Inside My Family History Photo Books

This year I've been making a series of professional photo books as bite-sized family history projects, to be read, spark questions/conversations, and then saved for the future. Above, three from my family...two more are in the works for hubby's family.

Each of my photo books contains 20 pages, plus a glossy front and back cover. The front cover introduces the ancestors and how they are related to our family, plus a sentence or two to intrigue my readers. The covers are colorful and inviting to suggest a lively story inside. 

This is just my approach--yours may be different, depending on your goals and your audience. My goal is to share family history in a conversational way, with affection and an insider's perspective so descendants get to know the people and understand a bit about family dynamics back in the day. 

The interior can be expanded to many more pages but my readers (in the next generation and hopefully generations after that) don't need or want every last detail. If they want, they can take a look at my online trees to get every fact and review every document. 

"Black and white is boring" according to my audience, so every page pops with color, whether it's colorful text, a bright frame surrounding a photo or two-tone hearts or other embellishments. 

Curated content, illustrations and info

I curate the interior content to include basic info, life highlights, family relationships, and interesting stories, liberally illustrated with photos, maps, and snippets of genealogy documents (such as passport photos, ancestor signatures, etc). Inside a typical photo book is:

• Title page: Eye-catching photo(s) with a brief summary of how my readers are related to these people. I use wording such as..."Minnie and Teddy were the grandparents of X, Y, and Z, the great-grandparents of A, B, C, and D, the great-great grandparents of M, N, and O." Also on the title page, I include a quick overview of the arc of these ancestors' lives, like a story.
• Pages 2/3: Backstory of one ancestor, such as my grandma Minnie. Usually I begin with when she was born, who her parents were, birth order and siblings, place of birth and what was happening in that place/that family at that time. Any dramatic events are also included (death of a sibling, for instance). This two-page spread covers birth, childhood, and possibly immigration or education. Illustrations may be a map, a childhood photo(s), diploma, passenger manifest, birth record. Not a dry encyclopedia page, but a story.
• Pages 4/5: Backstory of another ancestor, such as my grandpa Teddy in a two-page spread. If this ancestor's early life intersects with the other ancestor covered in the book, I say where and when. Again, I look for the drama to keep readers turning the pages to find out what happens next. 
• Pages 6/7/8/9:  Following each ancestor's path from old country to new life in the United States. Occupation, helping family get settled, bringing more relatives along, how the ancestors met and their courtship and wedding. My maternal grandma Minnie and her family rode in a horse-drawn carriage to her wedding, which I noted in one book to bring the scene to life for readers. Minnie's parents were far from rich but they marked the day in style once they accepted her choice of husband (she rejected an arranged marriage). Also I included the bride and groom's signatures from their marriage cert. Not all ancestors could write well, but these two had flowing handwriting.
• Pages 10 through 15: Adult life/married life of these ancestors. For grandma Minnie and grandpa Teddy, I showed her with her children, described where they lived and the schools where the children were educated (using yearbook photos, autograph books as illustrations). I showed Teddy in his grocery store and told the story of how he was robbed during the Great Depression. Also I explained how the Farkas Family Tree (grandma's side) was founded and what role Teddy and Minnie and their children played in this organization, which lasted from 1933 to 1965. Large photos of big family events, with identification so the names and faces will be remembered. 
• Pages 16/17: What happened to the siblings/in-laws of these ancestors? In the Minnie/Teddy book, I briefly summarized the lives of their siblings and spouses if any, adding photos with captions so this isn't just a list of names. Each of my books has a couple of pages of "What happened to..." because those folks were part of the family tree, whether they lived close by or far away. 
• Page 18: My generation: I include photos of me and my Sis with some 1st and 2nd cousins as concrete links between family history of the past and relatives of today. I don't want cousins to be forgotten!
• Pages 19/20: Timeline of these ancestors' lives, in chronological order, from birth to immigration to marriage to children to later life to death and burial. I include Census years, saying that so-and-so was enumerated as living at ___ with occupation of ___. I might add that "cousin so-and-so was also living here," such as an immigrant cousin enumerated as a boarder. This is where I can mention many events that are "facts" but with a "story" angle. An address with context helps: "Fox Street in the South Bronx, at the time a good neighborhood for raising children." 

Have fun with your family history projects! 

Hubby's Ancestors Worked on the Railroad

As I create new family history photo books about my husband's maternal and paternal grandparents/great-grandparents, I'm doing a bit of research to provide historical, social, and economic context for their lives.

Wood carpenters worked for a railroad

Two of my husband's Wood ancestors, father and son carpenters, were employed by a giant railroad in Toledo. In the 1880 city directory, paternal great-grandpa Thomas Haskell Wood (1809-1890) is listed as "coach builder, LS & MS R'y." His son, hubby's great uncle Alfred O. Wood (1855-1895), is listed as "carpenter, LS & MS R'y." Not everyone's occupation was listed with an employer--clearly this employer was important to the economy in Toledo, Ohio.

At top, you can see that Toledo, Ohio was a major center of the Lake Shore & Michigan South Railway (known as the LS&MS). Look at all the railroad lines feeding into it, at the western edge of Lake Erie (red circle). Lots of employment opportunities in a growth industry! This railway system evolved over the years.

McClure ancestors worked for railroads

Other men in hubby's family tree also worked in the railroad industry. According to the 1880 US Census for Wabash, Indiana, my husband's maternal great-grandpa William Madison McClure (1849-1887) worked for a railroad. In the 1900 Census for Wabash, William's son John N. McClure (1840-1919) was enumerated as an engineer for a railroad. 

Another son of William, Brice Larimer McClure (1878-1970), hubby's maternal grandpa, also worked for a railroad, beginning about 1900. Family lore says he was a master mechanic for the Big Four, formed later than LS & MS and focused on travel in Ohio and the midwest.

Brice and his new bride (Floyda Mabel Steiner, 1878-1948), moved to Cleveland, Ohio in the middle of first decade of the 1900s. For at least a decade, they lived fairly close to the railyards there so he could easily commute to work. As a master mechanic with his own tools, he had his pick of jobs and worked in a variety of industries. In fact, he delayed retirement past the age of 65 to work during World War II, when his expertise was important to the war effort.

In my family history photo books, I'm going to summarize this interesting context in a few sentences plus include a map or two to inform descendants of how and where grandparents and great-grandparents made their living back in the day. 

New Family History Photo Book, New Surname Word Cloud

Working on a new family history photo book for my hubby's side of the family tree, I created this colorful surname word cloud for the back cover. I like to use the free WordClouds site. The bright colors, diverse fonts, and overall shape are intended to catch the attention of my readers, young and old. 

The front cover will have the wedding portraits of my husband's maternal grandparents, Floyda Steiner McClure (1878-1948) and Brice Larimer McClure (1878-1970), the main subjects of this book.

The point of making a professional photo book is that it looks polished and attractive, as well as being sturdy enough to last for a long time, so family history will live on and on. I see these books as worthwhile investments in perpetuating the story of our ancestors...buying on sale or with discounts to keep costs down.

This book, like my earlier photo books, will be heavy on captioned family photos and include cropped scans of a few key documents. Not one of my younger readers will have heard of a delayed birth record--something I hope will intrigue them.

Trying Different Archival Photo Albums

This year I've been experimenting with different types of archival photo albums, because I want the next generation to actually browse photos if they get the impulse. Before I join my ancestors, my goal is to caption and store all photos safely and conveniently. 

At top, two albums I'm trying out. At left is the Gaylord Archival Photo Preservation Album, which is actually a binder inside an archival box, easily stacked (it has reinforcing metal corners). At right is the sturdy Pioneer Pocket Photo Album, a tall album designed to stand upright or be stacked flat on a shelf.

I'm a fan of archival boxes in general, because they look neat and keep the contents flat and in good shape. Above, a peek inside the box, showing the three-ring binder and archival sleeves for 3.5" x 5" photos (or smaller sizes). I have dozens of tiny black-and-white photos taken by my late dad-in-law, which will fit in these sleeves and stay put. For caption purposes, I can include notes inside the box. An advantage is that the box will hold many more sleeves to store many more photos, which are doubly safe: inside sleeves and within the archival box. 

Here's a closeup of the Pioneer album, which holds archival sleeves for 4" x 6" photos (or smaller images sizes). I slipped in a few photos as part of my test. The sleeves have space for written captions next to photos, a real plus because I can jot notes as I go. Although these albums are too tall to stand upright on my bookshelf, they can lay flat or be stacked. In my first try, I crammed too many sleeves into the binder and had to order a second binder to hold the overflow (lesson learned). 

My test is a work in progress, and I don't have a clear preference quite yet. Either album format will keep photos in good shape for the future. No matter how you store your family photos, in albums or boxes or binders, I encourage you to think "archival" so the images and captions will be safe for the sake of many generations to come.

Leona Walasyk from Lodz Becomes Lee Wallace in Hackensack

Long, long before I came to know her as "Aunt Lee," Leona Z. Wallace (1903-1989) was working hard to get an education, help bring up her two younger brothers, and create a steady path to prosperity for the entire family. 

As shown in the last line of the above 1950 US Census excerpt, Lee was born in Poland. By the 1930s, possibly earlier, Lee had Americanized her name to Wallace, and until I saw the 1950 Census I wasn't sure what her surname used to be. In 1950, she was enumerated as a "head of household" despite living in the same very nice home in Hackensack, New Jersey with her two brothers, Charles Walasyk and Edward Walasyk, who never changed their names.* Correction: They changed their names later in life.

Charles, also enumerated as a head, was married with two children in the household, working as a salesman. In addition, their brother Edward, a water engineer, was staying with them in Hackensack. He was married and actually lived elsewhere with his family, but was enumerated with his siblings on this Census day in 1950. 

My research shows Edward was not born in Poland but actually in New Jersey, as was Charles, so I'm fairly sure none of the Walasyk/Wallace siblings actually spoke with the enumerator in 1950. Talk about prosperity: The spacious Hackensack home where they all lived in 1950 is now updated and worth a pretty penny. 

Back in 1950, Lee was doing quite well, which you wouldn't know from simply reading her enumerated occupation: "public relations, department store." 

I've written before that Lee headed up the famous, fabulous Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for a number of years, including 1950. Around this time, my mother's twin sister Dorothy went to work for Macy's and met Lee. The two hit it off, personally and professionally.

Not only did they work on the parade together, they were hired to assist with the annual Barnum Festival in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1953. In March of that year, the Bridgeport Telegram reported that Miss Lee Wallace had "built up the Macy parade to the biggest balloon parade in the country." The final sentence of the news item reads: "Accompanying Miss Wallace was Miss Dorothy H. Schwartz, her associate." 

My aunt Dorothy Schwartz (1919-2001) soon left the world of parades and publicity to become a high school teacher in the Bronx, driving from New Jersey every work day. I later learned that Lee and Dorothy were savvy with their household finances, being able to afford a brand new car every other year as well as annual summer and winter vacations. Aunt Lee had no trace of an accent, and she never spoke of her past to me, a little girl who appreciated her affection and attention.

This week's #52Ancestors prompt from Amy Johnson Crow is "prosperity."

In Beta at Ancestry: Top Hints Feature

 In beta at Ancestry is a feature called Top Hints, which I'm exploring this week.

The leaf symbol captioned "beta" in the image above is where to click for "top hints for 10 people in your tree." Not every Ancestry member may have this new feature, but it is interesting because it calls attention to people from across the tree, people I may have not worked on recently. I know, I know, hints can be misleading or outright ridiculous. But ya just never know, so I do look now and then. This feature is like a variety-pack of hints from across the tree.

Clicking on the beta leaf brought up the list at right in the image. One name is blank here because it's a living relative. To look at the hints in more detail, click on the down arrow at right of each name. In my first list of hints, all were actual records or indexes, like Census documents, marriage/death indexes, or draft registrations, which I can evaluate individually. No ship illustrations or DNA strands, so far. 

Above, how Ancestry explains and introduces "Top Hints."

For me, Top Hints is something to check first thing in the morning before I dive into an ongoing project, or when I have a spare 10-15 minutes at any point. Take a look and see whether you have this beta feature and how well it works for you.

As you can see from the image at top, I'm also having fun with the new fan feature in Ancestry, which I learned about from a blog post by Diane Henriks. I haven't been able to change the number of generations displayed, so as she says, this feature must still be in beta. I like the suggested ancestors shown in green on the fan, hints that I can review and, mostly, reject unless there's solid evidence to investigate. 

IMHO, I'm the quality assurance person on my family trees, deciding whether to accept or reject any hint after looking at the source's credibility and relevance. Most "possible parent" hints get rejected, but occasionally those with real sources lead me in promising new directions. 

Honor Roll: Part 5, Korean War Veterans from Bethlehem, Connecticut

This is my final post transcribing names of military veterans from memorial plaques on the historic green of Bethlehem, Connecticut. The first post in this series explains the purpose of the Honor Roll Project, originated by Heather Wilkinson Rojo and hosted here. 

Roll of Honor

Dedicated to the men and women of the town of Bethlehem who served their country during the Korean War, June 25, 1950-January 9, 1955 - Erected by the Citizens of Bethlehem, May 30, 1982

Glen C. Adams, Sr.

Richard O. Anderson

Curtiss Bate

Hugh L. Bronson

Raymond W. Brown

Frank Bosko

Robert H. Box

Elbert V. Box

Roger Clark

Frank L. Convard

Dolores A. Dauch

Robert J. Dauch

Edward D. Everitt

Gordon J. Fredsall

Kenneth Harlow

Walter L. Hunt

John T. Knudsen

Sally L. Lorensen

Gerald A. Minor

Patsy Narciso

Marvin Parris

Ralph A. Petruzzi

Vincent J. Skelte

Ernest Sommers

Earle R. Thompson

Calvin C. Wiltshire

Alan J. Woodward

A Family of Tradesmen = My Summer Favorite In-Laws

This summer, my favorite in-laws (in my husband's family tree) are the Cornwell family, a multigenerational family of silversmiths/watchmakers/jewelry store proprietors. 

Asenath Cornwell (1808-1897) married James Larimer (1806-1847), my hubby's 3d great-grand uncle. As I posted a few months ago, Asenath was widowed early and made the bold decision to go to the Gold Rush with her brother, John Cornwell, in 1852. Brother and sister wrote journals of their journey and experiences. The journals are fascinating first-person accounts of that time and place. 

John Cornwell (1812-1883) was a lifelong jeweler, watchmaker, and silversmith. He understood the value of gold and was sorely disappointed not to find very much during his Gold Rush years. No doubt his family was disappointed as well, since his wife and children remained in Athens, Ohio, when he was panning for gold in California. Occasionally John put gold dust into a letter for his wife Ann, but he never struck it rich. 

Returning to Athens in 1856, John opened the jewelry store that successive generations of Cornwell descendants operated until 2019. As shown in the Census lines at top, John's occupation in 1860 was watchmaker, in 1870 it was silver smith, and in 1880 it was jewelry (creatively spelled).

John's son David Coleman Cornwell (1844-1938) served in Company B of the 141st Regt of the Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the US Civil War. After the war, he followed the family trade, becoming a silversmith and jeweler. Retiring in his 60s, David was already twice widowed. 

Still, he couldn't stop thinking about a young lady he used to know from Athens, Ellen Jane Sams (1855-1938). Somehow David tracked her down in Illinois, according to a news report in May of 1909, discovered she too had been widowed, and quickly proposed. They were happily married for 29 years until Ellen's death in 1938. David died just a few months later. 

With colorful stories like these, you can see why the Cornwell in-laws are my summer favorites.

"Tradesman" is Amy Johnson Crow's genealogy prompt for this week in her #52Ancestors series. 

Honor Roll: Part 4, Vietnam War Veterans from Bethlehem, Connecticut

In this 4th post about military memorials on the green at Bethlehem, Connecticut, I'm transcribing the wording and names of veterans from this stately plaque as part of the Honor Roll Project. My first post explains the overall project. The goal is to transcribe veterans' names and make them more accessible for descendants and relatives who search online. 

Roll of Honor

Dedicated to the young men and women of the community, who by their patriotism and loyalty served God and country during the Viet-Nam War, December 22, 1961-May 7, 1975

Erected by the citizens of Bethlehem, May 30, 1982

Glen B. Adams

J. Rodney Albert

Arthur Banks

Stewart W. Banks

Scott H. Beardsley

John D. Benjamin

Dwight C. Bennett

Charles C. Bock

John A. Bosco, Jr.

Bonita J. Bouffard

Raymond A. Boulanger, Jr.

Roy L. Boulanger

Ronald W. Box

Thomas E. Box

Raymond W. Brown

Walter W. Brutting

David C. Butkus, Sr.

Philip P. Butkus

Raymond T. Butkus

Charles Clifford

Robert Clifford

Anthony Communale

Thomas S. Doran, Jr.

Thomas C. Fitzgerald

Brenda R. Gallop

Edward P. Goodwin

Ronald S. Graves

George S. Haburey

Scott Huber

William Huber

Wright L. Jimmo, Jr.

Richard O. Johnson

James V. Kacerguis

Matthew J. Kacerguis

Peter A. Kacerguis

Ernest T. Kleinheinz, Jr.

David A. Kmetetz

Leland W. Krake III

Thomas S. Krake

Douglas Krantz

Richard Krantz

Paul Maddox

Philip A. Mansfield

Matthew P. March, Jr.

Thomas C. McEvoy

James B. Melesky

Dustin Merrill

James W. Meskun

Gerald E. Meskun

Gearld A. Minor

Michael Mitchell

Justin F. Moore

Edward M. Nelson

David W. Nurnberger

Daniel P. O'Neil

Stephen J. Palauskas

James T. Patterson

Samuel C. Patterson

Kenneth R. Pearsall

Karl G. Pelzer

Thomas Piazza, Jr.

David A. Pierson

Michael J. Petruzzi

John E. Plungis

Gary A. Rand

John J. Rockwell

Randolph L. Richards

Ricky Russell

Anthony M. Satula

Ward M. Sheehan

James T. Shupenis

Gerald C. Stockwell

Jon F. Stockwell

Albert T. Szubka

Daniel P. Tanuis, Sr.

Charles W. Thompson, Jr.

Stephan Trapper

George C. Turner, Jr.

Arthur F. Thorsen

Porter L. Woodcock

Ronald Woodcock

Honor Roll: Part 3, WWII Veterans from Bethlehem, Connecticut

This is Part 3 in my series, photographing and transcribing names of veterans memorialized on plaques gracing the historic town green in Bethlehem, Connecticut. Part 1 explains more about the Honor Roll Project by Heather Wilkinson Rojo. This WWII plaque, unlike any of the previous Bethlehem plaques I transcribed, includes the name of a servicewoman, Ruth H. Goodrich.

Bethlehem WWII veterans plaque

The plaque intro reads:

Erected by the people of the Town of Bethlehem to commemorate the patriotism and loyalty of those who served their country during World War II. Dedicated 1947.

*Peter S. Sproule [star usually indicates war casualty]

Clifford Adams
Leon W. Banks 
Thomas C. Bate, Jr.

Samuel L. Benedict

Elbert V. Box

Ian Braley

John Butkus

John P. Butterly

Cleland E. Dopp

Terrance F. Dowling

Rev. George G. Finlay

Leon J. Grabow

Milton L. Grabow 

Ruth H. Goodrich

Paul L. Johnson

Bryan T. Keilty

John G. Kelly
Mark G. Kitchin

Robert C. Knudsen

Nicholas Krause

Carl A. Lynn

Mahlon A. Lynn

R. Elwood Lynn

Robert W. Lynn

John A. Majauskas

Wesley C. Meskun

Ames T. Minor

Truman S. Minor

George P. Oren

H. Brainard Risley

Allan S. Root

Joseph R. Sabot

Edward J. Skelte

Vincent J. Skelte

Vincent T. Skeltis

William R. Smith Jr.

Joseph A. Stevens

Waldo M. Swinton

Theodore M. Traub

Arnold S. Waldron

Elmer C. Wiltshire

Anthony F. Winslow

Alan J. Woodward

Charles F. Woodward

Earl L. Wooster Jr.

Joseph R. Shupenis

Honor Roll: Part 2, War of 1812 Veterans from Bethlehem, Connecticut

In this second part of my series of posts for Heather Wilkinson Rojo's Honor Roll Project, I photographed and transcribed this plaque honoring the military veterans of Bethlehem, Connecticut, who served America during the War of 1812. Part 1 shows veterans of Bethlehem who served in WWI and the US Civil War.

Dedicated to the Men of Bethlehem Who by Their Devotion and Loyalty Preserved Our Country in the War of 1812

Allen James

Amos Baldwin

Eli Barnum

Issac Beebe

Lyman Beecher

Oliver Burton

Daniel Coe

Samuel Church

Austin Canfield

David Fairfield

Ezra French

Benjamin Frisbie

Spencer Gibbs

George Hannah

Austin Hine

Elijah Hine

Talman Hubbell

Abijah Hyde

Levi Jackson

Adam C. Kasson

Horace Kimball

Horatio Kimball

Seymour Knapp

Philo Levenworth

Jabez Lewis

Fred Luddington

Austin Lum

Harmon Munger

Sheldon Price

Freeman Seeley

John N. Seymour

James B. Skidmore

John Smith

Joseph Steele

Jeremiah Stevens

Norman Stone

William R. Williams

Linus Wilcox

Erected by the Citizens of the Town of Bethlehem, 1987

Honor Roll: Veterans from Bethlehem, Connecticut

 

On a beautiful summer's day, Sis and I visited Veteran's Memorial Park in Bethlehem, Connecticut for a quilt show. During that visit, we photographed a number of dignified plaques remembering local veterans who served their country in the American Revolution, War of 1812, Civil War, WWI, WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam War. 

Honor Roll Project

My photos and transcriptions are part of Heather Wilkinson Rojo's Honor Roll Project. Although she is not actively promoting this project these days, due to lack of interest during the pandemic years, I'm delighted she will add my Bethlehem links to her project page.

The meaning of this project, in Heather's words: "The transcribed names make the soldiers available for search engines, so that descendants and family members can find them on the internet."

This is the first in a multipart series honoring the military veterans of Bethlehem, CT whose names are inscribed on the town's memorial plaques. Part 2 features veterans from the War of 1812. Part 3 features WWII veterans. Part 4 features Vietnam War veterans. Part 5 features Korean War veterans.

Bethlehem Memorial: Civil War and WWI

This plaque reads:

A tribute to the valor of the men of Bethlehem who fought for freedom and humanity 

Civil War, 1861-1865

Frederick Adkins
Joseph Boyce
Gideon D. Crane
William B. Crane

Francis Dugan

John Ferry

George W. Garthwait

James H. Gilbert

Frederick D. Holmes

Daniel Hunt

Alexander Kasson

Edgar N. Kasson

Albert J. Lounsbury

Charles Lynn

Richard Magee

Olin Nash

Dexter Northrop

Horson Northrop

John K. Northrop

Patrick O'Rourke

James Oswald

Timothy C. Spencer

Abram B. Tolles

Philip L. Waldron

George Williams

George A. Wright

World War, 1917-1919

Harry A. Anderson

Herman A. Anderson

Vincent W. Atwood

Clark G. Bennett

Arthur E. Bloss

Elbert H. Box

Howard M. Box

Harry J. Bristol

Edward P. Crane

Leroy A. Fogg

Walter W. Holmes

Harold H. Hoyt

Raymond H. Hurlburt

Frederick C. Judd

Stanley A. Marchukaitis

Harold G. Peterson

Kenneth W. Raymond

LeRoy E. Sanford

William T. Sanford

Jesse E. Smith

William R. Smith

Joseph R. Stevens

Henry C.H. Stewart

Burras C. Traub

Celebrating My 15th Blogiversary

One hot summer night in 2008, I decided to begin blogging about my genealogy adventures. I had been tracing my family's roots for a decade by then. 

What to name my new blog? I remember trying one or two names, but they were already in use by others using the Blogger platform. Then I typed in Climbing My Family Tree and was pleasantly surprised to discover no one else had that blog name (on Blogger). 

Early posts were about questions I was trying to answer and some of the clues I was beginning to find. Soon I was posting about family history artifacts, useful resources, research trips, conference sessions and exhibit halls, mystery photos, cemetery visits, plus lots of unexpected detours and surprise discoveries. 

Best of all, my blog has been terrific cousin bait, bringing me together with some wonderful relatives I didn't even know I had. Whether close or distant, cousins who have gotten in touch have all added to my knowledge of ancestors and our family tree, for which I am grateful.

The WayBack Machine began archiving my blog in the fall of 2011. At that point, I had three badges on my blog plus a "Blogging for Ancestors" widget that used to be a loose connection between genealogy blogs, as shown here.  

By now I've written more than 1700 blog posts about my ancestors and my husband's ancestors. These have served as an ongoing "first draft of family history" as I create projects to preserve my family's past for the sake of future generations. More posts to come as I embark on my Sweet Sixteenth year of blogging. 

With the social media world still in flux due to changes on X/Twitter and other sites, I plan to continue blogging as a way to share family history adventures in my own words, in my own time. Thank you for reading!

Are Genealogy Blogs Still Relevant?

Years ago, I followed and browsed hundreds of genealogy blogs each week. Some focused on the blogger's own family's history; some explained technical aspects of genealogy; some discussed researching specific geographic locations or ethnic groups; some examined old family photos; some documented particular cemeteries; some profiled military ancestors; and on and on. 

I didn't read every post, but I skimmed whatever caught my eye and sometimes found myself marveling at somebody's unexpected discovery. Found myself cheering for bloggers who found elusive ancestors, following along as bloggers visited graveyards or ancestral villages in search of new connections, hoped bloggers would finally get their hands on something that confirmed long-held hypotheses. 

From genealogy bloggers, I learned so many new tips and tricks that helped me with specific websites or software or research resources or translation challenges. Along the way, I enjoyed getting a sense of each blogger's personality, interests, and family history background. 

That was then, this is now

Today, after removing bloggers who haven't posted anything at all in 2023, my feed is down to just 45 genealogy blogs--some of which have only a handful of posts so far this year. In addition, I periodically dip into selected blogs written by Geneabloggers members. But here again, some bloggers have ceased posting in recent years or post quite irregularly. 

I know there are bloggers who've transitioned to videos and podcasts rather than writing individual blog posts. Also some have chosen a deep dive into more interactive social media and cut back on blog posts. 

Meanwhile, the world of social media has been fragmented in recent months by the ongoing turmoil on Twitter/X and the emergence of competitors such as Mastodon and BlueSky and Threads and ... [fill in the blank with latest and greatest]. Thankfully, Facebook genealogy groups continue to offer advice and assistance when participants need local knowledge or research suggestions. Although I'm not on Instagram, some genealogy folks love the platform. I'm on Pinterest but only to pin my blog posts. 

Why read? Why blog?

Despite all the alternatives, I believe genealogy blogs are still relevant. In fact, I hope blogging (or family history websites) will be making a comeback. The genealogy community is strong and vibrant and generous with help and ideas. I can't count the number of times I've learned about a new technique or specialized resource from a blogger, and as a result, made a fresh discovery or gained fresh insight. 

With a genealogy blog, I can write what I like, whenever I feel like writing, and it's available for you whenever you feel like reading. Nobody is restricting the length of my blog posts or the topics or how many posts I can write. Nobody is throttling your ability to follow my blog or read any post. I get blogging ideas from my own research, from the brickwalls I face or the discoveries I make, from posts by other bloggers, from comments by readers, and from prompts such as the #52Ancestors series from Amy Johnson Crow.

As I've said in the past, for privacy reasons, I don't name living relatives. If I want to mention a relative who's alive and kicking, I might refer to "Cousin B" or "Philly Cuz." My personal choice is to avoid posting family history info that might cause distress or harm to someone still living. So far as I know, there are no bigamists or murderers in my family tree, but if I discovered one and a descendant was still alive, I wouldn't blog about that situation. 

And, as a reader pointed out in a comment, blogs are excellent cousin bait, today and tomorrow. Posts are available 24/7 whenever anyone is searching for a surname or ancestral town that I've mentioned at any point in the past.

I've been on this genealogy journey for 25 years, and blogging about it for nearly 16 years (my Sweet Sixteen blogiversary is in a few days). If you're a genealogy blogger, I thank you for helping me along on this journey and inspiring me to keep digging. If you're not blogging, maybe this is a good time to begin?

Dating Family Photos and Investigating Photographers

Most of the old family photos I inherited had no dates but had some clues to help me determine when, not just who. Now MyHeritage had introduced its new PhotoDater feature, which provides an estimated date as a starting point if we need clues. IMHO, it's a very exciting feature that is well worth taking for a spin.

Dates plus/minus 5 years

The first photo I tried was of my Dad, Harold Burk (1909-1978), holding his elementary school diploma after graduating from PS 171 in East Harlem, NYC. (Today, that school is Patrick Henry Elementary School.) Since I have Dad's diploma, I know the exact date of graduation, even though there is no year noted on the photo itself. In less than a minute after I uploaded this photo, MyHeritage's PhotoDater suggested an estimated date of 1923. Right on the nose! 

Although I don't expect PhotoDater to pinpoint the exact year for every photo, this is a quick and easy way to estimate the dates of mystery photos, in particular. Be aware that the feature typically provides a date that is plus or minus 5 years. Also, the technology intended to date photos taken between 1860 and 1990.

Of course, nothing replaces the in-depth expertise and insights of professionals like Maureen Taylor, the Photo Detective and Sherlock Cohn, the Photo Genealogist. But estimating the date of a family history photo via PhotoDater can at least put me on track toward more complete identification. I highly recommend this new feature and suggest you give it a try! For more info, see the MyHeritage blog here.

Researching a photographer?

Since all four of my immigrant grandparents settled in New York City, I was pleased to discover the NYC Public Library's Photographers' Identities Catalog. This database isn't confined to the Big Apple, but it does have many of the photographers who snapped my ancestors' posed portraits.

Above, I filtered my catalog search by surname of the photographer, Beldegreen. Two are in the catalog--including the one I sought, Gustave Beldegreen. 

Below, when I clicked on Gustave Beldegreen in the results, I got this page, showing that some of his photos are in the collection of the Museum of Jewish Heritage (link also), sources of info (links), and birth/death dates, studio locations. I can compare the studio locations with the home addresses of my ancestors to narrow down the date/place if the photographer's full info is missing from an old photo. Try this with one of the photographers from an old family photo in your collection! Again, the link to the catalog is here.

ONE MORE LINK! Thanks to a kind geneadon on Mastodon, here's a link to Langdon's List of US photographers active in the 19th and 20th centuries. My guy Beldegreen is on the list, having been named in a city directory. Another resource new to me!