Merging Old Photos with Ancestry Family Trees

[DaveNV]

My Winter project this year has been scanning my way through scads of old photos I've acquired from my deceased Dad and Grandmother. There are many, many photos, dating as far back to the late 1800s, few of which are fully identified, but many are obviously related. Some have writing on the back identifying where it was taken, or who sent the photo, but not necessarily the subject. In addition to hundreds of loose photos from the same general area and people, there are at least that many negatives - not all of which have prints with them. Sorting through them, scanning and image-editing them, has been quite a challenge. Seeing pictures of my dad and his brother as young boys, playing on the farm as children in the 1930s, and pictures through the decades as my grandparents aged, is really a lot of fun. Seeing people with horses and buggies, then early automobiles, and then fancier cars, is a neat example of progress within their lives.

On the opposite side of the project is Ancestry.com, where my daughter has amassed a huge family tree, with very accurate data going back generations, and much larger than just the direct family lines. I've been providing her with photos to add onto the pages for assorted relatives, so they are more than just a name. It's been a very rewarding project, still deeply in the works, but that has given me a lot of phone call "Dad-Daughter time," which I've enjoyed a lot. My daughter is a whiz at researching accurate records about people and locations, so her information is very three-dimensional about these relatives of ours. Maybe the best part has been discovering who the outlier names and faces are - the siblings, cousins, and in-laws of the direct ancestors. Reading the brief comments on the pictures, and figuring out who wrote it, and such, has been great entertainment, with a purpose. All the older generations are gone, and my daughter wasn't raised around these people. So I'm kind of the memory trace for her. If my sister or I don't remember it, then we have to put the facts together to solve the questions as best we can.

One of the most interesting things for me has been discovering how many schoolteachers are in my family lines. My Grandmother, both of her parents, and three of her father's siblings were all schoolteachers. If I hadn't pursued a career in the military, my second choice would have been to have a career in teaching. It must be something in the blood.

Has anyone else taken on a project like this?

Dave

 

[nomoretslt]

I would really like to start a project like this….I am the major holder of photos and birth certificates for my mothers side. I just don’t have the time or inclination right now to go down that rabbit hole. I know my moms family had some very “colorful” incidents. My grandpa and his brothers were real hell raisers.
and doing those DNA tests can sometimes open a can of worms. When our daughter had hers done, she informed my husband that he was not 100% Italian. Seems like some seafaring Greeks came to Italy But then didn’t stick around. And the older generation is gone, so can’t ask anyone.
sounds like a great project for you and your daughter to collaborate on.

 

[Luanne]

I haven't, but a friend of mine did. She discovered, and has now actually met, many relatives (most of them several times removed). She didn't do the photo part, just the geneaology. It took her quite a long time as I remember.

 

[klpca]

My Winter project this year has been scanning my way through scads of old photos I've acquired from my deceased Dad and Grandmother. There are many, many photos, dating as far back to the late 1800s, few of which are fully identified, but many are obviously related. Some have writing on the back identifying where it was taken, or who sent the photo, but not necessarily the subject. In addition to hundreds of loose photos from the same general area and people, there are at least that many negatives - not all of which have prints with them. Sorting through them, scanning and image-editing them, has been quite a challenge. Seeing pictures of my dad and his brother as young boys, playing on the farm as children in the 1930s, and pictures through the decades as my grandparents aged, is really a lot of fun. Seeing people with horses and buggies, then early automobiles, and then fancier cars, is a neat example of progress within their lives.

On the opposite side of the project is Ancestry.com, where my daughter has amassed a huge family tree, with very accurate data going back generations, and much larger than just the direct family lines. I've been providing her with photos to add onto the pages for assorted relatives, so they are more than just a name. It's been a very rewarding project, still deeply in the works, but that has given me a lot of phone call "Dad-Daughter time," which I've enjoyed a lot. My daughter is a whiz at researching accurate records about people and locations, so her information is very three-dimensional about these relatives of ours. Maybe the best part has been discovering who the outlier names and faces are - the siblings, cousins, and in-laws of the direct ancestors. Reading the brief comments on the pictures, and figuring out who wrote it, and such, has been great entertainment, with a purpose. All the older generations are gone, and my daughter wasn't raised around these people. So I'm kind of the memory trace for her. If my sister or I don't remember it, then we have to put the facts together to solve the questions as best we can.

One of the most interesting things for me has been discovering how many schoolteachers are in my family lines. My Grandmother, both of her parents, and three of her father's siblings were all schoolteachers. If I hadn't pursued a career in the military, my second choice would have been to have a career in teaching. It must be something in the blood.

Has anyone else taken on a project like this?

Dave

I dabble in genealogy every few years then I get busy, set it aside, then don't return for a few more years. In 2020 we were on Oahu so I decided to do some Hawaii based genealogy since we were able to visit the cemeteries plus I have a cousin on the island who has done a ton of research. When I felt satisfied that I understood the Oahu connections, I did a bit of research on my husbands family, just to kill the time. Ultimately I discovered that my husband's father was a cousin of my step-sister's husband (first cousin once removed, I believe). It seemed that my FIL's grandfather left his original family, moved to California and started another family. The daughter from the new family had a son who eventually married my step sister. Small world! My FIL had no idea that he had more family in California - and had zero interest in learning about them. It was definitely a sore spot, not to be explored, but truly fascinating to me.

 

[DaveNV]

I dabble in genealogy every few years then I get busy, set it aside, then don't return for a few more years. In 2020 we were on Oahu so I decided to do some Hawaii based genealogy since we were able to visit the cemeteries plus I have a cousin on the island who has done a ton of research. When I felt satisfied that I understood the Oahu connections, I did a bit of research on my husbands family, just to kill the time. Ultimately I discovered that my husband's father was a cousin of my step-sister's husband (first cousin once removed, I believe). It seemed that my FIL's grandfather left his original family, moved to California and started another family. The daughter from the new family had a son who eventually married my step sister. Small world! My FIL had no idea that he had more family in California - and had zero interest in learning about them. It was definitely a sore spot, not to be explored, but truly fascinating to me.

That's pretty cool, and shows how families can get inter-related, sometimes without knowing. My great grandfather and his brother married sisters, so the connection between those cousins would have been doubly strong. On another line, my great grandmother married the younger brother of her aunt's husband. (He was her uncle's brother, but by marriage - no blood connection.) This was all during the pioneer days in the "old west," and potential spouses were harder to find, I think. Even on the marriage application paperwork, the couple had to attest they were "No closer than First Cousins." Eew.

I can understand your FIL not wanting to have information about another family. My sister was born when my Mother wasn't married. (I'm sure it was unplanned and unexpected.) Mom's first husband adopted my sister, and things went on from there. The birth father had zero connection throughout sis's life, and he died a number of years ago. Through DNA on Ancestry, my daughter was able to find relatives of my sister's birth father - including the large family he went on to have with the woman he was married to for many years. Those kids were thrilled to discover their "long lost sister." My sister isn't interested in communicating with them, because there was no connection or knowledge of them throughout her life, so there was never any sense of loss for her. Our Mom had told my sister many years ago that the birth father knew she existed, and he chose to not have anything to do with her. It's awkward, but completely understandable why my sister isn't interested in that family. Skeletons in the closet, for sure. She's ours, and that's all that matters.

Dave

 

[TheHolleys87]

So is your new avatar a photo you found in your treasure trove? I’ve been wondering whether you replaced the 3-month old you with a slightly older one.

My sister is the genealogist for our family and has done a lot of work, tracing my father’s family especially because our last name is unusual and thus it’s easier to establish relationships. She has shared with me a lot of scans of old photos, but they don’t go back as far as yours do. I need to ask her whether she’s posting photos on her Ancestry pages.

 

[amycurl]

My husband comes from a large Irish Catholic family on his mother's side. One of his uncles (mom's brother) married into a large Hungarian family. So, there are many in both that generation and in Steve's generation. Fast forward about 25 years, and weddings are large, fun, and loud!

A daughter (my husband's cousin) of the Hungarian/Irish family gets married. At that wedding, one of his other cousins (son of a different brother of my DH's mother) hooked up with a bridesmaid (cousin of the bride on her mother's side; neice of the bride's mother.) That couple is now happily married nearly a decade later, with two kids. We visited them in Hawaii, where he was stationed, when their first child was a baby. Trying to explain to my daughter how she was related to that baby was fun!

On my side, my mother's paternal family can trace our geneology back to George Washington, and to first cave-dwelling the initial family settlers from England used while they built their first cabin near Philadelphia. The "family reunion" happens every year, and it even has its own nonprofit status. The residential school/camp that now owns the land where the cave and the initial house they built still sits allows us to hold the event there, in their event space, which is really pretty cool. I've gone a handful of times; my mother and aunt a few times more. I could join the DAR if I ever got a hankerin' to do so. But I've yet to hear the story about how the dark, curly hair and Mediterranean skin tone that I, my mother, her two siblings, and their mother all share came into the family bloodline (obviously, that's not from that part of the family.) These are the features that make FB think I'm Jewish (it's a long story,) other attendees at our local Greek festival think that I attend the host Greek Orthodox Church, and men in Italy hit on me in Italian.

 

[DaveNV]

So is your new avatar a photo you found in your treasure trove? I’ve been wondering whether you replaced the 3-month old you with a slightly older one.

My sister is the genealogist for our family and has done a lot of work, tracing my father’s family especially because our last name is unusual and thus it’s easier to establish relationships. She has shared with me a lot of scans of old photos, but they don’t go back as far as yours do. I need to ask her whether she’s posting photos on her Ancestry pages.

Yes, my new avatar is cutie-boy me, back in my "I coulda been a model!!" days, at just-turning 19 years old. This was the Summer of 1972. I was fresh out of Navy boot camp, and attending my first computer school at the Naval Training Center in San Diego. That base is now known as Liberty Station, and is a big shopping and dining area.

I found the negative of this image in a package of pictures, that I didn't even know I had. It was only after scanning the negative and converting it to a positive image that I was able to see what it was. I also shudder to think this was more than 50 years ago...

Dave

 

[DaveNV]

My husband comes from a large Irish Catholic family on his mother's side. One of his uncles (mom's brother) married into a large Hungarian family. So, there are many in both that generation and in Steve's generation. Fast forward about 25 years, and weddings are large, fun, and loud!

A daughter (my husband's cousin) of the Hungarian/Irish family gets married. At that wedding, one of his other cousins (son of a different brother of my DH's mother) hooked up with a bridesmaid (cousin of the bride on her mother's side; neice of the bride's mother.) That couple is now happily married nearly a decade later, with two kids. We visited them in Hawaii, where he was stationed, when their first child was a baby. Trying to explain to my daughter how she was related to that baby was fun!

On my side, my mother's paternal family can trace our geneology back to George Washington, and to first cave-dwelling the initial family settlers from England used while they built their first cabin near Philadelphia. The "family reunion" happens every year, and it even has its own nonprofit status. The residential school/camp that now owns the land where the cave and the initial house they built still sits allows us to hold the event there, in their event space, which is really pretty cool. I've gone a handful of times; my mother and aunt a few times more. I could join the DAR if I ever got a hankerin' to do so. But I've yet to hear the story about how the dark, curly hair and Mediterranean skin tone that I, my mother, her two siblings, and their mother all share came into the family bloodline (obviously, that's not from that part of the family.) These are the features that make FB think I'm Jewish (it's a long story,) other attendees at our local Greek festival think that I attend the host Greek Orthodox Church, and men in Italy hit on me in Italian.

That's a great combination! I love the idea of your Revolutionary War connections - so cool that the original house is still standing. I have a similar line going back on my Dad's side. Big names from back then, and lots of Colonial connections. My daughter says the DAR or SAR would have no issue with our family becoming members. There is one guy who directly reported to General Washington. I guess he was kind of a big deal. Maybe we're related?

On a younger note, much of my family history is ALL about the California Gold Rush. They were in the gold fields digging for their share, but I don't think anybody ever found much. Those who stayed became farmers in the area, and were joined by the Land Grant settlers who came after they'd served in the Civil War. The cemeteries between Sacramento and Red Bluff, California, are filled with generations of my relatives. Back in the 1980s, my Dad and Stepmother actually took a "gravestone vacation," where they went from cemetery to cemetery, and built a photo album for me with pictures of headstones, and anecdotes about the various family members buried in Northern California. It's weird, but kind of interesting to have.

Dave

 

[ScoopKona]

There's a flip side to genealogy.

From J.R.R. Tolkien:

“Kings built tombs more splendid than the houses of the living and counted the names of their descent dearer than the names of their sons. Childless lords sat in aged halls musing on heraldry or in high cold towers asking questions of the stars. And so the kingdom of Gondor sank into ruin, the line of kings failed, the white tree withered and the rule of Gondor was given over to lesser men. ” ​

This perfectly describes a few members of my family.

 

[Patri]

There's a flip side to genealogy.

From J.R.R. Tolkien:

“Kings built tombs more splendid than the houses of the living and counted the names of their descent dearer than the names of their sons. Childless lords sat in aged halls musing on heraldry or in high cold towers asking questions of the stars. And so the kingdom of Gondor sank into ruin, the line of kings failed, the white tree withered and the rule of Gondor was given over to lesser men. ” ​

Maybe lesser in royalty, but better people.

 

[magmue]

Eventually.