Stamp Boxes, Messages & More: Family Clues in Old Real-Photo Postcards
Real-photo postcards postcards among your collection of family letters and photos might contain a variety of clues worth exploring. From stamp boxes to postmarks and messages, there can be genealogical gold in the littlest things.
Read MoreTurn It Over! Genealogy Clues on Old Postcards
This ordinary postcard captioned "R. I. Institute for Deaf and Dumb, Providence, R.I." contains a photo clue and it's not the building pictured. It's the message on the back:Dearest Ma got my proofs to day only one out of five that looks like me. The rest looks as...
Read MoreMothers in Old Photos
Who doesn't own an image of an ancestral mother with her children? It seems like everyone has at least one. This week's photo doesn't show a mother. Instead, she's referenced in a note on the back. Maureen Petrilli's grandmother Mary Ellen Gillespie arrived at Ellis Island with her cousin Alice...
Read MoreClues in Old Photo Postcards, Part 2
Jennifer Bryan sent me a photo-postcard mystery and I featured part one in last week's post.This week I'll share what I learned about the recipient of the postcard, Miss Flossie Howell of Baker City, Ore. Flossie's friend Desca wrote: Hello. Rec'd letter other day ans soon. What are you...
Read MoreClues in Old Photo Postcards
Last week I wrote about orphan photos and how you can reunite them with family. This week I'm featuring one such image that Jennifer Bryan bought. I'm hoping that a descendant will see this two-part story. These three young women—Desca, Mabel and Hazel—sent this real photo-postcard to their friend Flossie...
Read MoreTrick or Treat in Your Family Album
It's Halloween and time for trick or treat. You might have images of this holiday in your family album. These two young girls, c. 1920 are dressed in the style popular for the period. On the right the dots on this girl's outfit suggest she's a...
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A Memorial Day Salute and a Web Reunion
About a year ago I started creating short videos of photo cases I've worked on and began posting them on Vimeo.com. Last week I featured a photo from Valerie Moran. It's a lovely summer scene and the flags in it provided a valuable clue. Hope you enjoy it! A...
Read MoreOne More Time: Funny Pictures
I have another album of funny pictures to share with you. This time, there's even an entry from faraway Chile. Thanks to the Web, this column has readers around the globe.Laura Cook sent me several images of her grandmother Marie Schultheis clowning with friends in the summer of 1913...
Read MorePostal Clues and a One-Glove Mystery
In honor of an upcoming article in the print Family Tree Magazine, this week's photo mystery is a postcard. In the January 2009 issue, I wrote a piece called Getting the Message on the ways our ancestors communicated and the types of records they left behind. One of the...
Read More19th Century Picture Postcards Premium
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