Help to Identify Family Photos



Everyone has a collection of vintage family photos with no name, date or location on them. Some of the people pictured may have lived decades before anyone living today was even born.

However, to help with some identification here are a couple of ideas. Number one is to check with some of your older living relatives. That includes all branches of the family. Even if you think the photo was from your father’s side of the family, send it to be reviewed by relatives on your mother’s side. Have those relatives do their best at the time frame, location and names, even if it is a guess. But do note that the correct information still must be confirmed.

With the Internet, another good method is to download that photo digital image to the Google Image search box. It could be that same image is held by another person you do not know and it is posted on their family web site. This method with Google Image search is good for locations. Maybe you have a town street scene, with no identification at all. Post that scene and it could very well be already identified on another site.

To do this go to the Google Image search and click on the camera icon to the right side of the box. Next, you did need to scan the unknown photo and now you can upload that image from the folder on your computer. Highlight the photo title and click ‘open’. Do a search and see if any other sites have that photo or a similar one. If nothing is found, do not be discouraged, try again in 1 to 2 months and continue every few months until you get a hit. New postings come online every day. There could be another family even with distance ties that could provide a name to that photo.

Keep a folder with these unknown photos so you have them handy to do a search every few months.

Photos: Undefined photos of the Capt. Charles A. Edason family of Brooklyn, NY and Jensen Beach, FL.

Related FamilyTree.com Blogs:

Alternative Family Photos

Finding Other Family Members

Lost Photos

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