How To Find Old Family Photos

Family photographs. Can’t live with them, but we also think we’ll die if we don’t find that one photograph that must be out there somewhere.

AN INHERITANCE WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS!

As the family genealogist, I inherited many of my parents’ photographs, but I also was given all the old family photos including old, old tintypes, by my mother-in-law. God bless her. She had no idea at the time how interested her son, my husband, would one day become in his family’s genealogy.

He got so interested that he actually went through our dozens of boxes of photos stored away in the attic. Four sons can lead to an overwhelming number of photos. Most of those were unlabeled without a date or other information. They’re now grouped, labeled, and identified to the best of his abilities. This is one thankful Mama!

But it was those old, old photos and the tintypes his mother had given to me that really got his attention. I told him how to go to Ancestry and look for information on his ancestors. Now, I’d done a ton of work on that in the past, but he took up where my research left off. He connected with cousins he’d never met. This past October, we went to my hometown, also his mother’s hometown, and attended the 200^th anniversary of the founding of the little church where many generations of his family are buried.

How to Find Old Family Photos @DDuPreeWilliams #genealogy #faith #writing Share on X

COUSINS SHARING WITH COUSINS

He had high hopes of learning who many of the people in the old photos were. Some were known, but most were not known to those in attendance. The history of the church was told during the service. It was a very informative day. Cousins brought even more photos. So, photos of photos were made all day long.

Not satisfied with my knowledge, I went to Lisa Lisson again for information on where to find old photos if one has looked without success. Her number one suggestion was just what hubby did—reach out to your cousins. Don’t just ask the ones you know well but also go to those you may not know at all. Oftentimes, they’re the ones who have those photos you’ve longed to see. And hopefully, they weren’t burned as one of my cousins did. My heart still hurts just thinking about that.

JUST CAN’T CONVINCE SOME PEOPLE

Check out online family trees. These often have photos of ancestors. Just make sure that the relative in the photo is really yours. This happened in my family. A cousin I’ve never met has a photo on his tree identified as our G-grandfather. They have the same name, first, middle, and last. Their wives even have the same unusual first name. But the wife of the one he has is a Smith and ours is a Davis. I’ve told him, but he refuses to remove it. I’ve been in touch with the GG-granddaughter of the owner of the photo he posted. Not our family, but hers. Just move on. You can’t change everyone’s mind. Sigh.

Local and state archives will often have files of old photos. You never know when you’ll stumble across one of your relatives.

Lisa listed at least ten places to search. I’ve just given you a few here with some of my experiences. Go to her site for her full list. I’ll put it at the bottom of this post.

Let me know if you find a photo you’ve been searching for. I want to see y’all doing a happy dance!

Blessings, y’all!

 

Check out Lisa’s post at Are You My Cousin. The link wouldn’t go in properly. Look for My Best Tips to Find Family Photos. Sorry about that. Don’t know what I did wrong.

 

This came to mind as I was thinking about meeting all those ancestors one day. That is going to be some kind of special day! I used to sing this in another life. I miss being able to sing those high notes. Just love Sandi!! What a gift. No photos needed. We’ll see Jesus and all those ancestors face to face!! Hallelujah!!