Old Family Photo Mystery: Is This the Father or the Son?
Carole Bemke has a question. Is this photo of a father in her family tree, or his son? Seems simple, right? But not if both men have the same name. You know how it goes. Someone in the family is sure that a photo depicts a certain person, but your...
Read MoreOld Family Photo Mystery May Be Solved!
See how four key photo dating strategies help identify a turn-of-the-20th-century Findlay family photo depicting two parents and their five children.
Read MoreReaders Respond: Mistaken Identity in Old Photos
There are a lot of sharp-eyed family photo detectives out there. I asked you to compare these two men and give me your opinion, and you did!
Read MoreMistaken Identity in Old Photos: A Facial Recognition Challenge
Last week a woman at one of my lectures raised her hand, pointed at an old photo on the screen, and said "the man in that photo is my great-grandfather!" But was it really?
Read MoreDeath Photography: Is it For Real?
There's no shortage of creepy postmortem photography on the web. But are those images the real thing? Here's a bit of history to separate fact from fiction.
Read MoreFiguring out Where an Old Family Photo Was Taken
Laura Katz knows that this is picture of her paternal great-grandparents Baruch and Asna Lipitz. They immigrated from Russia in 1906, and Laura wonders if this picture was taken there or in the United States. Comparing the date the photo was taken to the date of the couple's immigration should...
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How to Tell Men’s Faces Apart in Old Photos
Pat Dwyer reached out through Facebook to ask a question about some confusing family photos. This post is the first of two. Pat owns a photograph of Patrick Sheridan, and her cousin thinks he does too. Patrick Sheridan Unknown man thought to be Patrick SheridanWhen comparing two pictures of men...
Read MoreOld Blue Eyes in a Family Photo
This man's pale blue eyes stand out in this portrait.Jay Kruizenga submitted the photo with an inquiry about a date for the picture. He's hopeful it was taken circa 1857, making James Pennington (1828-1903) a potential ID for this man. Pennington would be 29 years old in 1857. This...
Read MoreWalt Whitman and Your Old Family Photos
Walt Whitman, 1854, Library of Congress. What could a famous man have in common with your picture collection? It turns out, plenty! Whitman (1819-1892), an American poet, journalist and essayist, had picture problems you'll find familiar. In 1888, surrounded by images taken of Whitman during his life, his friend...
Read MoreAdding Up the Clues in 3 Old Family Photos
Wanda Allison inherited photos of the McIntosh/Pearson families. Last week we looked at a tintype of this man, wearing Masonic regalia and posed with his wife. Relatives thought the couple could be John McIntosh (1810-1898) and Isabella Rutherford (1806-1894). The problem is the couple in this 1860s image is a...
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