Uncovering Your Ancestry Through Family Photographs

In this visually stunning book of historic family photographs, renowned family history researcher and photography expert Maureen A. Taylor shows you how to cherish old photographs and what clues they can provide to your ancestors' lives. You will learn how to: Identify and verify people in family photographs. Tell the story of identified photographs using the clues in the images. Locate additional family photographs. Create worksheets for each image to expand your knowledge about your ancestors. Discover the history of photography and learn when specific costumes, hairstyles, architecture, interior design trends, and more were popular. This improved revised edition, full of color photographs, is sure to be instructive and inviting to genealogists, scrapbookers, and history enthusiasts alike. Find out more about this fascinating medium and your ancestors' place in it today!

Everyone keeps old family photographs, whether in frames, albums or shoe boxes. These photos house a treasury of genealogical information, revealing unique details about our ancestors' lives, personalities and everyday realities. Following this guide's step-by-step instruction, anyone can learn how to identify different types of family photographs to determine their date, location, and in some instances, their photographer. Case studies of actual photographs illustrate how other details, such as poses, props, dress and setting can lead to several new genealogical discoveries. Even if a reader's collection of images is limited, this guide provides methods for locating additional photos through libraries, relatives and archives. Once these photos are collected and analyzed, readers will also learn how to preserve their family collection for generations to come.

Genealogists and non-genealogists alike love old photographs and many people have photo collections of their ancestors. Preserving Your Family Photographs shows them how to organize and store these photos so that future generations can also enjoy them. Readers will learn how to care for family photos, identify different types of damage, learn basic conservation techniques, buy the proper storage materials, then organize the family photo archive and safely display it for all to see. * Photo preservation and display techniques appeal to both genealogist and non-genealogist alike * the book provides instruction through the use of beautiful sample photos Maureen Taylor is the author of Uncovering Your Ancestry through Family Photographs. She is a regular contributor to Family Tree Magazine and is a former picture research coordinator and photo curator. She is a frequent lecturer at genealogical conferences and workshops across the country on the subject of photograph identification, organization and preservation. She lives in Westwood, Massachusetts.

Unlock the Secrets of Your Old Family Photos! Historical family photos are cherished heirlooms that offer a glimpse into the lives of our ancestors. But the images, and the stories behind them, often fade away as decades pass - the who, when, where and why behind the photos are lost. In this book, photo identification expert and genealogist Maureen A. Taylor shows you how to study the clues in your old family photos to put names to faces and recapture their lost stories. Inside, you'll learn how to: • Determine the type of image you have - from common paper prints to stereographs to historical daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and tintypes • Use clothing, accessories, and hairstyles to date the image in the correct decade • Research photographer's imprints to narrow down when and where the photo was taken • Compare facial features in multiple photos to confirm identity and family resemblance • Interview family members to gather more information about the image • Identify props in the photo to create context for the image Each chapter includes dozens of historical photos to illustrate key points and provide clear examples. Charts, timelines and resource lists make it easy to find the exact information you need. Dozens of case studies show you how to apply the techniques in the book to real-life photo research projects. The answers to your family photo questions are closer than you think. Let this book help you start finding them today.

Tracing one's African-American ancestry can be uniquely challenging. This guide helps overcome the obstacles and pitfalls of specialized research by offering a proven, three-part approach.

Finding Family: My Search for Roots and the Secrets in My DNA is the highly suspenseful account of an adoptee trying to reclaim the biological family denied him by sealed birth records. This fascinating quest, including the author's landmark use of DNA testing, takes readers on an exhilarating roller-coaster ride and concludes with a twist that rivals anything Hollywood has to offer. In the vein of a classic mystery, Hill gathers the seemingly scant evidence surrounding the circumstances of his birth. As his resolve shores up, the author also avails of new friends, genealogists, the Internet, and the latest DNA tests in the new field of genetic genealogy. As he closes in on the truth of his ancestry, he is able to construct a living, breathing portrait of the young woman who was faced with the decision to forsake her rights to her child, and ultimately the man whose identity had remained hidden for decades. Finding Family offers guidance, insight, and motivation for anyone engaged in a similar mission, from ways to obtain information to the many networks that can facilitate adoption searches. The book includes a detailed guide to DNA and genetic genealogy and how they can produce irrefutable results in determining genetic connections and help adoptees bypass sealed records and similar stumbling blocks.

Comprehensive and easy to use, this invaluable handbook will help you sort through the mountain of genealogy information that's now available online. --back cover.

Trace and record your family history online Are you a descendant of ancient kings? Were your ancestors fierce warriors? Are you related to an eminent scholar? With The Everything Guide to Online Genealogy, 2nd Edition, now you can find out! If you're interested in your family history, you have a wealth of information and misinformation at your fingertips. Enter expert genealogist Kimberly Powell to steer you in the right direction. Powell helps you: Effectively search various websites Decipher census data and other online records Choose the best way to share your data both on and offline Connect with other genealogists via social media outlets Packed with tips on free databases, search sites and downloadable government records, you'll have all you need to find your ancestors going back dozens of generations!