What happens when an ordinary New Bedford whaling voyage turns into one of the most extraordinary survival stories in American maritime history? In this episode of The Photo Detective, I talk with bestselling maritime historian Eric Jay Dolin, author of The Wreck of the Mentor. Dolin has written more than seventeen acclaimed books on maritime history, environmental policy, pirates, privateers, hurricanes, and the American whaling industry, including Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America and A Furious Sky.

We explore the tragic 1834 wreck of the Mentor, whose crew became stranded for years on the islands of Palau after their ship struck a reef. Eric shares how firsthand survivor accounts, newly digitized archival sources, and years of historical research allowed him to reconstruct this remarkable story of endurance, cultural encounters, and rescue. Along the way, we discuss why these stories matter to genealogists and family historians seeking to understand the lives—and sometimes mysterious disappearances—of their seafaring ancestors.

Related Episodes:

Episode 266: Military Images Magazine’s Ron Coddington shares the stories behind Civil War Photos

Episode 240: The Hidden Stories of Tattooing: Dr. Matt Lodder on Tattoos in Photography and Society

Links:

• Sign up for my newsletter.
• Watch my YouTube Channel.
• Like the Photo Detective Facebook Page so you get notified of my Facebook Live videos.
• Need help preserving your photos? Check out Maureen’s Preserving Family Photographs ebook 
• Need help identifying family photos? Check out The Family Photo Detective ebook
• Have a photo you need help identifying? Sign up for photo consultation.

About My Guest:

Eric Jay Dolin is the best-selling author of numerous works in maritime history, including Left for Dead; Black Flags, Blue Waters; and Leviathan. He now lives in Marblehead, Massachusetts, with his family. http://www.ericjaydolin.com/

About Maureen Taylor:

Maureen Taylor, The Photo Detective^® helps clients with photo related genealogical problems. Her pioneering work in historic photo research has earned her the title “the nation’s foremost historical photo detective” by The Wall Street Journal and appearances on The View, The Today Show, Pawn Stars, and others.   Learn more at Maureentaylor.com

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

The post Episode 268: The Wreck of the Mentor: Eric Jay Dolin on Whaling, Shipwrecks, and Maritime Family History appeared first on Maureen Taylor.

I decided to find out.

I uploaded a photograph I took during a Fourth of July parade. I was confident about when it was taken, where it was taken, and who was riding on the float. It seemed like the perfect image to see how well AI could interpret historical photographs.

It’s not a great photo. It’s blurry, and there were a lot of people in the way.

The results? Some were impressively accurate. Others were completely wrong.

What ChatGPT Got Right

The AI correctly identified several important details:

• The scene depicts a Fourth of July parade, complete with spectators lining the street and a float decorated in red, white, and blue.
• The float is designed to resemble a birthday cake with large red “candles” around the edge—a clever Independence Day theme.
• One participant is wearing a T-shirt with the logo 92 PRO-FM, a well-known Providence, Rhode Island radio station.

That last observation was especially useful. ChatGPT recognized that 92 PRO-FM frequently sponsored or participated in community events during the 1980s and 1990s, making the shirt a valuable clue for dating the photograph.

Where AI Went Off Course

This is where things became interesting.

The Date

ChatGPT noticed that the float appeared to include the words “236th Birthday.”

Since the United States celebrated its 236th birthday in 2012, the AI suggested the parade might date from that year.

The problem? Everything else in the photograph contradicted that conclusion. The clothing, automobiles, photographic quality, and even the construction of the float all pointed to the late 1980s, not 2012.

This is a perfect example of why genealogists and photo historians should never rely on a single clue. Every piece of evidence needs to be weighed against the others.

Who Was on the Float

The AI also attempted to read partially visible lettering on the side of the float. It interpreted the text as:

• “Special Guest”
• “Rory Matheson”

The first part was right, the second part was incorrect.

With only a few letters visible, ChatGPT essentially filled in the missing information with its best guess. That’s a common AI behavior called a hallucination—producing a confident answer that isn’t supported by the available evidence.

Verifying the Facts

Rather than accepting the AI’s conclusions, I turned to a contemporary source: the digital archive of the Bristol Phoenix.

The newspaper confirmed that the photograph was taken during the 1987 Bristol, Rhode Island Fourth of July Parade. The Grand Marshal was actor Jerry Mathers, beloved for his role as Theodore “Beaver” Cleaver in the television series Leave It to Beaver. The float was indeed sponsored by 92 PRO-FM.

The newspaper account verified what the photograph actually showed—and corrected the assumptions AI had made.

The Takeaway

This little experiment reinforced an important lesson.

AI is remarkably good at recognizing patterns, identifying objects, and suggesting research leads. It can notice details you might overlook and point you toward useful clues.

But it also fills gaps in the evidence. When text is partially obscured, or information is incomplete, AI may confidently invent details that sound plausible but are simply wrong.

For genealogists and family photo researchers, the best approach is to treat AI as a research partner—not as the final authority.

Use it to generate ideas. Then verify those ideas with contemporary records, newspapers, city directories, archival collections, and other reliable sources.

That’s still the heart of good genealogical research.

The post I Tested ChatGPT on a Family Photograph. Here’s What It Got Right—and Wrong appeared first on Maureen Taylor.

When examining old family photographs, patriotic decorations can provide valuable clues.

Count the Stars

The American flag has changed many times throughout the nation’s history. Since the Stars and Stripes became the official flag on June 14, 1777, there have been twenty-seven official versions.

If you can clearly see the stars in a photograph, they may help narrow down the date. Be sure to consider both:

• When a state joined the Union.
• When the corresponding flag design officially went into use.

Don’t Rely on the Flag Alone

A word of caution: families often continued displaying older flags long after a new design was introduced.

That’s why it’s important to combine flag evidence with other dating clues such as:

• Clothing styles
• Hairstyles
• Photographic format
• Household objects
• Architecture and vehicles

The strongest photo identifications come from evaluating multiple clues together.

Preserving Your Family’s Independence Day Story

Whether your family attended parades, gathered for reunions, hosted backyard barbecues, or simply decorated the front porch, those traditions are part of your family’s history.

This year, take a few minutes to look through your collection for Fourth of July photographs. You may discover not only cherished memories, but also valuable clues about your ancestors and the communities where they lived.

And if you find a favorite, I’d love to see it.

The post Photo Detective Tip: What Flags Can Tell You appeared first on Maureen Taylor.

Twenty-five years ago, I held a daguerreotype in my hands and thought, “This man is old enough to have witnessed the American Revolution.”

The owner of the image confirmed that it was his ancestor, a Loyalist sympathizer.

That moment changed the course of my research.

What followed became The Last Muster Project, resulting in two books, an exhibit at the Concord Museum in Concord, Massachusetts, and inspiration for the final display at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia. It also led to three documentary films, including A Revolutionary Trio, produced by Verissima Productions, featuring Eleazer Blake of New Hampshire, Agrippa Hull of Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and Molly Ferris Akin of New York.

Over the years, I’ve written articles, given presentations, and spent countless hours searching for photographs of the men and women whose lives bridged the Revolutionary era and the dawn of photography.

Did I find all of them? Absolutely not.

In fact, I know there are many more images waiting to be discovered.

How do I know? Because readers, museum curators, librarians, and family historians continue to send me photographs and leads. Eric Grundset, formerly of the Library of the Daughters of the American Revolution, has been one of the most dedicated contributors. New discoveries continue to surface as collections are digitized, archives are opened, and families begin exploring boxes of inherited photographs.

The greatest challenge is not finding photographs. It’s identifying them.

Across the country, there are daguerreotypes without names, carte de visite portraits without labels, and family collections that have lost the stories behind the faces.

So how do you spot someone connected to the Revolutionary era in your own collection?

Start with the basics:

• A very elderly person in a case photograph, such as a daguerreotype, ambrotype, or tintype.
• A very elderly person in an early carte de visite.
• Family stories suggesting Revolutionary War service.
• Photographs linked to families known to have lived in America before 1800.

Of course, age alone isn’t proof.

The next step is verification. Is the person depicted a veteran, actually? A veteran’s wife? One of their children? That’s where research becomes both challenging and rewarding.

I rely on timelines to separate fact from family legend. Pension applications, military records, census schedules, probate files, and local histories can reveal remarkable—and sometimes heartbreaking—stories.

Occasionally, a photograph can even be matched to an earlier painting, engraving, or silhouette. What is unidentified in one collection may be fully documented in another.

Am I still looking?

Absolutely.

Will there be a third volume of The Last Muster?

I’m not sure.

At the moment, I don’t have enough newly identified likenesses to support another book, and publishing a volume would require starting the proposal process from scratch. The first volume took nearly a decade from proposal to publication.

As we commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, I find myself thinking about these men and women who witnessed the nation’s birth and lived long enough to see an entirely new age emerge. Their photographs connect us to history in a uniquely personal way.

Every identified face adds another piece to the story.

And somewhere, in an archive, museum, library, or family collection, there are undoubtedly more waiting to be found.

The Last Muster volumes are available through Amazon.

The post Looking for Faces of the American Revolution appeared first on Maureen Taylor.

Officially known as the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine, the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia was the first major World’s Fair held in the United States. Covering 285 acres in Fairmount Park, it attracted nearly nine million visitors eager to see the latest innovations and celebrate 100 years of American independence.

Visitors wandered through enormous exhibition halls filled with inventions and products from around the world. They could see the giant Corliss Steam Engine from Rhode Island powering Machinery Hall, sample Heinz ketchup and Hires Root Beer, examine typewriters, and hear demonstrations of Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone. Household innovations such as sewing machines and dishwashers also attracted attention.

One of the most memorable exhibits wasn’t even finished. The torch and right arm of the Statue of Liberty were displayed to raise funds for the completion of the monument that would later become a national symbol.

A Resource for Family Historians

If your ancestors attended the Centennial Exposition, you may be able to find traces of their experience.

The Free Library of Philadelphia hosts an extraordinary digital collection devoted to the Centennial. The collection includes more than 1,500 photographs, stereographs, trade cards, lithographs, and other materials related to the fair. It is fully searchable and a wonderful resource for anyone interested in the event or the lives of people who experienced it.

Explore the collection here:

Free Library of Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition Digital Collection

Even if your ancestors never traveled to Philadelphia, they likely knew about the exposition. Newspapers across the country covered the event extensively, and stereographs allowed people to view scenes from the fair in three dimensions through a stereoscope.

The post What Were Your Ancestors Doing During America’s Centennial Year? appeared first on Maureen Taylor.