1000 Words . . .and More

From the Stowe/Williams Family Collection

As the weather warms up and Covid restrictions ease, people are traveling more and seeing friends and family members they have missed for too long.  Some are even meeting distant relatives they may never have met before.

One of the joys of meeting after a long period of time is sharing photographs.  Hopefully everyone in the photos is identified and the date and place are well documented.  The photo is telling you a story and all the details are evident.

But, unfortunately, that is rarely the case.  Some photos may have been identified such as the ones my Aunt Bea did--a man fishing from the shore of a body of water was identified as, "Dad at the lake".  Great!  Whose Dad?  at what lake?  at what occasion?  At least she tried.  That isn't always the case.

Don't be steered wrong

Sometimes the information given is not correct.  This photo had been identified as a three generation group and as 2nd great-, great- and grandmother of Cousin Larry.  But his grandmother was born in 1872 and this photo, from information on the reverse, was taken in 1898.

The women in this photo were actually Larry's paternal and maternal greatgrandmothers.  The girl was his aunt.

From the Strobel Family Collection

There are particular clues you can use to help identify people in older photographs, especially those from professional photographers from the 19th century.

    Photo type:  daguerreotype, tintype, cabinet card among others

    Clothing and hair styles:  each decade has distinctive details

    Mat styles and colors, photographer's name and studio address

    Photo style:  rectangular, oval, vignette; each can be a clue

    Subject matter:  is it a family group or parent and child?

Join in the fun!

From the Williams/Hoskins Family Collection

This photo in my family collection is one of my favorites.  I can only identify the dapper gentleman in the center because he was a recent immigrant from England.  It is that fact that helps date the photo; he married one of the Hoskins girls in Shoshone County, Idaho, about 1892.  The Hoskins family had a bunch of sons, sons-in-law and nephews; all involved with mining in the Wardner, Idaho area.

I call this photo, "The Bachelor Party".  Other than the groom, I can't identify any of the other men.  They all look alike but can't you imagine the fun?  They're all cleaned up, in new shirts and with cigars and maybe a drink or two. 

A New Challenge

I was recently given another photo to try to date.  I'm still working on it but there are a couple of clues that might help.  The image is printed on photo paper but not matted so there is no photographer information.  The photo also fades out around the edges leaving a vignette in a roughly oval shape in the center.  I've got more research to do.

Good luck this summer as you find new photos and information about your families.  And how about sharing your photos and your experiences?

MaryLynn Strickland