: kcmcn.home.texas.net
Texas Research FREE Consultations
www.affordablegenealogy.com; 3003
Country Club Dr., Pearland, TX 77581
Societies & Associations
"Were Your Ancestors German
Immigrants from Russia?" Let us
help you find them! Join the American
Historical Society of Germans from
Russia. Phone: (402) 474-3363.
Web site: www.ahsgr.org
Translations
Expert Italian & Latin Translation.
Handwriting specialist. Juliet Viola
Kniffen, M.A., 1908 Grant Street,
Berkeley, CA 94703; e-mail scans to:
julietviola@comcast.net;
www.julietviola.com.
Translator of old German Script. Free
estimates. Gordon Hartig, P.O. Box 931,
Westford, MA 01886. (978) 692-5781
3
classifieds
70 Family Tree Magazine December 2005
3
photo de t e c t i v e
Hats Off to You
Earn a feather in your cap when you use costume
detailssuch as hatsto solve photo mysteries.
| By Maureen A. Taylor
Y
ears ago, you could commit a major
fashion faux pas by not wearing a hat,
or by wearing the wrong one. You dont see
hats as often today, but their past popular-
ity makes them useful photo clues: If your
ancestor posed in a trendy topper, you can
learn when it was in style. Hats also can
indicate whether your ancestor was a busi-
nessman, farmer oras may be the case for
this young mana streetcar conductor.
Ellen Coppers father-in-law stumbled
upon this picture in his mothers collection
of treasured possessions. Since then, the
familys been trying to gure out who the
person is, and when and where his portrait
was taken. Before attempting a positive
ID, though, its important to nd as much
background information about the fam-
ily as possible. For instance, Ellens family
knows the pictures original owner, Ellens
grandmother Laura (Netzle) Copper, was
born in 1883 in McKeesport, Pa. They also
believe Grandma Coppers German parents
probably immigrated to Pennsylvania in
the late 1870s or early 1880s. Grandmas
brother Fritz was a streetcar conductor, but
according to Fritzs daughter, this isnt him
in the photograph.
Curious case
Now that we know a little bit about the
family, lets start with the photographs
worn wooden case for date clues. The
design on the back is a variation on a
common flower-filled urn style. Several
similar cases appear in Adele Kennys Pho-
tographic Cases: Victorian Design Sources,
1840-1870 (Schiffer, $59.95). These
wooden cases became available in the early
1850sthe same decade as the ornate oval
brass mat that frames the image.
Most cases like this one feature a strip
of brass that holds the picture, glass and
mat firmly in placebut this case lacks
that strip, suggesting it originally held a
different image. And with no strip to pro-
tect the photo, dirt has built up on the glass
and the picture. The tarnished brass mat
indicates exposure to uctuating tempera-
ture and humidity. A gentle wipe with a dry
cotton swab will remove the grime. (But
never swab the surface of an imagethat
removes any loose pieces of the picture.)
Drop of a hat
The young mans clothing corroborates the
suspected date of the photo. Hes wearing
a wide-lapel jacket with a double-breasted
vest, wide silk tie and white shirtall sug-
gesting this picture dates to the 1850s or
early 1860s. The young mans distinctive
headgear is either an occupational clue
or a fashion accessory. In Dressed for the
Photographer: Ordinary Americans &
Fashion, 1840-1900 (Kent State University
Press, $60), author Joan Severa says a new
type of hat, a pilots cap, which is very
deep crowned and crisp and had a leather
band and bill, was a common boys acces-
sory in the 1850s.
But is this mans cap fashionable attire
or work wear? In the mid-19th century,
just like today, hats could identify the
wearers occupation. Streetcar conductors,
for example, wore hats similar to the one
in this photo. Ellen can investigate that
possibility by contacting the McKeesport
Heritage Center (1832 Arboretum Drive,
McKeesport, PA 15132) to ask when
streetcars began running in Grandma
Coppers hometown. The center also might
have images featuring conductors in its
collectioncomparing such photos to this
one will help determine whether this young
man posed in his occupational uniform.
All ashore!
So far, clues seem to date this photo to
the 1850s. But as youll recall, the Netzle
and Copper families werent in America
in the 1850s, so this portrait may have
been taken overseas. Verifying when fam-
ily members immigrated to the United
States will help Ellen make that determi-
nationone branch of the clan may have
crossed the pond earlier than the rest.
Shell nd resources for immigration and
naturalization documents in Michael Tep-
pers American Passenger Arrival Records
(Genealogical Publishing Co., $14.95),
Ancestry.coms < www.ancestry.com > US
Immigration Collection (a $79.95-per-
year subscription), and Cyndis List < www.
cyndislist.com > pages on immigration, emi-
gration and migration.
1
2

4
5
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

E
L
L
E
N

C
O
P
P
E
R
Spitting image
This young man appears to be in his early
teens, so he probably was born during the
1840s. Ellen should compare his features
to already-identified portraits of other
male relatives with birth dates around the
same time. Similarities in the shapes of
subjects noses, eyes and mouthfeatures
that dont change much over timeare
particularly telling. And dont forget eye
color: Even though this photograph is
black and white, you can tell the young
man has light eyes.
As you solve your own photo mysteries,
remember to think bigkeeping the larger
family history picture in mindand start
small, with details such as photo cases,
lapels, ties and hats. 3
Family Tree Magazine contributing editor Maureen
A. Taylor helps solve readers picture puzzles in her
biweekly online photo-identication column. Learn
how to submit your photos for free analysis at < www.
familytreemagazine.com / photos / photohelp.htm>.
Coming
Out Ahead
Case the joint. Research when the
type and design of the photo case and
mat were commonly in use.
Missing pieces. The photo may
not be original to the case if the metal
preserver strip that secures the
image is missing.
Jacket required. Use clues such as
the lapel and tie widths, as well as the
tie knot, to conrm a photo date.
Wear many hats. Search photo
archives for men sporting caps
similar to the one in the photo.
Gaze into his eyes. Compare the
subjects features with identied
family photos.

5
1
4
2
Enjoy the ideal genealogy getaway- spend a whole week at the Family History
Library, accessing the world's largest collection of genealogical records with help
and advice from professional researchers- opening social, theater trip, and more.....
Other Services Include:
Personal Consultations
Visiting the Family History Library? Get the most out of your visit
with help from a professional researcher
Research Service
Unable to visit Salt Lake? Learn about our Research Service
To learn more visit www.ancestorseekers.com/familytree
or call toll free 877-896-0974 9am-6pm MST
"Thank you so much for the help you gave me at the FHL last week.
You are amazing! Hope to see you again." - Cheryl F, Utah
SALT LAKE CITY RESEARCH TRIP
February 12-17, 2006
Based in Salt Lake City, Ancestor Seekers has welcomed hundreds of
visitors from throughout the US and Canada to provide help from
professional researchers at the Family History Library.
62 Family Tree Magazine November 2008
3
photo de t e c t i v e
Playing Politics
A tiny detail in your photo may reveal
a relatives political views.
| By Maureen A. Taylor
I
n a 1776 letter, Abigail Adams admon-
ished her husband, John, to remember
the ladies as the Continental Congress
struggled to establish a government. Even
though women werent allowed to vote on
a national level until 1920, many, like Abi-
gail, took an interest in political affairs.
Frances Althea Cuppernell, shown here
on the right, didnt leave writings express-
ing her views. But as youll see, details in
this portrait reveal hidden aspects of her
political leanings. Her great-great-grandson
Orville S. Paller sent this image to me
because hes been unable to crack the iden-
tity of the two ladies posing with Cup-
pernell. Paller wondered if his ancestors
unique bar pin could hold the answer to
this pictorial brick wall. Lets stack up the
facts and nd out.
Pinpointing a date
Even before we consider the pin, the
womens outts provide a time frame. All
wear dresses with high necklines and but-
tons down the bodice. The one in front
has a wide lace collar; her hair is up on the
crown of her head. Frances and the woman
in back both wear center-parted hair with
soft waves. These dress styles and hairdos
were popular in the mid-1880s.
Cuppernells pin in the shape of the
word Blaine, though, more-specifically
dates the image and gives us a glimpse into
this womans life. Paller realized the jew-
elry is a clue, but wasnt able to identify its
signicanceBlaine isnt the name of any
branch of his or an in-laws family.
Research into US history reveals the
accessory doesnt relate to the family, but to
Cuppernells political leanings. Even when
they couldnt vote, women still supported
or opposed political causes.
In this case, the pin shows Cuppernells
backing for little-known presidential candi-
date James G. Blaine. The Republican tried
to earn his partys nomination in 1876 and
1880, nally achieving his goal in 1884.
Democrat Grover Cleveland challenged
him in a tense campaign: Cleveland admit-
ted hed fathered a child illegitimately;
Blaine was accused of being anti-Catholic
and accepting bribes.
According to Jordan M. Wrights Cam-
paigning for President: Memorabilia From
the Nations Finest Private Collection
(Smithsonian, $35), US political memora-
bilia originated around 1796, when John
Adams became president. Hed used paper
lanterns to promote his candidacy. Franklin
Pierce, elected president in 1852, rst used
photos on a variety of campaign propa-
ganda, some of itincluding aprons, hair-
pins and jewelrydesigned for women.
(See examples of campaign propaganda
in the New York Times article at <www.
nytimes.com/2008/06/28/arts/design/
28muse.html>.) Blaines campaign made
pocketbooks for his female supporters.
The combination of clothing and Cup-
pernells bar pin date this image to the few
months in 1884 between Blaines accep-
tance of his partys nod and his election loss
to Cleveland.
Political leanings
Paller was surprised to learn this photo
could establish Cuppernell as a Republi-
can. At the time, the Republican partyto
which Abraham Lincoln had belonged
was considered the more liberal faction.
Its unknown what inuence (if any) Cup-
pernells political values may have had on
her husbands vote, whether she supported
womens suffrage, or why she backed
Blaine. But by setting this photo into the
context of her life, you get a sense of her
as a person.
Born Feb. 8, 1845, in Illinois, Frances
Althea (aka Allie) married William Henry
Vredenburgh at age 17. Three years later,
May 26, 1865, their divorce was nalized.
At the time, divorce was granted only in
extreme circumstances. Illinois statutes
in 1856 dene those as bigamy, adultery,
desertion for at least two years, cruelty,
drunkenness or felony conviction, says
Ray Collins, reference librarian at the Illi-
nois State Library.
Cuppernells husband had deserted her.
In August 1865, she remarried to Albert
Marion Swarthout, who remained her
spouse until her death in 1891. Pallers
genealogical research and the visual
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

O
R
V
I
L
L
E

S
.

P
A
L
L
E
R
1
3
4
2
62-63 NOV08FT PHOTO DETECT.indd 62 8/6/08 1:08:24 PM
www.familytreemagazine.com 63
evidence in the photograph suggest she
was a woman of strong convictions. Why
else wear a piece of political propaganda in
an era when a womans place was at home
caring for her family?
Perhaps her choice to wear political jew-
elry also reects her position on womens
issues. In the 1880s, the American Wom-
ens Suffrage Association and the National
Womens Suffrage Association advocated
for a constitutional amendment guarantee-
ing women the right to vote. Interestingly,
members of the NWSA also supported
easier divorce laws for womena stance
Cuppernell mightve appreciatedand an
end to sex discrimination in employment.
So are the other two women pictured
Cuppernells relatives, or friends with a
similar political stance? The Blaine pin
hasnt yet led to their identities, but it has
yielded insights about its wearer. 3
Contributing editor Maureen A. Taylor tackles
more cases online in the Photo Detective blog <www.
familytreemagazine.com/photodetectiveblog>.
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

O
R
V
I
L
L
E

S
.

P
A
L
L
E
R
Campaign
Strategies
1
2
3
4
History matters. Studying
history can help you add context
to old photos.
Pinned down. Look carefully at
jewelry: It might be more than mere
ornamentation.
Costume check. Clothing and
hairstyles can help establish a time
frame for an image.
Record review. Your genealogy
research may add insight to clothing
and accessory choices.
forum Post photos of your
ancestors jewelry and other
accessories in our Photo Detective Forum
<www.familytreemagazine.com/forum>.
Looking to trace your roots?
Subscribe at www.familytreemagazine.com today!
Let Americas #1 family history magazine help you connect
with your ancestors! Youll find each issue of Family Tree
Magazine overflowing with the practical know-how you
need to discover, preserve and celebrate your past!
Check out what youll get with Family Tree Magazine:
Exclusive tips for tracing ancestors locally and globally
Time-saving tricks to get family facts fast
Ideas for organizing and displaying photos and keepsakes
Software secrets and info on the newest research tools
And more!
62-63 NOV08FT PHOTO DETECT.indd 63 8/6/08 1:08:39 PM
72 Family Tree Magazine July 2008
3
photo de t e c t i v e
Group
Dynamics
Names are just part of
the story in a group shot.
Learn photo clues that
can reveal the occasion
for the get-together.
| By Maureen A. Taylor
E
ven though this photo is a question
mark in Linda Hesss family today,
someone once knew whos pictured and
why theyre there. Perhaps thats the person
who circled two of the women. It wasnt
hard to come up with pretty solid IDs for
those ladies, but who is everyone else, and
why are they there? Lets look at clues Hess
can use to get the full story.
Doing the wave
Hess remembers her aunt telling her that
this image is somehow connected to fam-
ily from Missouri, and one of the women
was supposed to be the mother of a rela-
tive named Grace Mink. The name serves
as a starting place, but a general date would
help Hess narrow her search. Thats the
easy part of this photographic brick wall:
Three women in the picture have perma-
nent waves, with hair styled in what was
called the wavy shingle during the early
1920s. The no-waist dresses conrm this.
Playing family detective
Now Hess has to gure out whos depicted
here by researching leads in oral traditions
about Mink. Her family disputes Minks
marriage to a man named William Curtis
Nunnally, and their daughters deaths at a
young age. Nunnallys sister, Hess great-
grandmother, always said her brother
died an unmarried man, yet Hess aunt
found proof of the marriage at St. Simons
Church in Washington, Daviess County,
Ind., Sept. 17, 1901. Federal census records
ll in missing bits. In 1910, William (listed
as Doug), Grace, their daughter Irene, and
Graces mother, Honora (Nora, nee Smith),
lived in Madison County, Ill. After Wil-
liams death in 1914, the 1920 census nds
Grace Nunnally living with her mother and
daughter in Missouri. Shes 36; Irene is 14.
The household includes Graces mother, her
brother Marion, his wife, their three chil-
dren, and two lodgers. Ireneif that is in
fact her circled in the front rowis a young
teen, conrming the date of about 1920.
Making matches
The circled heads were someones attempt
to point out a relationship. Hess and a dis-
tant relative believe Nora is the woman
seated on the far right and Grace is stand-
ing behind the seated Irene. I tend to agree.
Grace and Nora have same-shaped faces,
mouths and noses; Irene probably favors
her father. Their apparent ages here are
right, too. But who are the rest of the
young men and women in the picture? In
1920, Noras son wouldve been too old
and her grandsons too young to be the
men in this photo.
The key to solving their identities prob-
ably lies with extended family members
photos. Several of the girls here resemble
the Mink women, but lets consider other
possibilities. The others in this photo could
be Noras own Smith kin; relatives of her
husband, Andrew Mink; or family mem-
bers of William Nunnally.
Shared facial traits may indicate a family
group. For instance, the man standing sec-
ond from the right resembles Ireneboth
have long faces. He could be her uncle or an
older cousin. The younger man standing on
the far left also looks like them, with strong
eyebrows and facial features.
Meeting up
Im not sure this picture was taken in a
home. The high ceilings, pictures hanging
high on the molding and strong overhead
light are characteristic of institutional,
rather than homey, decor. Even the fur-
niture appears uncomfortablewooden
straight-back chairs and a bench on the
right for Nora. Notice the pillow behind
her head to make her comfortable.
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

L
I
N
D
A

H
E
S
S
1
2
3
4
5
72-73 JUL08FT PD.indd 72 9/17/08 11:04:22 AM
www.familytreemagazine.com 73
Since the dresses predominant color is
dark, two possibilities are likely: Grace and
Nora are chaperoning an evening gathering
of young people, or this is a family attend-
ing a wake. More research on collateral
lines might turn up supporting evidence,
such as an obituary or death announce-
ment naming survivors. But the absence of
older men and women other than Grace
and Nora is unusual at a wake.
If this picture was taken in Missouri,
nding Graces address in city directories
or other documents could help identify the
setting. With a street name, Hess could con-
tact the local historical society to inquire
about pictures of the neighborhood
home styles could indicate whether these
folks posed in a house or business.
Since this is a 20th-century photo, many
of these young people wouldve lived into
the late 1900s. That makes it likely some-
one in Hess extended family will recognize
them and name the occasion. Its a matter
of networking with distant cousins to g-
ure out whos who. 3
Maureen A. Taylor is a Family Tree Magazine
contributing editor.
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

L
I
N
D
A

H
E
S
S
The Whole Story
1
2
3
4
5
Homing in. Use markings, family
tales and research to pinpoint relatives.
Cut n curl. Look to hair as well as
clothing for a photo date.
Look-alikes. Facial similarities
suggest relationships.
Inside information. Study the
background and compare it to other
photos for location clues.
Common traits. Characteristics
everyone shares, such as age, sex and
attire, could indicate an occasion.
blog Want more photo solutions?
See the Photo Detective blog <www.
familytreemagazine.com/photodetectiveblog>.
Northeast Texas History
and Genealogy Center
Located in the W. Walworth Harrison Public Library
# 1 Lou Finney Lane, Greenville, Texas
Phone: 903-457-2992 Web: www.greenville.lib.tx.us
Located in historic
Greenville, Texas
encouraging the exploration and appreciation of the
rich historical legacy of Northeast Texas.
The Center offers access to a wide range of rare
items, records, newspapers, photographs, and
databases to ensure generations can understand and
share in their unique heritage.
The Center is a research facility dedicated to
Did your ancestors really come from
Russia when they were German?
Where did your ancestors originate? Many are just like you and do not know where grandpa and
grandma lived before coming to the USA or Canada. The AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY of
GERMANS from RUSSIA (AHSGR) can help you explore your ancestry.
AHSGR is an international organization dedicated to the discovery, collection, preservation and
dissemination of information related to the history, cultural heritage and genealogy of Germanic
Settlers in the Russian Empire and their descendants regardless of where they resided or reside.
Some of the benefts of AHSGR membership are:
1. Services of staf researchers and translators;
2. AHSGR publications that include four issues of The Journal, The
Newsletter and a triennial issue of Clues, a genealogy helper;
3. One of the largest libraries devoted soley to German Russian history;
4. Discounts on books and maps from our On-Line book store.
5. Our SOAR database (Save Our Ancestral Records) contains informa-
tion on thousands of German Russian Families with names, dates of
birth, death and marriage; Personal Narratives, Historical Articles,
Photographs & Folklore; History of German from Russia (G/R) Settle-
ments, Cemetery Records, Ships Passenger Lists; Surname Charts,
AHSGRS translation of Karl Stumpps Emigration from Germany to
Russia in the Years 1763-1862 (Listing colonies, colonists and dates of
emigration from First Settlers Lists); Bohlender Book; Bessarabian
Birth, Death & Marriage Records. The entire data base is keyworded,
searchable by ALL surnames. The database currently has 156,652
images with almost 6 Million associated keywords to facilitate your
search. The database can be found at www.ahsgrsoar.org.
Further information on membership can be obtained by use of our website:
http://www.ahsgr.org or Writing to us at 631 D Street, Lincoln, NE 68502
72-73 JUL08FT PD.indd 73 9/17/08 11:04:36 AM
64 Family Tree Magazine October 2006
3
photo de t e c t i v e
Class
Conscious
Pop quiz: Two dozen
bright-eyed students
stare at you from an old
school portrait. Which
one is your relative?
Weve got the answers.
| By Maureen A. Taylor
I
f youve had kids, you know the drill:
Every fall or spring, your child would
come home with an order form for school
portraits. Youd pin some money inside
your little ones backpack and several weeks
later, hed trot home clutching the photos.
School photos go back to the early days of
photography when, in 1840, Yale class of
1810 alumni posed for the camera.
Some school images are easily con-
fused with photographs from events such
as weddings. For instance, in the late 19th
and early 20th centuries, young women
dressed in white for graduations. A rolled-
up diploma indicates a photo of an ivory-
gowned woman isnt a bridal portrait.
If your photo collection has a class pic-
ture like this one, an ancestor is probably
standing among those cute kids. But which
one is he (or she)? Heres how to earn an
A+ in school-photo research.
Cheat sheet
To make an ancestral ID, youll need to
learn when and where the picture was taken.
You may be able to take the easy way out:
Turn over your picture to see if its labeled
with the school name, a date and names of
anyone in the picture. Some of our ances-
tors made marks above their own heads on
class portraits. In the case of this picture,
someone identied several students for a
town scrapbook; a relative might have put
names on your photo.
Style school
No luck? Assign your photo a date by gur-
ing out when the clothing styles were popu-
lar. Here, the girls dresses have high collars
and fitted sleeves, and several in front
sport frocks with trim. Compare these key
aspects of their outts to the fashion plates
in JoAnne Olians Childrens Fashions
1860-1912 (Dover Publications, $14.95)
and Kristina Harris The Child in Fash-
ion: 1750-1920 (Schiffer Publishing Co.,
$29.95). The dresses and suits shown here
date from around 1901 and wouldve cost
their parents from $2 to $4 each, accord-
ing to Childrens Fashions 1900-1950 as
Pictured in Sears Catalogs edited by Olian
(Dover Publications, $14.95).
Age gap
Combine the fashion facts with what you
know about child development to guess
the ages of children in a picture. Skirt and
pants length can help: To allow for more
active play, little boys wore short pants and
girls wore calf-length skirts. Boys and girls
started wearing longer pants or skirts about
age 12. Based on their outfits and their
appearancesranging from baby faces to
the more mature look of adolescence
theyre probably 10 to 12 years old.
Geography lessons
Now that youve estimated a date for the
picture, do some local history research
into schools near your ancestors home-
towns at the time. If you dont know
where they lived, try using census records.
Though its more of a long shot, the school
building may give you location clues, too:
Schoolhouses reected whatever architec-
tural design was in vogue when and where
they were constructeda one-room adobe
schoolhouse is a hint the picture wasnt
taken in New England. You can compare
your photo to historical images of schools
around the country in the Library of Con-
gress American Memory online collection
<memory.loc.gov>; just type school into the
search box. See the August 2006 Family

1
4
5
www.familytreemagazine.com 65
Tales out
of School
Dressed for success. High collars
and tted sleeves like these were
stylish around 1901.
Life stages. Younger children wore
shorter skirts or pants.
Closed captioning. Look for names
and dates on the back of the picture.
Look-alikes. Compare the students
to photos of your relatives.
Structurally sound. The school
building can give date and place clues.
1

4
Tree Magazine Photo Detective column
for resources on deciphering architectural
details in your pictures.
Multiple choice
Fetch your family group sheets for ances-
tors who lived near the school, and use the
process of elimination: Obviously, if youre
looking for a female ancestor, you can
remove boys from consideration. Then nd
children about the age your relative was at
the time of the photo. Finally, compare them
to known pictures of your relative. Enlarge
the photos and study the eyes, ears and
nosesfeatures that change less over time.
Add to the story of your ancestors
youth by seeking school records, such as
class rosters, report cards and yearbooks
(which may have additional photos); see
the October 2005 Family Tree Magazine
for a primer on nding these records. Now
go to the head of the class. 3
Submit your photograph to contributing editor
Maureen A. Taylor for expert analysis in her
biweekly online Identifying Family Photographs col-
umn. See < www.familytreemagazine.com / photos /
photohelp.htm > for instructions.
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

M
A
U
R
E
E
N

A
.

T
A
Y
L
O
R
5
3
classifieds
Books & Publications
STOP RESEARCHING YOUR FAMILY
TREE THE HARD WAY! Easily uncover
pieces of your history you thought
were lost forever. FREE REPORT:
www.FamilyTreeSecrets.com
Family History Online
AncestorSpy.com We found the
records so you can FIND ANCESTORS!
Visit www.AncestorSpy.com TODAY!
Family History Products
Over 500 FUN and USEFUL
goodies for the genealogist.
www.FunStuffForGenealogists.com
(877) 259-6144 for orders.
Help Wanted
$400 Weekly Assembling Products from
home. For free information, send SASE:
Home Assembly-FT, PO Box 216, New
Britain, CT 06050-0216.
International Genealogy
Research
Wales & English MidlandsResearch
by experienced local researcher. Contact
vince@ichthusfamilyhistory.com;
www.ichthusfamilyhistory.com.
CanadaNational Archives
and Library research. All provinces.
Prompt reply. BA (History).
David Agar, 1712A Lamoureux Drive,
Orleans, Ontario, K1E 2N2.
Dagar@ncf.ca
www.familytraits.co.uk Searching the
record offices and archives of Scotland
and Northumberland. Contact
onadean@familytraits.co.uk
19 Sunnyside Mews, Tweedmouth,
Berwick Upon Tweed, Nothumberland
England TD15 2QJ United Kingdom.
Photo Restoration
Transfer Home Movies & Photos to
DVD. We make Family History Videos,
a story for future generations.
Video-7 (800) 490-7434
www.videoXpressions.com
Research
Texas Research
FREE Consultations
www.affordablegenealogy.com
3003 Country Club Dr.,
Pearland, TX 77581
Software data-entry, typing,
transcriptions, proofreading,
Scottish/Texas research.
Carolyn McNicholl,
P.O. Box 7894,
Round Rock, TX 78683,
(512) 388-1976, kcmcn@texas.net
Web: kcmcn.home.texas.net
Societies & Associations
"Were Your Ancestors German
Immigrants from Russia?"
Let us help you find them!
Join the American Historical
Society of Germans from Russia.
Phone: (402) 474-3363
Website: www.ahsgr.org
Translations
Translator of old German Script
Free estimates. Gordon Hartig,
P.O. Box 931, Westford, MA 01886.
(978) 692-5781
German Genealogy Translations
Free EstimatesOld Script Expert,
Native German, Trained Translator
B.A., M.A. Jutta Epperly,
1545 N. Brunswick, Wichita, KS 67212
jjsteilchen@hotmail.com
Expert Italian & Latin Translation.
Handwriting Specialist.
Juliet Viola Kniffen, M.A.,
1908 Grant Street, Berkeley, CA 94703;
e-mail scans to julietviola@comcast.
net; www.julietviola.com.
72 Family Tree Magazine June 2006
3
photo de t e c t i v e
Wedding
Favors
Sort out the bevies of
bridesmaids and gaggles
of guests in your old
group wedding portraits.
| By Maureen A. Taylor
Y
ouve searched fruitlessly for proof
your ancestors actually married, and
youre starting to think they were living
in sin. In the absence of written documen-
tation, though, you can look for another
convincing piece of evidence: a wedding
picture. Large group portraits such as this
one werent common until the 1900sbut
they give you extra reason to rejoice: If
you can gure out the names of the happy
couple in the center, the rest of the identi-
cations will fall blissfully into place. Youll
be party to wedding photo success when
you marry your genealogical research with
this advice.
All dressed up
Start by dating your wedding pictures
based on clothing clues. Since a bride
would sometimes wear her mothers or
grandmothers gown, however, dont draw
any conclusions until youve looked at
everyones attire. Womens clothing varied
more than mens over time, so its usually
easier to date. Compare key details such as
the shapes of sleeves and bodices to out-
ts shown in costume encyclopedias; my
favorite is Joan Severas Dressed for the
Photographer (Kent State University Press,
$65). You also can study wedding pictures
from 1900 to 1920 at Victoriana.com
< www.victoriana.com / bridal / bridal6.htm >.
The dresses women are wearing in this
photo date to around 1900.
Although multiple attendants were less
common for our ancestors than for modern
brides and grooms, you can look for match-
ing dresses and suits to pick out the mem-
bers of the wedding party. This couple had
flower girls with identical white dresses,
hats and bouquets. Two bridesmaids are
easy to spot, too: Theyre attired in match-
ing gowns and standing one behind the
other over the grooms shoulder.
Strategic positioning
What you can learn about an image doesnt
stop with a date. In group wedding por-
traits, photographers usually posed wed-
ding parties in a traditional arrangement:
The groom sat to the brides right with their
respective parents beside them, and siblings
close by. Generally, the closer someone is
to the couple, the closer the relationship,
making it easy to figure out whos in the
immediate family. We see a slight varia-
tion in this picturea woman, probably
the grooms sister, occupies the spot next
to him, followed by his parents. Beside the
bride are her parents and a woman who,
based on her age, is probably an aunt.
About face
You can sometimes tell whos related to
whom by examining each persons facial
features and looking for matches. (It helps
to scan the image at a high resolution and
zoom in on the details.) This grooms nar-
row jaw, large ears and distinctive nose
appear elsewhere in the picture: The
woman to his right has his nose, and the
fellow behind him shares all three features.
Its more difficult to pick out the brides
side of the family, but you can tell the ring
bearer, sitting front and center, shares her
nose, eyes and face shape. Some people
here dont resemble anyone, so its likely
in-laws and friends are present. Of course,
you wont be able to make many hard-and-
fast conclusions using this method, but
you can hazard some guesses to conrm in
genealogical records.

1
4
2
5
www.familytreemagazine.com 7
Love notes
Not all identication clues are in the image.
Based on the way this unidentied image
is signed, With love and best wishes from
Maud and Arthur, it mustve been a gift
from the bride and groom. If you have a
photo with a similar message, network with
cousins to turn up duplicates, one of which
may have names on the back or an owner
who knows something about it. You might
even come across a guest book or gift regis-
ter listing people who attended the wedding
and may have posed for the portrait.
With these clues in hand, examine your
family group sheets and pedigree charts
for couples married around the estimated
photo date, with siblings and parents of the
right ages. Your genealogy research will be
one step closer to happily ever after. 3
Contributing editor Maureen A. Taylor helps
solve readers picture puzzles in her biweekly online
photo-identication column. Learn how to submit
your mystery images for free analysis at < www.
familytreemagazine.com / photos / photohelp.htm >.
Where can you buy
ORIGINAL
LAND-OWNER MAPS
for
ALABAMA
ARKANSAS
COLORADO
ILLINOIS
INDIANA
LOUISIANA
MICHIGAN
MINNESOTA
MISSISSIPPI
MISSOURI
NEBRASKA
OKLAHOMA
UTAH
& WISCONSIN?
Question:
Answer:
www.arphax.com
1-800-681-5298
Arphax Publishing Co.
2210 Research Park Blvd.
Norman, OK 73069
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

M
A
U
R
E
E
N

A
.

T
A
Y
L
O
R
Club Wed
Get cozy. People standing or
seated nearest the couple probably
are close relatives.
Costume party. Identical outts
give away the members of the
wedding party.
Clothing in. The womens
sleeves and bodices date this photo
to the early 1900s.
Face the truth. Similar features
can suggest whos related.
Present and past. The message
written on the back indicates this
photo was a giftother family
members may have copies.
1
2

4
5
62 Family Tree Magazine March 2009
3
photo de t e c t i v e
In Plain
Sight
Look past obvious
clues to uncover the
real stories behind
family photos.
| By Maureen A. Taylor
S
ometimes your photo ID work is cut
out for you even when it seems the
answers are right there. Judy Bennett
knows where this portrait of the Tift-
Mitchell clan, whose ancestors helped
found Albany, Ga., was taken: at a family
home on Albanys Society Street. And its
a bit hard to tell here, but the names of
those pictured are written on the image.
An open-and-shut case, right? Not quite.
Several aspects of this photo raise ques-
tions. Exactly when was it taken, and
why did these particular family members
pose together? Its an example of how
every picture has a story.
Writing on the wall
The names are faintly written below the
brick-edged garden. A photographers
loupe or magnifying glass can be a huge
help when reading faded ink. You also
can scan an image, open the digital file
in a photo-editing program, and adjust
the contrast and brightening controls to
enhance the writing. Of the 19 people in
this picture, Bennett was able to decipher
10 names. By comparing faces to other
family pictures and matching key physical
featuresears, eyes, nose, mouth and face
shapeshe added two more names. The
children are still unidentied.
An easy time
Developing a time frame for this picture
wasnt difcult. The womens front-pouched
blouses, narrow waists, straight skirts and
Gibson Girl hair date the image to between
1900 and 1910, a range conrmed by the
mens high, stiff collars, neckties and short
hair. Even the season is apparent: If you
look closely, you can see a blooming narcis-
sus or daffodil in the garden and a budding
tree in the right foreground. In Georgia,
these spring owers bloom in February.
Birth dates of those in an image can
help narrow the time period. For instance,
the baby on the far left, if identied, would
date the image to within a year. Id guess
the oldest girl (sitting on the steps) is in her
early teens, perhaps 13 to 15. The caption
identifies her as Maria Isabel Mitchell;
genealogical research reveals she was born
in 1889. Based on her estimated age, this
photo wouldve been taken between 1902
and 1904. Walter Mann, the white-haired
man on the right standing next to the col-
umn, was 62 years old in the 1910 US cen-
sus (he died in 1915). Nelson Tift, on the
far right, was 60 in 1910. Both men were
in their 50s between 1902 and 1904
about right for their appearance here. The
young men clasping shoulders on the right
were both born in 1880, making them 22
to 24 years of age, also likely.
Children, please!
Genealogy can help ID the children, too.
Bennett should research the identified
adults to learn their childrens names and
birth dates, then compare the data to the
estimated ages of children in this image.
This will take time and patience.
The posture of three children sitting on
the steps is interesting. Theyre wearing
dresses and hair bows, but mothers likely
wouldve admonished girls to sit with their
knees together. Perhaps the three kids dis-
playing their drawers escaped their moms
noticeor maybe these are boys. Dur-
ing the early part of the 20th century, it
wasnt uncommon for boys to wear their
hair in long curls tied up in bows, as Ive
noted on Family Tree Magazines Photo
Detective blog <blog.familytreemagazine.
com/photodetectiveblog/Family+Portraits
+Boy+Or+Girl.aspx>.
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

J
U
D
Y

B
E
N
N
E
T
T
2
3
4
5
1
62-63 MAR09FT PHOTODETECT.indd 62 12/1/08 1:56:13 PM
Missing in action
As important as whos in this picture is
whos missing. Both husbands and wives are
present without their spouses, and interest-
ingly, some here are in-laws. For example,
Clara Jane Tift Woolfolk is absent from the
photo, but her husband is on the far left.
Such details could help determine the occa-
sion for the photo. Bennett initially thought
it was a funeral, but the lack of dark cloth-
ing suggests otherwise. It could be a simple
family gathering or the babys christening.
Bennett should re-examine her research
for clues to relatives whereabouts around
the time the portrait was taken. She may be
able to identify the gathering or even nd
out one of the written labels is wrong.
Only by adding up all the bits of infor-
mation will it be possible to put a name
with every face and officially date the
image. Ill write more about this image and
update you on any new discoveries on the
Photo Detective blog. 3
Contributing editor Maureen A. Taylor is a
professional genealogist and photo historian. Learn
more about her work at <photodetective.com>.
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

J
U
D
Y

B
E
N
N
E
T
T
Digging Deeper
1
2
3
4
5
Fading away. Use a magnifying glass
or photo-editing software to decipher
pale writing.
Latest styles. Dresses, hairstyles and
accessories will help date the image.
Ageism. Reconcile census data with
subjects estimated ages to make IDs
and narrow a date.
Posture pointers. A curious pose
may be a clue to the persons identity.
Glaring omission. Note relatives
whose absence from the image doesnt
make sense.
forum Get help uncovering photo
clues in the Photo Detective Forum
<forum.familytreemagazine.com/forum>.
With lauitv Turr Macazinr's exclusive
S:a:r Rrsraucn Guiors Book & CD!
TRACE YOUR ROOTS ACROSS
AMERICA AMERICA
S
t
t
t
c
R
c
s
c
t
a
c
e

C
u
i
o
c
s
F
a
m
i
l
y
T
r
e
e

u
t
c
t
z
i
n
c
S
t
t
t
c

R
c
s
c
t
a
c
e

C
u
i
o
c
s
As a valued Family Tree Magazine reader,
you can purchase both of these essential
resources for just
$
59
.
99
.
Thats a 30% savings off the regular retail price!
Get Both
for Just
$
59.99!
Use coupon code FTRG30 when
you check out in our online store
or call the toll-free number.
Youll have a sturdy hard-bound book
to add to your reference library and a
handy disc you can take with you anywhere.
Plus, the CDs searchable content
and live Web links mean youre
never more than a click away
from the info you need.
Order now at <www.familytreemagazine.com/mags>
or call 1-800-258-0929.
CD Retail Price:
$
49.99;
Book Retail Price:
$
34.99
Northeast Texas History
and Genealogy Center
Located in the W. Walworth Harrison Public Library
# 1 Lou Finney Lane, Greenville, Texas
Phone: 903-457-2992 Web: www.greenville.lib.tx.us
Located in historic
Greenville, Texas
encouraging the exploration and appreciation of the
rich historical legacy of Northeast Texas.
The Center offers access to a wide range of rare
items, records, newspapers, photographs, and
databases to ensure generations can understand and
share in their unique heritage.
The Center is a research facility dedicated to
classif ieds
www.familytreemagazine.com 63
Family History
FREE Subscription
www.photoIoom.com
Crgunlze & shure your hotohlstory
Photos Ceneulogy Storles
Translations
Translator of Old German Script
Free estimates.
Gordon Hartig,
P.O. Box 931,
Westford, MA 01886.
(978) 692-5781;
gordon_hartig@alumni.iu.edu
62-63 MAR09FT PHOTODETECT.indd 63 12/1/08 1:57:31 PM
70 Family Tree Magazine March 2008
3
photo de t e c t i v e
Misled by Labeling
You cant always believe what you read on
family photos, but details in the image may
reveal the truth. | By Maureen A. Taylor
T
his photo is full of fascinating details
about life on the frontier. A young
woman in a dirty dress poses holding her
child. Its been a hard laundry day, judging
by the cloths hanging from the fence rail
in the foreground and the line next to the
house. The washtub hangs on the lean-to
and a coat is slung over the tree on the left.
Refuse litters the yard near pockets of
snow. The homes vertical plank walls look
like weak protection from winter winds.
But even though the family appears poor,
their house has glass windows.
Joyce Ring owns this pioneer photo-
graph, but doesnt know the womans name.
She sees a resemblance to her grandmother
Helen Nellie Clarissa Burns Delimont,
who was born in 1887 and lived her whole
life around Almena, Kan. A cousins copy
of this picture has the caption, Grandma
Nellie Delimont had an uncle killed in a
mining accidentpicture probably taken
in Washington state. But another copy is
labeled, Alice Gray and Louis Delimont
taken in Washington state.
Louis Delimont was Nellies son, and
Gray, born in 1886, was her cousin. Which
caption is right? Well use the rich detail in
this photo to help tease out the truth.
Tree time
You never know when a photo caption
may be inaccurate, so rst up was research-
ing the stated location. Behind the house, a
modest hill hints this isnt Nellie Delimonts
hometown in Kansas or the surrounding
area. Research in my librarys topographi-
cal maps and at Google Images <images.
google.com> (searching on almena kan-
sas topographical map) conrms Almena
doesnt have any hills of this size.
The trees in this rural scene offer more
clues. Pines dominate in the background,
and the front yard features the white bark
of aspen or birch. Sparse leaves suggest
its late fall or early spring. Using Google
Images again, I searched for aspen forest
and birch forest to nd photos of trees and
maps of their growing areas. Consistent
with the captions, Wildlife Habitats <www.
nwhi.org/index/habdescriptions> says
aspens grow in Oregon and Washington.
But we can add the Upper Midwest to pos-
sible locations: According to a Forest Ser-
vice map <www.ncrs.fs.fed.us/fmg/nfmg/
img/presettlement.jpg> forests of mixed
aspen, birch and pine occur in northern
areas such as Minnesota, Michigan and
Wisconsinworth noting because one of
Rings ancestors wrote about living in the
deep forest country of Wisconsin.
Clothing quandary
Louis Delimont, the baby named in a
cousins caption, was born in 1924, but
the somewhat confusing clothing clues
here dont support a date that late. This
womans dress has a rufed, yoked bod-
ice and full sleeves. At rst glance, these
details indicate a date around 1900, but
the skirt length and collar shape suggest a
later era. In the pre-WWI period, women
wore long skirts, and some blouses in the
Sears catalog featured trimmed bodices.
In 1900, womens outts had high collars,
but this blouse has a turned-down collar
similar to those from the early 1910s. A
homemade and later updated dress could
account for the style discrepancies. But its
unlikely a woman would be wearing this
dress as late as 1924.
Double takes
Ring owns several other photos she knows
show Nellie Delimont as a girl and young
woman. The woman here, who appears to
be in her late teens or early 20s, has a similar-
shaped face, lips and nose to known pic-
tures of Delimont, suggesting shes the
one depicted. Add her birth date and age
in this photo to the clothing clues, and we
can date this photo to around 1910. The
Seeing Is
Believing
1
2
3
4
Back to nature. Identify and
research the habitats of trees and
plants in the image.
Dress dilemmas. Conicting
fashion elements may indicate the
wearer updated an older outt.
Facing facts. Use genealogy
data to identify candidates for an
unknown subject, then compare her
facial features to identied pictures.
Womens work. In a casual shot
such as this one, items around your
subject reveal her daily activities.
forum Got a mystery photo?
Post it on our Photo Detective
Forum at < www.familytreemagazine.
com / forum >.
70-71 MAR08FT PHOTODETECT.indd 70 9/17/08 8:37:41 AM
mysteries keep accumulating: If Delimont
is the woman in this picture, why is she
outside Kansas, and whos the baby?
We cant remove Alice Gray from con-
sideration, though, since cousins often
look alike and one of the captioned pho-
tos names her. To positively identify the
woman and baby in this picture, Ring
should learn more about Gray and track
down pictures of her for comparison to
this one. Gray lived with her parents in
Oregon, and her father died in a mining
accident there in 1891. This woman could
be Gray in Oregon (not Washington) with
her own child, rather than Nellies son.
Candid camera
Another obvious question about this inti-
mate family scene is the identity of the
photographer. A woman wouldnt have
posed for a formal picture in a dirty apron
surrounded by drying laundry. Traveling
photographers moved throughout the
country taking photos of families they met
along the way; one may have snapped this
casual picture. Its chilly enough outside
for a coat, but Mom went without one and
perhaps tidied her hair for the shot.
Rings photo mystery could be a case of
well-intentioned relatives providing hit-
or-miss information in their handwrit-
ten notationsunderscoring the need for
research to support what captions say. With
a little more work, this womans identity is
a solvable problem. 3
Contributing editor Maureen A. Taylor solves
more photo mysteries on the Photo Detective blog
<www.familytreemagazine.com/photodetective>.
www.familytreemagazine.com 71
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

J
O
Y
C
E

R
I
N
G
1
2
3
4
For more information and
to place your order, visit
familytreemagazine.com/cds
or call 1-800-258-0929.
ONLY $24.OO
Shipping and handling included!
Item #FTCD06
Supplies are limited
reserve yours now!
6 ISSUES
ON 1 DISC
PLUS A FREE
BONUS ISSUE!
Gain instant access to a whole
year of Family Tree Magazine,
plus our 2006 Genealogy
GuidebookFREE!
This exclusive CD features
550+ pages of the worlds
best resource for discovering,
preserving and celebrating
family historyall in an
enhanced PDF format that
helps you fnd the info you
need fast.
70-71 MAR08FT PHOTODETECT.indd 71 9/17/08 8:37:58 AM
68 Family Tree Magazine August 2006
3
photo de t e c t i v e
This Old
House
Build your family story
with photos of ancestral
abodes. | By Maureen A. Taylor
I
ts a slice of Americana in almost every
family photo album: A picture of the
old folks standing in front of their home.
Such portraitswhether they display
pride in achieving the American dream or
betray the photographic need for outdoor
lightingwere all the rage, particularly in
the late 19th century.
But nostalgic feelings aside, what can
you learn from a photograph that reduces
your great-aunt to the size of an ant? Plenty:
Dwell on the right clues, and a homestead
portrait forms a sturdy foundation for your
family research.
No place like it
Look for hints to the homes location in
signs, nearby buildings and weather condi-
tions. The deep snow and the ice dams on
the roof suggestbut dont guarantee
this house is in the northern United States.
If this were your photo, youd study your
genealogical records for relatives who lived
in locales with snowy winters.
Clothing probably wont help date
buildings in a photo, but it does give a time
frame for the image. Use a photographers
loupe or scan the photo at a high resolu-
tion and zoom in on the subjects outts.
Here, the woman on the left sports a long
coat, scarf and feathered hat; the other
woman poses in a shawl-collared fur coat
and puffy toque hat. From 1900 to about
1905, women wore winter hats trimmed
with large feathers and even fake birds, just
like these ladies.
Exterior design
Even a novice house historian can decipher
a dwellings architectural styleand thus,
the time periodbased on key features
such as the roof, windows, doors, porches
and trim. Compare them to illustrations in
A Field Guide to American Houses by Vir-
ginia and Lee McAlester (Knopf, $24.95)
or Identifying American Architecture: A
Pictorial Guide to Styles and Terms, 1600-
1945 by John J.G. Blumenson (W.W. Nor-
ton & Co., $15.95). For example, the trim
along this roof edge is characteristic of
Gothic Revival design, popular from 1840
to 1880 (with most structures dating before
1870). Andrew Jackson Downings 1850
pattern book The Architecture of Country
Houses (Dover Publications, $16.95) con-
tributed to Gothic Revivals popularity in
rural areas.
Home rooms
In an interior shot, replace mantels, oors
and built-in furniture reveal when a house
was built. Compare them to drawings in
The Elements of Style: An Encyclopedia
of Domestic Architectural Detail edited
by Stephen Calloway (Firey Books, $75),
which shows hundreds of exterior and
interior detailseverything from kitchen
stoves to bathroom xturesfor American
and English homes.
Home dcor is like clothing: It can
help you date a photo, but not necessar-
ily a house. Youll find photos of well-
appointed rooms in The Tasteful Interlude:
American Interiors Through the Cameras
Eye, 1860-1917, 2nd edition, by William
Seale (AltaMira Press, $36.80). Notice an
interesting piece of furniture tucked in the
corner? Look for a similar one in Identify-
ing American Furniture: A Pictorial Guide
to Styles and Terms Colonial to Contem-
porary by Milo M. Naeve (W.W. Norton
& Co., $15.95).
Sign of the times
A sign on this homes porch railing names
someone who probably worked or lived
here. If you can spot a house number or
street sign in your ancestral home photo,
or you know who lived there, check local

1
4
2
5
6
city directories for the address, residents
occupations, and neighbors names. Some
directories indicate whether residents
own or rent (bds means boards); the for-
mer should send you to the county clerk
in search of a deed (see page 60) and
property tax records. Learn more about
researching houses in Discovering the
History of Your House and Your Neigh-
borhood by Betsy J. Green (Santa Monica
Press, $14.95).
If you dont own a picture of the fam-
ily homestead, contact the local histori-
cal societyits collections may include
photos of the street where your ancestors
lived. Track down the neighbors descen-
dants, who may have images showing part
of your grandparents residence. Then use
photographic clues to take apart the house,
and youll be on the way to constructing
your family history. 3
Submit your photo to contributing editor Maureen
A. Taylor for expert analysis in her biweekly online
Identifying Family Photographs column. See < www.
familytreemagazine.com / photos / photohelp.htm >
for instructions.
Home Work
Roof positive. Lacework trim
identies this house as Gothic Revival.
Sign language. This placard could
bear a residents name.
House of fashion. Clothing dates
the photo, not the building.
Snow day. Weather can indicate
where a picture was taken.
Land, ho. Search land and tax
records for more house details.
Good neighbor. Look for
architectural clues on any next-
door buildings, too.
1
2

4
5
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

M
A
U
R
E
E
N

A
.

T
A
Y
L
O
R
6
3
classifieds
www.familytreemagazine.com 6
Books & Publications
STOP RESEARCHING YOUR FAMILY
TREE THE HARD WAY! Easily uncover
pieces of your history you thought
were lost forever. FREE REPORT:
www.FamilyTreeSecrets.com
Family History Online
AncestorSpy.com We found the
records so you can FIND ANCESTORS!
Visit www.AncestorSpy.com TODAY!
International Genealogy
Research
CanadaNational Archives
and Library research. All provinces.
Prompt reply. BA (History).
David Agar, 1712A Lamoureux Drive,
Orleans, Ontario, K1E 2N2.
Dagar@ncf.ca
Help Wanted
$400 Weekly Assembling Products from
home. For free information, send SASE:
Home Assembly-FT, PO Box 216, New
Britain, CT 06050-0216.
Photo Restoration
Transfer Home Movies & Photos to DVD.
We make Family History Videos, a story
for future generations. Video-7
(800) 490-7434
www.videoXpressions.com
Research
Texas ResearchFREE Consultations
www.affordablegenealogy.com
3003 Country Club Dr.,
Pearland, TX 77581
Tennessee and Georgia research and
lookups at TN State Library & Archives,
Georgia Archives, UGA Newspaper
Collection, and National Archives
Southeast Region. All counties.
Fast and affordable. Kristi Moffitt,
125 Moffitt Rd., Spencer, TN 38585.
www.gensearch.org
email: kkcem@blomand.net
Software data-entry, typing,
transcriptions, proofreading,
Scottish/Texas research.
Carolyn McNicholl, P.O. Box 7894,
Round Rock, TX 78683,
(512) 388-1976, kcmcn@texas.net
Web: kcmcn.home.texas.net
www.familytraits.co.uk Searching
the record offices and archives of
Scotland and Northumberland.
Contact onadean@familytraits.co.uk
19 Sunnyside Mews, Tweedmouth,
Berwick Upon Tweed, Nothumberland
England TD15 2QJ United Kingdom
Reunions
Societies & Associations
"Were Your Ancestors German
Immigrants from Russia?" Let us
help you find them! Join the American
Historical Society of Germans from
Russia. Phone: (402) 474-3363
Website: www.ahsgr.org
Translations
Expert Italian & Latin Translation for
Genealogists. Juliet Viola Kniffen, M.A.,
1908 Grant Street, Berkeley, CA 94703;
julietviola@comcast.net;
www.julietviola.com.
Translator of old German Script
Free estimates. Gordon Hartig,
P.O. Box 931, Westford, MA 01886.
(978) 692-5781
German Genealogy Translations
Free EstimatesOld Script Expert,
Native German, Trained Translator
B.A., M.A. Jutta Epperly,
1545 N. Brunswick, Wichita, KS 67212
jjsteilchen@hotmail.com
Calling all Kimballs
September 1-4, 2006
Kimball, Nebraska is ofcially calling all
those with the surname KIMBALL to
Come to Kimball on Labor Day Weekend 2006
Some of the many events & activities for you are: golng,
shing, horseshoes, trap shooting, skate park, buffalo
sightings, tours of a missile silo converted into a home,
certied visit to The High Point of Nebraska,
Genealogy Workshops, Ethnic Cooking Classes, a Parade
& so much more!
For more information:
Kimball - Banner Chamber of Commerce
www.ci.kimball.ne.us
kbccc@megavision.com
308/235-3782
Kimball, Nebraska...we are easy to nd and hard to leave
64 Family Tree Magazine July 2007
3
photo de t e c t i v e
Motor
Trends
Get more genealogical
mileage from your old
family photos with this
lesson in automotive
detailing. | By Maureen A. Taylor
T
hey say your choice of automobile
reveals something about you: Jeep
owners are adventurous; a minivan shows
youre practical. But if you have an old fam-
ily photo featuring a car, such as this shot
of the Millar family of Minneapolis, youll
extrapolate even more than personality
traits. By studying the bumpers, headlamps
and chassis, you can learn details such as
when and where your ancestors purchased
their car and their economic status. And yes,
youll nd out a little something about the
man behind the wheel (or perhaps a pro-
gressive woman; our mothers and grand-
mothers rarely drove in the early 1900s).
Sentimental journey
Humans invented the rst car, a steam-
powered wheeled platform, in the late 18th
century. Gasoline and electric autos didnt
appear until 100 years later; Karl Benz (who
helped found the company that became
Mercedes-Benz) patented a vehicle in 1886.
It took awhile for these new contraptions
to pick up speednot many people could
afford them and availability was limited. In
1900, fewer than 10,000 Americans trav-
eled the roads in horseless carriages. But
by 1920, 8 million people owned cars.
More than 240 US automakers existed
in 1910, offering models largely unknown
today. (See a list of manufacturers at < en.
wikipedia.org / wiki / List_of_automobile_
manufacturers#US_automakers >.) Many
went out of business or merged into the
companies we know, but your ancestors car
may have been produced close to home. Use
city directories to learn the names of nearby
auto manufacturers. For instance, accord-
ing to business listings in a 1913 Minne-
apolis city directory, the Millars could have
chosen from more than 50 local automobile
manufacturers and dealers.
If you dont know when your photo was
takenand therefore, which years direc-
tory to checkuse clothing to establish a
date. (Its dicey to base dates on cars, since
families kept them for years.) For help, see
the August 2004 Family Tree Magazine and
a book such as Dressed for the Photogra-
pher by Joan L. Severa (Kent State Univer-
sity Press, $60).
By design
Let automotive design pave the way to a
date range for your ancestors set of wheels,
which will help you narrow the make and
model. The first autos resembled fancy
upholstered wagons (usually windshield-
less) with a center tiller or a wheel, but
by 1910, cars had longer bodies and back
seats. Occupants wore long coats, hats and
goggles to protect themselves from dust
and bugs. By the 1930s, the boxy shape
was replaced by sleek lines such as those on
the 1933 Duesenberg (see one at < www.
hubcapcafe.com / ocs / pages01 / dues3301.
htm >). Vehicles of the 1950s are distinc-
tive, with long bodies and ns.
Examine key features of the car in your
picture: fenders, steering wheel or tiller,
wheels, windshield and headlights. Com-
pare them to cars in guides such as The
Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars edited
by G.N. Georgano (E.P. Dutton & Co., out
of print) or The Ultimate Auto Album by
Tad Burness (Krause Publications, $16.95).
Look up later-model autos in Burness
American Car Spotters Bible, 1940-1980
(Krause Publications, $29.99). Also visit the
Museum of Automobile History Web site
< www.themuseumofautomobilehistory.
com > and run a Google < google.com >
search on a make.
The Millars car, with a square seating
area, removable windshield and lantern-
like headlamps, dates from about 1913.
It shares many features of 1912 Chalmers
and Lion touring cars, including the size
and shape of the wheels, seats and wind-
shield, and the placement of the steering
wheel on the cars right. The fold-down
top could be used in inclement weather.
1

4
2
www.familytreemagazine.com 65
Looking Under
the Hood
Style notes. Clothing helps date the
photo, but not necessarily the car.
Your deal. Auto-related business
listings in city directories help you
guess a make and model.
Lights on. Compare the cars
features with automotive reference
books to pinpoint a model and
manufacture date.
License to drive. Look for a license
plate, which can give a year, place and
owners initials.
1
2

4
Easy street
Once youve guessed a make and model,
read about the cars price in one of the
aforementioned references. In 1912, most
cars cost between $2,000 to $3,000. Ford
Model Ts went for about $850. They
were sold without tires, fenders, tops,
windshields and lightsall special-order
accessories. By the 1920s, assembly line
production had helped drive the price
down around $300.
The Chalmers sold for $1,800, with the
top and windshield adding $100. Accord-
ing to the Inflation Calculator < www.
westegg.com / ination >, a $2,000 car in
1912 is the equivalent of $41,000 in 2006.
A family had to be pretty comfortable to
afford that ride.
By 1918, all states had adopted license
and registration laws. If you can see a
license plate in your photo, it might tell
you a year, place and, early on, the own-
ers initials. State government Web pages,
such as < www.mass.gov / rmv / history >
(for Massachusetts), often have license
plate histories and photos. 3
Contributing editor Maureen A. Taylor solves
readers photo mysteries in the online Identifying Fam-
ily Photographs column < www.familytreemagazine.
com / photos / photohelp.htm >.
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

M
A
U
R
E
E
N

A
.

T
A
Y
L
O
R
Northeast Texas History
and Genealogy Center
Located in the W. Walworth Harrison Public Library
# 1 Lou Finney Lane, Greenville, Texas
Phone: 903-457-2992 Web: www.greenville.lib.tx.us
Located in historic
Greenville, Texas
encouraging the exploration and appreciation of the
rich historical legacy of Northeast Texas.
The Center offers access to a wide range of rare
items, records, newspapers, photographs, and
databases to ensure generations can understand and
share in their unique heritage.
The Center is a research facility dedicated to
Visit the Genealogy Capital of the World
S a l t L a k e
Put An End To Chasing Down Your Ancestors And Find
The Missing Link At The Salt Lake Family History Library!
Salt Lake abounds with special services for Genealogists.
Here, you will find:
The largest genealogical
database in the world
Free computer access to
over 120 work stations
Family history records
from all religions
Free monthly and daily
education seminars
Plan your next research trip online at
GenealogyInSaltLake.com
Many hotels within
walking distance of the
Library
Discount genealogy
accommodations packages
Complimentary welcome
packets delivered right to
your hotel
G
ena Graddy thinks these two portraits
depict the same branch of her family.
The photographs came from her great-aunt
Grover Taylor, the young woman with the
braid in the front row of the top portrait.
Unfortunately, Taylor didnt caption her pic-
tures, so its unclear if the subjects of these
images match up. To nd out, Graddy must
rely on photographic clues and genealogical
details. You can follow the same process to
solve your own group-portrait predicaments.
Of course, the best photo identications
come from the people in your pictures
though you wont always have access to them.
Identications passed down through oral tra-
dition, but not recorded, tend to be fuzzy; peo-
ple forget or mix up facts as they tell and retell
the details. In this case, Taylor told relatives
that both photos depict her siblings, but she
didnt attach names to their faces.
When trying to identify children in pho-
tographs, it helps to know your relatives life
dates, since you usually can estimate the sub-
jects ages. For instance, the oldest girl in the
top photo appears to be in her early 20s,
and the youngest looks about 10. Graddy
knows that the eldest Taylor girl was Eliza-
beth. The oldest sibling in the top picture
is the woman in the front row next to
Grover. This could be Elizabethbut theres
a problem with that conclusion. Elizabeth
was born in 1862, and her youngest sibling
was born in 1885. That 23-year age differ-
ence doesnt add up in this picture. If the
youngest girl (in the upper-left corner) is 10,
then Elizabeth would have to be 33, which
doesnt seem likely. Perhaps the photogra-
pher captured a mix of siblings and cousins,
not just brothers and sisters. Its also possi-
ble that the oldest girl in this photo is
another sister.
To establish a time frame for
an image, you must look for
details such as a photographers
imprint and clothing clues.
Neither of Graddys pictures
gives the photographers name,
so dating them depends on style
analysis. According to Chil-
drens Fashions 1860-1912:
1,065 Costume Designs from
La Mode Illustre edited by
JoAnne Olian (Dover Publica-
tions, $14.95), rufed yokes,
such as those on the girls hand-
made dresses in the top photo,
rst came into style in the early
1890s. The large wide-brimmed
hats in the bottom image sug-
gest a date around 1905.
So whos who? Looking for
physical similarities between the
two groups helped Graddy nd
at least one match. The young
man on the far left in the top pic-
ture has distinctive facial features
that help him stand out in the back row of the
bottom photo (hes second from the left).
Although Graddy cant name the man yet, at
least shes identied him in both pictures.
Next, Graddy compared the faces in these
images with those in identied photographs.
This resulted in two possible identications in
each picture. To conrm her suspicions,
Graddy will contact relatives for additional
images of these people.
With the photographs taken about 10
years apart, it appears that the children in
the top picture are the adults in the bottom
photo. Graddy knows that several of the
Taylor siblings died of tuberculosis starting
in 1901, not long before the second photo
was taken. Genealogical data will provide
names and life dates to help with the identi-
fication process. As long as she repeats the
matching game using other identified pho-
tos, Graddy should be able to name the rest
of the individuals.
Solving a group-photo mystery takes
time, but its worth the extra effort. Once
youve identified all the subjects, you can use
the picture as a Rosetta stone to unpuzzle
other pictures. 3
Contributing editor Maureen A. Taylor helps
solve readers picture puzzles in her biweekly photo-
identication column at <www.familytreemagazine.
com/ photos/ current.htm>.
78 Family Tree Magazine April 2005
A Group Effort
Take time to identify family portraits, and
youll reap unlimited rewards. | By Maureen A. Taylor
3
photo de t e c t i v e
Do the subjects of these group photos match up? A thorough
investigation will reveal whether the children in the top picture are
the adults in the bottom image.
P
H
O
T
O
S
:

C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

G
E
N
A

G
R
A
D
D
Y
page78-79.qxd 1/19/05 11:00 AM Page 78
G
eorge Pek already can name the woman
in this paper print, which he bought 21
years ago. According to the caption, shes
Judith Simpson, aged 74 when she had her
picture taken in 1848. Although hes identied
the subject, Pek wants to know what type of
photograph he owns and where it was taken.
I love a good photo mystery, and this pic-
ture was a real stumper. It offers a rare look at
an early photographic method. I havent been
able to answer all of Peks (or my own) ques-
tions about the portrait, but heres a start.
Salt of the earth
Around the time that Louis Daguerre devel-
oped his images on metal in 1839, an English
inventor, William Fox Talbot, found a way to
produce paper prints. His creations, which he
called photogenic drawings, laid the foun-
dation for modern photography.
Paper prints didnt gain popularity in the
United States until the 1850s, when card pho-
tographsessentially, images mounted on
heavy cardstock or cardboarddebuted. But
the English, French and Canadians purchased
salted paper prints well before that time.
These images were rare stateside.
Salted prints, which date from 1840 to
about 1860, consisted of a sheet of rag-based
paper (think of ne writing paper), sodium
chloride (table salt) and silver nitrate. Those
made from paper negatives were known as
calotypes. Historians refer to prints made
from glass negatives simply as salted paper
prints. To learn more about these photo-
graphs, see James M. Reillys The Albumen
& Salted Paper Book: The History and Prac-
tice of Photographic Printing, 1840-1895
(Light Impressions, out of print), which you
can read for free on the Web at <albumen.
stanford.edu/ library/ monographs/ reilly>.
Four years ago, Pek purchased an 1851
indenture from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada,
that had been printed by Henry Rowsell,
Printer, Bookseller, and Stationer of Toronto
and contained a watermark of three eur-de-
lis on top of a crown. To his surprise, this
watermark matched the one on the photo-
graph of Simpson.
I checked with the staff at Library and
Archives Canada <www.collectionscanada.
ca>, who told me that Rowsell worked from
1834 to 1880. Its probably just a coincidence
that both the indenture and the portrait bear
the same mark. The photographer must have
used the good-quality paper Rowsell sold.
This picture is likely a salted paper print,
not a calotype, for two reasons. Calotypes are
not as sharp and detailed as this portrait. And
a photo archivist at Library and Archives
Canada didnt know of any Canadian calo-
types dating from the 1840s.
What, this old thing?
While sorting out the various clues in this pic-
ture, I kept returning to Simpsons clothing.
Her appearance reminded me of characters in
Charles Dickens novels, not the women I
usually see in early daguerreotypes. In the
1840s, women typically wore dresses with
tight sleeves and bodices, but this womans
dress has full sleeves and looks more like
1890s styles. The handwriting and date
seemed authentic, so dating her costume was
a dilemma.
Rather than focusing on the dress, I
attempted to date her day capthe indoor
bonnet shes wearing. I referred to Susan Lan-
gleys Vintage Hats and Bonnets, 1770-1970
(Collector Books, $24.95), but couldnt nd
any 1840s styles that even remotely resem-
bled Simpsons day cap. When I turned to the
color 1830s fashion plates, however, I saw
several dresses with full sleeves and dropped
shoulders. Simpson must have been wearing
her decade-old best dress.
Canadian connections
Ive spent so much time staring at this photo-
graph I feel as if Simpsons a member of my
own family. If she truly was 74 in 1848, she
was born around 1774. I searched databases
at Ancestry.com <www.ancestry.com> and
FamilySearch <www.familysearch.org> to
learn additional details about her life, but
couldnt nd any matches.
Pek did locate a land record mentioning a
Judith Simpson who lived in Drummond,
Quebec, Canada, in 1807, and he hopes shes
the same person. Another researcher thought
Simpson might have come from a Loyalist
family in the United States, since many Loy-
alists moved to Canada during and right after
the Revolutionary War.
Judith Simpson likely sat for her portrait
in Canada, since the papers Canadian. But
the story of her life remains a mystery. 3
Let contributing editor Maureen A. Taylor help
you solve your own old-picture puzzlessee <www.
familytreemagazine.com/ photos/ photohelp.htm>.
78 Family Tree Magazine June 2005
The Paper Trail
A rare photograph leads researchers back
to the 1840s. | By Maureen A. Taylor
3
photo de t e c t i v e
What photographic method was used to create
this 1848 portrait of Judith Simpson? A study of
early paper prints revealed the likely answer.
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

G
E
O
R
G
E

P
E
K
Page78-79.qxd 3/23/05 10:54 AM Page 78
L
ong before it was easy to share pictures
with just a few mouse clicks, my grand-
parents had their wedding portraits printed
as photographic postcards. That was one of
the options available to themand to the
parents of the little girl pictured heredur-
ing the rst half of the 20th century. Such
postcards werent unusual, either: Family Tree
Magazine readers send me a fair number of
inquiries about their own photo postcards.
These images have identication clues that
you wont nd in regular photos, such as
place stamp here boxes. If someone actu-
ally mailed your postcard, the dates probably
printed in the postmark or message. Maybe
the sender even noted whos in the picture
what could be easier? But your ancestor may
have hung onto the postcard for awhile before
mailing it, or the writing might be illegible, so
you still need to do some digging.
The dating scene
The rst photographic postcards appeared
around 1900 and remained widely available
for decades. Some photographers capitalized
on this popular new format by taking pictures
of excitement-generating events and notable
people, then selling them as stationery. Other
photo studios offered their customers the
option to purchase family photographs in
postcard form.
Photographic postcards are actual photo-
graphs produced with lm or glass plate neg-
atives and given a postcard-style back.
Sometimes theyre called real photo post-
cardsa phrase that, according to Rosamond
B. Vaules As We Were: American Photo-
graphic Postcards, 1905-1930 (David R.
Godine, $45), differentiated actual photo-
graphic postcards from mechanically repro-
duced cards. The book explores 25 years of
these images and includes a short list of post-
card photographers working before 1930.
Follow these steps to take advantage of the
special clues your photo postcards hold:

Examine the front of the picture. Use a

magnifying glass or photographers loupe to
look for little dots of color, which mechanical
printers make. Those dots mean your post-
card was mass-produced and isnt an actual
photograph. You probably own an image
made for resale, not a picture of a relative.

Read the costume clues. This lit-

tle girls purse, hat and drop-waist
dress date to the 1920s. For more on
using clothing to date photos, see the
August 2004 Family Tree Magazine,
or consult fashion references such as
John Peacocks 20th Century Fashion or
Mens Fashion (both from Thames and
Hudson, $34.95). For kids outts, use
Childrens Fashions 1900-1950 as Pic-
tured in Sears Catalogs edited by JoAnne
Olian (Dover Publications, $14.95).

Study the back of the card. What does it

look likeis it divided by a line? Does it have
Correspondence or Address printed above the
sections, as this one does? Early photo post-
cards have plain backs.
Pay particular attention to the box where
youd place a stamp. Different boxes were
standard at various times. Compare the
design and wording of your postcards stamp
box with those shown in the catalog at
Playles Online Auctions site <www.playle.
com/ realphoto>. When researching this card,
I found that 12 slightly different boxes bear-
ing the letters AZOwere in use. The one that
matched exactly appeared on cards made
from 1910 to 1930.

Look for a photographers name. This post-

card doesnt have a studios name and address,
but if it did, Id
use city directories to research
when the studio was open. Its also quite pos-
sible that a relative took the images in your
collection with a Kodak camera. When own-
ers of cameras sent them back to the factory
for developing and reloading, they could order
photo postcards or regular prints.

If someone mailed your card, research the

recipients name and address. For instance,
based on the message and date (partially torn
off) on this postcard, I can tell it was mailed
in Maynard, Mass., during the 1920s. The
addresswritten in Italianmentions the
family name. A quick look at Maynard city
directories from the era would reveal residents
who have that surname.

Examine the stamp and postmark. Philat-

elic (stamp-collecting) directories, available
online and in libraries, can help you determine
when a stamp was issued. Youll nd more
70 Family Tree Magazine October 2005
Alpha Mail
Dont overlookor misreadthe unique clues in
your old photo postcards. | By Maureen A. Taylor
3
photo de t e c t i v e
1
2
3
4
5
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

M
A
U
R
E
E
N

A
.

T
A
Y
L
O
R
ftm_70-71.qxd 7/20/05 8:16 AM Page 70
www. familytreemagazine. com 71
information and resources at the National
Postal Museum <www.postalmuseum.si.
edu> and AJs Encyclopedia of Stamps and
Philatelic Links <ajward.tripod.com/ stamps/
links.htm>. For links to Web sites about
stamps from overseas, see PostalHistory.org
<www.postalhistory.org> and click on Coun-
try Resources.
Adding up the date evidence in this photo
postcard was a snap: Based on the clothing
and the date on the back, the image was pho-
tographed in the 1920s. For another postcard
analysis, see my Identifying Family Pho-
tographs column on the Family Tree Maga-
zine Web site <www.familytreemagazine.
com/ photos/ july26-01.htm>. 3
Family Tree Magazine contributing editor Maureen
A. Taylor helps solve readers picture puzzles in her
biweekly online photo-identication column. Learn how
to submit your photos for free analysis at <www.
familytreemagazine.com/ photos/ photohelp.htm>.
www.familytreemagazine.com
EVERY RESOURCE YOU NEED TO ENJOY
GENEALOGY IS NOW AT YOUR FINGERTIPS!
Its in the Card
1 Look for dots. Under a magnifying
glass, real photos look solid; repro-
duced images show a dot pattern.
2 Compare dates. If clothing clues
dont match the postmark, someone
probably kept the postcard awhile
before mailing it.
3 Back up your evidence. The backs
of all but the earliest postcards tell
the sender where to place the
address, message and stamp.
4 Box it up. Research the design of
the stamp box to narrow the date
your card was made.
5 Read the message. You might nd
a date, name, address or other
useful information.
ftm_70-71.qxd 7/20/05 8:16 AM Page 71
70 Family Tree Magazine April 2006
3
Clueless
Think your mystery photo
offers no leads? Take
another lookwell help
you extract its hidden
hints. | By Maureen A. Taylor
I
magine trying to identify this photo-
graph of a woman well assume is Mom
posed under a picnic blanket for a can-
did shot with the baby as the focus. For
one, you cant see anyones face but the
infantsand dont babies all look alike,
anyway? Theres no telling whether the
little ones a boy or girl: His or her fuzzy
little head means you cant rely on the
tried-and-true rule that girls wore center
parts and boys combed their hair to the
side. Costume clues are usually helpful,
but only one sleeve and the soles of this
womans shoes show. The man to her left
is no help; hes barely visible. And baby
dresses dont narrow dates much because
the styles rarely changed and families
handed down kids clothes. The only prop
herethe magazineis placed at an angle
and is impossible to decipher.
You probably have a few images that
similarly lack important clues from faces,
clothing and props. Dont throw up your
handsinstead, use them to wring more
information out of whats there.
Even though its missing chunks of the
story, this picture does contain evidence
to help identify the subjects and establish
a date range. A magnifying glass or photo-
graphers loupe (available from photo-
supply stores) will denitely come in handy
as you study the following:
n
Professional pointers: Professional
photos are much more likely than candids
to feature clue-rich details such as a photo-
graphers imprint, props and outts. You
can tell a friend or family member likely
snapped this shot by the way the man and
horse are cut out of the frame. Other clues
to an amateur photo include an odd cam-
era angle or slightly blurry image.
n
Measurements: The pictures dimen-
sions, 2
1
4 inches square, may reveal the
photographer. Only two cameras produced
images this size during the early 20th cen-
tury: the Kodak Brownie, introduced in
1900, and Anscos Buster Brown No. 1,
rst available in 1906. Kodak marketed its
camera directly to children with illustrator
Palmer Coxs sprightly Brownie character.
Kodaks overwhelming success led Ansco
to market a competitor using Buster Brown
and his dog Tige, comic strip characters who
debuted in a 1902 New York Herald. Both
models were popular for years, so they pro-
vide a starting date but not an ending one.
Of course, we cant say for sure whether a
child took this picture, but since the cameras
were made for youngsters, its quite possible
the shutterbug was an older sibling.
Use Scotts Photographica Collection
< www.vintagephoto.tv > to learn more
about your photos based on their formats.
Click Index/Search, then on each camera
name to see when it was introduced and
what sizes of images it produced.
n
Parts of clothing: Look carefully and
you may glimpse a slice of a shirt or dress,
photo de t e c t i v e
Undercover
Agent
Half time. The cut-off horse and
man hint at an amateur photographer.
Size matters. Snapshot size can
reveal which camera took the shot.
Ace up your sleeve. This womans
puffed, full sleeve suggests a 1900-to-
1910 time frame.
Baby steps. Most infants can just
hold up their heads at 3 months.
Whos who. Study family charts for
people who t your subjects proles.

5
1
4
2
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

M
A
U
R
E
E
N

A
.

T
A
Y
L
O
R

5
1
4
2
www.familytreemagazine.com 71
such as the womans right sleeve peeking
from beneath the blankets edge. (Scan-
ning and enlarging your photo can help
you spot such minute details). Accord-
ing to Joan Severa in Dressed for the
Photographer: Ordinary Americans and
Fashion, 1840-1900 (Kent State Univer-
sity Press, $60), womens dresses featur-
ing full upper sleeves and long skirts were
popular between 1900 and 1910a time
frame that agrees with the cameras manu-
facture date.
n
Developmental milestones: This tiny
infant can barely hold up its head unsup-
ported, so he or she is probably around 3
months old. Developmental markers, such
as sitting unassisted, holding a rattle, smil-
ing and walking, can help you estimate
babies ages. Youll nd lists of age-related
feats in child-development and parenting
books such as What to Expect the First
Year, 2nd edition, by Heidi Murkoff,
Sandee Hathaway and Arlene Eisnberg
(Workman Publishing Co., $15.95).
To estimate the ages of older children,
look at their ankles: A girls skirt became
gradually longer as she approached adult-
hood; boys wore short pants until they
were teenagers.
n
Genealogical data: I purchased this
intriguing picture, but if these were my rel-
atives, the next step would be to examine
my research for babies born from 1900 to
1910 (plus a few years on each side to be
safe)possibly with older siblings. Once
I had a short list of ancestral suspects, Id
show this picture to other family members
and compare it to their albums for already-
identied photos showing the same baby
or setting.
You might feel clueless when you
encounter a mystery photo that seems to
lack any telling evidence, but theres no
need. Research the photos size and closely
examine the image for small detailssoon
youll declare case closed. 3
Contributing editor Maureen A. Taylor helps
solve readers picture puzzles in her biweekly online
photo-identication column. Learn how to submit
your mystery images for free analysis at < www.
familytreemagazine.com / photos / photohelp.htm >.
Question
What do our nation's best
Iamily History & Genealogy
Libraries have in Common?
Answer
Tey are adding the Fami/y Maps
series of Iederal Land Patent
books by Gregory A. Boyd to
their collections, just as quickly
as they can.
Boyd has mapped over 1 Million
land-parcels for 1st Land-owners
in these states
Iind out more at


www.arphax.com
www.familymaps.com
1-800-681-5298
or
or call
Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana,
Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska,
Oklahoma, Utah, & Wisconsin (with more states coming soon).
Arphax Publishing is releasing these in book form, county-by-
county, with 3 new books released each week, on average.
- Available in both Spiral-bound and Hardbound editions -
Arphax Publishing Co.
2210 Research Park Blvd.
Norman, OK 73069
T
hink photo-editing tips and tricks were
born of the computer age? Forget that
notionthe art of altering images is as old
as photography itself. Well-known Civil War
photographer Mathew Brady took a group
portrait of Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman
and his generals against a plain backdrop;
later, he added one more general and a dif-
ferent background. Another enterprising
photographer stuck Abraham Lincolns head
on the bodies of notable 19th-century per-
sonalities such as John C. Calhoun, Alexan-
der Hamilton and Martin Van Buren, and
sold the reconstructed images as memorial
pieces after Lincolns assassination. Dont
have a photograph of Aunt Edna? Perhaps
disgruntled relatives edited her out of the
family portrait.
Dino A. Brugioni, a founder of the CIAs
National Photographic Interpretation Center
and the author of Photo Fakery: The History
and Techniques of Photographic Deception
and Manipulation (Brasseys, $29.95), has
identied several types of photo trickery. The
most common involve adding or removing a
person or object from an image. A photo-
grapher could subtract a person by cutting the
negative or painting over part of it with a
chemical, or simply by creatively cropping the
print. People also made cosmetic enhance-
ments to their photos, such as hand-coloring
the image or using pens to improve a subjects
facial features.
More-intrepid photographers blended dif-
ferent images into photo montages. If illness
or distance prevented a relative from joining
a group portrait, that person might pose sep-
arately. A photographer would then combine
the two negatives. Another example: old-time
spirit photographs featuring a casket with
a ghostly inset of the deceased. Those images
didnt result from supernatural phenomena
a photographer simply superimposed an ear-
lier portrait over the cofn.
You may not realize whether your family
photo collection contains pictures altered by
your ancestors. Some cases are obvious; if the
manipulator did a better job, though, youll
need a sharp eye to spot the clues. Find the
fakes among your photos by examining
each one for the following details. See my pic-
ture above for examples.
1. An out-of-place person or object. Look
carefully at the woman in the back row of
this unidentied group portrait. Notice any-
thing different about her? Shes standing at a
different angle from the rest of the group and
looking in another direction.
2. Odd positioning. Notice how the photo-
grapher posed the men next to the woman
with a wide space between them, which would
make it easy to insert another photo. It sug-
gests the family probably planned this alter-
ation. Your album might feature examples of
a photograph both before and after changes.
3. Differences in proportion and color. This
woman also stands out because her head and
shoulders are larger than everyone elses. Her
face is gray; everyone elses is light. Examine
shadows in your photos: If the light casts a
shadow on a different side of one subjects face,
she may have been added to a group shot.
4. Visible seams. Heres the most obvious
evidence of a photo manipulation. Old-time
photo-editing techniques didnt allow for
smooth blending of multiple images. Look
around the womans head and shoulders, and
youll see the rectangular outline where the two
pictures meet. Also check your pictures for
strange shadows or different-colored back-
ground areasa telltale sign that someone
removed a person or object.
5. Details that dont add up. Fashion and
family history clues can provide dates that
help determine the truthfulness of a picture.
Here, the puffed shoulders on the out-of-
place womans dress were popular around
1891. The other womens outts feature gen-
erous sleeves on the entire upper arm, which
date from the mid-1890s and give us a time
frame for the picture. Such disagreement of
fashion details is further testimony this image
was altered. Once you have an idea of a
photos date, watch for individuals who
shouldnt be in the picture, as well as those
74 Family Tree Magazine August 2005
Photo Fakes
Dont let doctored-up
family pictures throw
your research off track.
| By Maureen A. Taylor
3
photo de t e c t i v e
1
2
3
4
5
2
C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

M
A
U
R
E
E
N

A
.

T
A
Y
L
O
R
Page74-75.qxd 5/17/05 10:57 AM Page 74
www. familytreemagazine. com 75
who should be but arent. For instance, if
clothing clues suggest a date long after some-
one in the picture died, that person probably
was added later.
Since this example of family photo trick-
ery is an unidentied photograph I bought at
a photo show, I cant name the subjects or
formulate a reason behind the old-fashioned
photo editing. Its possible the woman added
later was a beloved daughter or daughter-in-
law who died before the family sat for a for-
mal portrait. If you nd fakes among your
own pictures, genealogical information may
provide an answer. Re-examine your myste-
rious imagesif you spot inconsistencies like
the ones in my photo, you might open the
door to a great family story. 3
Contributing editor Maureen A. Taylor helps
solve readers picture puzzles in her biweekly photo-
identication column at <www.familytreemagazine.
com/ photos/ current.htm>.
Trace Evidence
1 Someone doesnt belong. This
woman is standing at a different
angle and looking in another
direction from everyone else.
2 Subjects are spaced oddly. The
wide distance between these men
suggests a plan to insert an image
into the nished print.
3 One person is a different size
or color. Her relatively large head
and dark face show this woman was
photographed in another setting with
different lighting.
4 Seams are obvious. A line such
as this one is a dead giveaway that
two images were combined.
5 Costume clues yield inconsistent
dates. This womans dress dates to
about 1891; the others outts are
from the mid 1890s. She may have
sat for her portrait earlier than the
rest of the group.
In the Shadow of the Big Stack
is a hardbound community history book that contains
413 stories about Black Eagle families. Black Eagle is
an ethnic community across the river from Great Falls,
Montana, whose population was primarily employed
at the nearby Anaconda Company Smelter.
Also included are:
E Approximately 1500 photographs which accompany the
stories and show the unusual history of Black Eagle.
EFifty reports documenting the Black Eagle Community.
Cost: $ 66.00 ($60 + $6 S&H)
Send Order to:
Black Eagle History Book
P.O. Box 217, Black Eagle, Montana 59414
For more
information:
(406) 453-8818
Researching genealogy? Need info for a loved
one in WW 2? We create a personalized profile
to help you understand the role they played in
WW 2. Don't miss your own family history.
Building Bridges To
Our Historic Past
www.WW2Connections.com
973-770-0250
Page74-75.qxd 5/17/05 10:58 AM Page 75