More than twenty thousand people on social media have viewed these images of the mysterious women in uniform. That’s a whole lot of eyes. Thank you for all the leads! Here’s the update. The Buildings The United States Army built Spanish Colonial buildings at many of their bases. All had tile roofs and stucco exteriors,…
The details in this picture are plentiful. A man in an apron holding a shoe. Patriotic bunting. A house. It’s so lovely I couldn’t resist. I bought it at an antique shop in Franklin, New Hampshire. A sticker on the front of the glass frame says: “Cobbler Shop, West Bow St., Franklin.” Other than that…
It was a photo I’d seen all my life. It’s my maternal grandmother with two siblings, their parents and her brother’s two children. I thought I knew the story. Turns out I didn’t. It was a classic case of evidence outside the frame. Let’s call it a photo audit. The trouble started when I decided…
It happened again. I arrived early to a lecture venue at a public library. I thought. Oo. La. La. Books and reference sources, but when I looked around there were only a few short stacks of books and no one in sight. Sigh. Here’s what I remember and why I worry that Reference Departments are…
It is possible to survive the holiday season, with sanity intact, by planning ahead and developing a sense of humor. Unexpected visits by relatives and cranky cousins add to your stress levels, but try to offset the tension with a little family history. Don’t put your charts and notes away for the holidays take them…
I often thumb through the Godey’s Lady’s Book magazines in my collection to look at the fashions. Today I stumbled across a recipe that connects us to our ancestors. It’s a staple in many households. This holiday season try making this recipe exactly as your ancestors were advised in 1865. Macaroni with Parmesan Cheese Half…
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…
The latest new photo discovery of 2017 is a long missing image of President John Quincy Adams. It is the oldest known U.S. Presidential photo. The eldest son of John and Abigail Adams was born in 1767. He went on his first diplomatic mission when just 10 years of age. He was secretary to…
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. One of the photo challenges in this picture is identifying the location. Children’s Party, circa 1920 When we bought our house a few years ago, an…
I hope to see a lot of you at FGS in Pittsburgh August 30th through September 2nd. I’ll be in booth 707. It’s a full week of activities in the exhibit hall besides the regular conference lectures. I hope you’ll stop by and take advantage of these FGS only deals: Bring photo mysteries with you…
One of my favorite books is Jack Larkin’s Where We Lived: Discovering the Places We Once Called Home, (Taunton Press, $40.00). When I pass by an old house I can’t help but wonder about the everyday lives of the original occupants. Larkin lets us peek into that past with gorgeous photographs and fascinating stories. Houses, schools,…
About 6 in 10 of us have a family member who lived during that period of American history while only 1 in 40 have ancestors that participated in the war. Finding the documentation for those war-time ancestors is easier than you might think. Take a look at the Ancestry.com military records page for the Revolutionary…