MyHeritage Makes Digital Photo Repair Easy

MyHeritage has a brand-new feature that instantly repairs old family photos with a click (or two if you want to be fussier).

I tried it first with one of my treasured ancestral photos from the Schwartz family. 

"Before" - damage

The original photo, showing siblings of my maternal Grandpa Theodore Schwartz (1887-1965), had some damage after more than a century.

In the upper-left corner, as shown in this "before" screen shot, is the "new" feature, with an icon that looks like a bandage. Clicking on the bandage starts the repair process. (For more details, see MyHeritage's video.)

"After" - damage nearly gone!

Here's what this precious photo looks like after using MyHeritage's repair feature.

The damage has been largely repaired.

If I don't like this "gentle" version of the repair, I can click on the three dots at top right (inside the oval) and try a more extensive repair. And I can always revert back to the unrepaired photo if I choose.

Bring ancestral photos to life

Now take a look at what I did to another special ancestral photo. The original, not in color, was from the 1930s, showing Grandpa Teddy in his dairy store in the Bronx, NY.

Here is the "after" version, with the settings visible on the side. I not only used extensive repair, I also colorized the photo. Again, all changes can be reversed.

Doesn't Grandpa Teddy look lively behind the counter, with colorful products on back shelves and biscuits in glass jars above the egg bins?

I really appreciate these practical and easy-to-use photo features from MyHeritage!

Decoration Day at the Cemetery, 1961

Decoration Day was originally a day set aside in May for putting flowers on the graves of those who died in the U.S. Civil War. 

Then, 50 years ago, in 1971, the U.S. Congress declared Memorial Day as a national holiday for honoring those who died in all wars, fixed on the last Monday in May. 

Decoration Day, 1961

My late father-in-law (Edgar James Wood, 1903-1986) and mother-in-law (Marian McClure Wood, 1909-1983) always observed Decoration Day by driving from their home in Cleveland, Ohio, to bring flowers to cemeteries where their parents and other ancestors were buried. 

For the Wood family, decorating graves on this day was part of honoring and remembering loved ones who had died, not necessarily in war. 

As shown at top, Edgar's diary for May 29, 1961 discussed decorating the joint grave of his parents at Highland Park Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio: "...M [his wife Marian] & I stopped at Highland Park Cemetery & decorated grave, then to Marty's Turfside for dinner." 

His diary for the following day recorded a visit to historic Old Mission Cemetery in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, where Marian's mother and great aunts/uncles were buried. They picked up Marian's father to make the trip together. 

After decorating the grave, they had a picnic lunch at the cemetery and stopped to see nearby relatives before returning home. Marian's father was laid to rest in Old Mission Cemetery in 1970. Hubby and I traveled to Old Mission Cemetery a few years ago to pay our respects to the McClure and Steiner ancestors buried there.

Digital Decoration Day, 2021

This year, we are leaving digital flowers on the Find a Grave memorials for ancestors whose graves were decorated by Edgar and Marian on Decoration Day, 60 years ago. 

Rest in peace, dear ancestors, you are remembered with fondness. 

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"At the Cemetery" is this week's theme for #52Ancestors. 

My 1950 U.S. Census Release To-Do List: Ready to Browse Adjacent EDs

Looking ahead to the release of the 1950 Census on April 1, 2022, I'm thinking about the residential situation of my ancestors. 

Own or rent?

A few city dwellers could afford to buy, and they also had a telephone. That means I should be able to easily find their address (and then their Enumeration District), and be ready to browse images in that part of the 1950 population schedule.

However, a good number of my big-city ancestors changed addresses every few years as they moved from one rented apartment to another. Family stories told of convincing new landlords to allow a rent-free month in exchange for a new lease, or a fresh coat of paint in exchange for renewing a lease. 

Usually, new addresses were only a few city blocks away. In Census terminology, that might be the same or an adjacent Enumeration District.

City blocks and ancestor proximity

Take the case of my great uncle Morris Mahler (1888-1958). The last definite address I have for him is 739 East 220th Street in the Bronx, New York, listed on his 1942 WWII draft card. This is shown on the map at top. 

It's a private home, but I don't know whether Morris and his wife Carrie Etschel Mahler (1885-1962) owned or rented. I'm going to check phone and city directories in search of a more recent address. 

This address is only a few blocks away from the apartments of his sister, Henrietta Mahler Burk (1881-1954) and three of her grown children (including my Dad). Very possibly, if Morris was a renter, he would continue to rent not far from the rest of the family.

Key Tool: ED Finder

I previously used the convenient Unified Census ED Finder (thank you, Steve Morse and Joel Weintraub) to locate the ED for my Dad's big apartment building (3-1634). Using the same powerful tool, I located the ED for Morris Mahler's home address on 220th Street (3-1616).

I also noted the four streets that form the boundary around Morris's city block (see the ovals on the map). I can use them, with the Unified Census ED Finder, to identify adjacent EDs in case Morris did move before April 1, 1950.

I see a lot of clicking and browsing in my future when the Census is released next year!

Siblings and In-Laws Are Great Cousin Bait on Family Trees

 

Siblings and in-laws are really good cousin bait on any family tree!

Admittedly, my online family trees sprawl a bit. I include not just my direct line but also siblings/spouses of my direct line and their descendants. And often I go generations back for in-laws, too. After a couple of generations, this makes for a large and rather horizontal tree.

But without those siblings and in-laws, how would cousins know that we belong to the same family tree?

When cousins come across my public trees, they're looking for familiar names. Names in their direct line will be familiar, whereas names in my direct line might not be as familiar. 

So by including the siblings of my great-grandparents, plus spouses/descendants, I'm inviting my cousins to see their ancestors on my tree and get in touch. It's happened more than once!

#CousinBait is this week's #52Ancestors prompt from Amy Johnson Crow.

More Bite-Sized Bios for Veteran Ancestors

With Memorial Day on the way, I'm writing bite-sized bios for ancestors who served in the military. These are focused little projects that I can complete and share in a short time.

Also, I'm thinking creatively about other ways to remember vets in my family tree and show appreciation for their service.

Memorial Page for Louis Volk

At right, part of a Memorial Page I created on Fold3.com to honor the life and military service of my great uncle Louis Volk (1889-1952), who married my grandma's sister Ida Mahler (1892-1971) in 1920. Creating the page was free, because I access Fold3 through my state library system.

I wrote a few sentences about Louis Volk's life, including his Army assignment to an Alabama munitions plant during World War I. Then I uploaded his photo (captioned with name/dates) and a copy of the NY state record summarizing his WWI military experience (a key source). This is a way to thank great uncle Louis for his service and keep his memory alive for future generations.

Veterans Memorialized on Cemetery Sites

Several of my great uncles in the Farkas family tree also served in World War I. They were buried at Mt. Hebron Cemetery in New York, which is creating a database of veterans laid to rest there. 

As shown above, I submitted a few details about great uncle Albert Farkas (1888-1956), including the war, years served, and branch of military. 

In addition, I noted his military service on his Find a Grave memorial page and linked all relatives, making it easier for descendants to learn about his life. More ways to keep his memory alive and highlight his service to country.

Posting Ancestor Bios for Memorial Day

With Memorial Day only weeks away, I'm busy writing and posting brief bios of my ancestors and my husband's ancestors who served in the military.

Some of these bios were previously written for bite-sized family history projects. I'm condensing and repurposing the content to share more widely on genealogy websites, including Family Search, MyHeritage, Find a Grave, WikiTree, Fold3, and more.

Where I have no bio written, I'm doing research as the basis for a short narrative of each ancestor's life, with particular emphasis on military service. This is a plus for my genealogy research, because I'm double-checking my trees, adding people/facts/sources where missing, and getting more familiar with military databases.

At top, excerpt from the three-paragraph "memory" I posted to FamilySearch.org, honoring my husband's 1c3r Ira Caldwell (1839-1926), a Union Army veteran from the U.S. Civil War. I used the topic tag "US Civil War" to identify the topic of this story beyond the ancestor tag.

Below, part of the bite-sized bio of Train Caldwell McClure (1843-1934) I posted on MyHeritage.com. He was my husband's 2d great uncle, another Union Army veteran. As I compiled facts for this bio, I added family members and research to my tree, and resolved a couple of inconsistencies. 

After I finish documenting the Civil War vets in my hubby's tree, I'm going to write brief bios of veterans of other wars (from his tree and my tree) and post online to honor their memory for Memorial Day.

Coloring The Mom-in-Law I Never Met

Although I never met my mother-in-law, Marian Jane McClure Wood (1909-1983), it has been my honor to keep her memory alive through family trees and bite-sized family history projects. And captioned photos!

At top, a page from the ancestor coloring book I created for the Wood family. Marian is shown with her husband, Edgar James Wood (1903-1986). 

I began with a color portrait of the two, then used photo software to turn the color into black-and-white. Next, I used the "pencil sketch" feature to soften the contrast and allow plenty of white space for coloring. 

This page of the coloring book mentions relationships, for their grandchildren to note when they color. I'll change the relationship info for the youngest generation soon.

Posting Photos and a Bio on Genealogy Sites

Another way I'm memorializing my mom-in-law is to post photos (with attribution "courtesy: Wood family") on Family Search, MyHeritage, Find a Grave, Ancestry, and other genealogy sites. I've also posted her brief bio on these and other sites. 

I feel a bit sad that I never met my mother-in-law...but every day is Mother's Day as I memorialize her for future generations.

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Mother's Day is this week's #52Ancestors prompt from Amy Johnson Crow.