Maureen Taylor


The Photo Detective
Finding Family History In Your Picture Mysteries

100% Treasured: Your Family History by Way of a Photo

I’m Maureen and I know photographs. And how even the tiniest details can reveal the biggest clues about a person, where they come from and what they meant to their friends, their family – even the world. Welcome to my digital home, Maureen Taylor the Photodetective! I’ve set up this site to help you find what you need most.

If this is your first visit, I recommend starting with any of the following pages:

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As Featured on TV and in Magazines

After Disaster Strikes...Photo Recovery

As Houston recovers from Hurricane Harvey and Florida from Hurricane Irma.  It leaves me with a sense of déjà vu. Almost five years ago Hurricane Sandy stormed into the East Coast of the United States destroying property and taking lives. As with every disaster, generations of family photographs were caught in the weather. The storm surge washed images out of homes and into the streets.  In the midst of the aftermath and chaos, Jeannette von Houton found thousands of images covered in mud and mold.  Despite her own losses, she began focusing on reuniting those images with the families of her town of Union Beach, NJ. Other volunteers pitched into ...   Continue Reading

House Stories: Finding the Clues

I love pictures with houses in the background. They represent a deeper family history mystery. Not just a question of who's in the picture, but details about the dwelling. When we bought our house a few years ago, an archivist friend gave us the perfect house warming present.  It was a document showing who lived in our house around the time it was built.  A Mrs. Mary P Clewley took out a permit for drainage in 1896.  The same year our house was built. A quick look at the 1900 census showed me the occupants of the house. The census is a wonderful social history document.  Mr. Clewley, a coal ...   Continue Reading

Ask Maureen - Episode 8: Google's "We Wear Culture!"

Show Notes In this episode of Ask Maureen, Maureen Taylor, The Photo Detective, shares information about a new resource from Google, in partnership with museums around the world, called We Wear Culture. It is an amazing resource dedicated to 3,000 years of world fashion. Then, as we prepare for the upcoming solar eclipse, Maureen shares a glimpse back to a 1923 Solar Eclipse and gives a few helpful tips on photographing eclipse events. And finally, a peek behind the curtain into the clues you can use to date your photos. Now also available on iTunes. Resources Google Fashion Schedule a Photo Consult with Maureen Join Maureen on Instagram for FREE PD Tips ...   Continue Reading

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