Great idea, @Kirsi. Can I recommend send the link to local historical societies where you know your ancestors lived?
Awhile back I randomly dropped into one while traveling thru. I had some unidentified photos on my phone and together we were able to ID three of them based on old unpublished photos in their archives.
I never underestimate the super powers of local archivists and historical society volunteers!
Kirsi, I'd suggest you put the names and places right up front in the first paragraph. As a friend used to say, "make it easy for people to help you." 😎
This is a great idea to put them 'out there' and hopefully find people who can identify them. Fabulous photos to have but so much more meaningful if you can identify the individuals in them. Good luck!
I also have hundreds of old family photos, luckily some in albums but also some loose. It's a matter of educated guesswork a lot of the time. I sometimes look at the people I do know in a family group and then identify the others based on where they fit age wise if it's possible to work it out or by their circumstances. e.g. my great grandmother had two sisters but they didn't have children so I knew it was her when the photo showed a mother and child and an adult female and I had the correct surname/family line.
Some really great advice. In particular, I had not thought about preserving the order in which I find photos. I have an older relative who keeps saying she needs to catalogue and identify her dozens of hundred year old photos. It may be she is just not up to it. I think we can all understand getting older. I have offered different ways to help her with it, framing it as a fun thing to do together, but she doesn’t have the patience. While I recognize the challenges for her, it’s making me dread trying to identify all these people someday when she’s not around to help me! I will continue my small attempts to offer help when she brings it up, but will bookmark this post in the meantime!
Great idea, @Kirsi. Can I recommend send the link to local historical societies where you know your ancestors lived?
Awhile back I randomly dropped into one while traveling thru. I had some unidentified photos on my phone and together we were able to ID three of them based on old unpublished photos in their archives.
I never underestimate the super powers of local archivists and historical society volunteers!
That is a fantastic idea! Thank you!
Kirsi, I'd suggest you put the names and places right up front in the first paragraph. As a friend used to say, "make it easy for people to help you." 😎
Good idea! 🤦🏼♀️
This is a great idea to put them 'out there' and hopefully find people who can identify them. Fabulous photos to have but so much more meaningful if you can identify the individuals in them. Good luck!
Thanks Jane! And thanks for the restack!
I also have hundreds of old family photos, luckily some in albums but also some loose. It's a matter of educated guesswork a lot of the time. I sometimes look at the people I do know in a family group and then identify the others based on where they fit age wise if it's possible to work it out or by their circumstances. e.g. my great grandmother had two sisters but they didn't have children so I knew it was her when the photo showed a mother and child and an adult female and I had the correct surname/family line.
Sounds like good detective work on your part! I'm hoping to be able to spend some time sleuthing this mystery of mine!
Some really great advice. In particular, I had not thought about preserving the order in which I find photos. I have an older relative who keeps saying she needs to catalogue and identify her dozens of hundred year old photos. It may be she is just not up to it. I think we can all understand getting older. I have offered different ways to help her with it, framing it as a fun thing to do together, but she doesn’t have the patience. While I recognize the challenges for her, it’s making me dread trying to identify all these people someday when she’s not around to help me! I will continue my small attempts to offer help when she brings it up, but will bookmark this post in the meantime!
Oh, Lisa, I can only imagine the patience you must be exhibiting! Good luck on breaking through and identifying your ancestors.
I took a look and didn't see anyone I recognized.
Thanks for looking Jill.