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Tuesday’s Tip: Compare Photos Carefully and in Context- The Frances “Fannie” Isabella (Brown) Chapman Photo Collection

Lizzie Speery
Lizzie Speery

Beerbower Family (Click for Family Tree)

Any family historian lucky enough to find a batch of photos is likely to find some in that batch that are not labeled, or have incomplete labels. Sometimes a photo might include just a first name, or a place, or a date- frustratingly often just one of these, or just nothing. After all, the original owner knew who all the people were, so why put names on them??

Tuesday’s Tip: Study each photo individually to glean as much information as possible, but also look at the photo in context with others found with it, and others you may have.

These photos were in the Fannie Belle Brown Chapman Collection. The family believes these were friends and/or schoolmates of Fannie and her sister Ida, and hope that they can find descendants and give them the images. (Contact us if you are related!)

So how does one sort out who is who?

  1. Keep collections or boxes, envelopes, scrapbooks, etc. of photos together; include the negatives if you have them.
  2. Making a scan or taking a picture of them all laid out in the order you received them might be helpful.
  3. If you are scanning a scrapbook, scan each page and number accordingly, then scan individual photos at a higher resolution. This will help keep the images in context.
  4. Label your scans appropriately. Include the name of the collection, side of the family, type of image, and anything you can add to help ID the photo. An example of a file name for the above picture might be:Year_four digit month/day_SPEERY_Lizzie_fm Fannie Belle Brown Chapman Collection_tintypeThis will ‘automagically’ sort your images by date and person; I use individual family folders and when people become adults, they get a new folder with the two names:CHAPMAN_Unknown- BROWN_Fannie BelleI usually put the husband’s name first, as adult records are generally under that name for both of them.
  5. Now that you have familiarized yourself with the collection as you scanned the images, and have a record of their context, look at each image carefully. Look at them in a variety of lights, and tilt them in the light to see if you can find any markings on them- both pencil and ink fade over time, but sometimes the ‘graphite’ of a pencil will glisten if angled just right in the light, or there may be an impression where the writer pressed hard. Enlarge your digital images- sometimes the camera will pick up something your eye did not.
  6. Write down everything you know about the image, using metadata, and a text file that has the same name as the photo but ends in ‘.txt.’ (TextWrangler is a good text app for Macs.)
  7. Look for clues in the photos. For example, the above photo was labeled as, “Lizzie Speery.” Looking at other photos, there was another, older Lizzie in the group:
    Lizzie
    Lizzie

    It is hard to read the writing, but this photo definitely says, “Lizzie”- maybe ‘Hines’? Then it looks like the name of a city, and possibly ‘NY” after.

    Think about the context- two Lizzies, the only person to have 2 photos in the collection. Different last names, but the first image was a young girl, the second a mature woman, and the different last name is likely a married name.

    Could these Lizzies be the same person with some years in between photos? Take a look at her eyes, chin, nose- what do you think? (Let us know in the comments.)

  8. Try to date the photos by dress, type of image, etc. Maureen Taylor, “The Photo Detective,” has excellent books, webinars, classes, speaks at genealogy conferences, and will even do video/phone consults; there are other resources as well to help determine approximate time periods. In the case of our two Lizzies, dating each photo might help us determine if they could possibly be the same person. Lizzie might have been a childhood friend or a distant cousin, possibly who moved away, but then the women exchanged photos in later years?
  9. If there is information available about a photo studio on the back of the image, use Google to try to learn when and where the photographer was in business to give you clues. They often changed the backs of photos as they added a partner or one moved on, or just to update their look or logo. Sometimes images on eBay can even help one determine the years a photo studio was in business, giving you another clue to time period.
  10. Crowd-source your detective hunt by posting your unknown photos on a blog, a website such as DeadFred, Facebook, etc.And, as always, keep copies of your photos and the description file on your own computer or media- online services may not be here forever, some use proprietary software that will not be readable in the future, etc. (Text (.txt) files  should be readable for a long time.) This is redundant but redundancy is a good backup. Keep copies of all these images somewhere other than your computer- a drive you keep in a safe deposit box, give to a sibling, etc. The cloud is a good option too, but not failsafe, so always have your own copies.


Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. Fannie Belle Brown Chapman Collection, with permission.
  2. Lizzie Speery apparently worked as or with a photographer.

 

Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images. Click to enlarge images.

We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
 

Original content copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.
 
Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly.
 
Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright of our blog material.

Tuesday’s Tip: Local Historical Societies and the Beerbower Family

Samuel T. Beerbower Bible-  Unknown couple from the front of the Bible. Posted courtesy of the Marion County Historical Society. (Click to enlarge.)
Samuel T. Beerbower Bible- Unknown couple from the front of the Bible. Posted courtesy of the Marion County Historical Society. (Click to enlarge.)

Beerbower Family

Tuesday’s Tip: Contact the local historical society where your ancestors lived. They may have a treasure trove of family information!

We were very lucky because the Marion County Historical Society (MCHS) found and contacted us through the blog. Our Beerbower family lived in Marion County, Ohio for a number of generations, and a Beerbower family bible was donated to the Society, along with photographs that were found inside. The MCHS is planning an exhibit and they would like to learn more about the Beerbower family.

Samuel T. Beerbower Bible-  Unknown couple from the front of the Bible- reverse. Posted courtesy of the Marion County Historical Society. (Click to enlarge.)
Samuel T. Beerbower Bible- Unknown couple from the front of the Bible- reverse. Posted courtesy of the Marion County Historical Society. (Click to enlarge.)

Alas, like so many photos, there are no names nor dates on the majority of the images (though we are lucky with this one). We are putting these images up on the blog in hope that someone will recognize some of these folks, and let us know. The MCHS has kindly shared all the images of Beerbowers and Bible pages to help us piece together more of our family history.

This Bible is known as the Samuel T. Beerbower Bible. Samuel was the brother of our direct ancestor, Edgar Peter Beerbower, who married Anna Missouri Springsteen. He was thus an uncle to Anna May Beerbower, who married Gerard William Helbling. (If you are a grandchild of May and GW, Samuel would be your great-great uncle.) See the Beerbower Family Tree on the blog for more information.

So who are the people in this image?

Known Data:

Clue #1– The image was found in the front of the Bible.

Clue #2– The Bible the picture was found in is called the Samuel T. Beerbower Bible.

Clue #3– The reverse of the image notes the photographer as “Wm. H. Moore, Third Story, Bennett’s Block, Marion, Ohio.”

Clue #4– “1878” is handwritten on the reverse of the photo.

Clue #5– The image shows a man and a woman.

Analysis:

Clue #1– The image was probably of two people very important and/or closely related, to the family, since it was in the front of the Bible. That would often be parents.

Clue #2– Although the bible is called the Samuel T. Beerbower Bible, the notations inside suggest it may have been the Bible of Nathan Peters, Samuel’s father-in-law, and passed down to Irene L. Peters, Samuel’s wife. There are mostly Peters family member listed, and just a few Beerbowers. Instead, it may have been Irene’s Bible into which she copied the names from her father’s Bible.

Clue #3– Research on this photographer indicates he was a daguerreotypist 1857-60 and had studios in Cinncinnati 1857-97 and Marion 1859-97. There was also a “Moore’s Photographic Gallery” on Bennet’s Block in Marion, but no date noted. The History of Marion County, Ohio, 1883, notes that his Bennet Block studio was established in 1855, and at the time of the writing of the county history, published in 1883, he had moved to Main Street. If a photographer had a large stock of backings, this one may have been still used after moving to the new location, but for now, we will use 1855-1883 as the time range for the Bennet location.

Checking for W. H. Moore in Marion city directories will help to narrow the time frame a bit.

Clue #4– It is unknown who added the date to the photo. The date does fit with the known dates of the photographer’s location. The photo appears to be a ‘cabinet card’ which was introduced in the early 1870s, so the date of 1878 still is very plausible. Analyzing the style of clothing and hairstyles may help to narrow the date range of the image.

Clue #5– The man and woman in the image are posed as married persons are often posed. They appear to be in their 30s-50s.

Nathan Peters- Portrait from "History of Marion Co OH," 1883, p226. Drawn from a picture of him, per his bio in the above.
Nathan Peters- Portrait and signature from “History of Marion Co OH,” 1883, p226. Drawn from a picture of him, per his bio in the above. (Click to enlarge.)

My hypothesis (which remains to be proven) is that the first image is Nathan Peters with his wife, probably his second wife, Mary Ballantine Peters. They married on 02 Jan 1842, and Irene L. Peters, their daughter, was the Bible owner at one point.

Mary B. Peters died on 18 Dec 1850, however, so could not have been in a photo taken by WH Moore, since his business started in 1855. I am wondering if this could be a copy of an earlier photo, possibly a daguerrotype; this appears to be the case with another photo in the collection. Nathan would have been 79 in 1878, so that would be older than the man in this picture, thus reinforcing the idea this is a copy of an older image.

We have no evidence that Nathan remarried after the death of his second wife. Censuses show some of his children living with him on the farm in his later years, plus a servant for the household and a farm laborer, but no wife is listed. (We have been unable to find him in the 1850 census, although his 1850 Agriculture Schedule is available.)

Note the cheekbones and jawline of the man in the couple picture, and his ears- they look somewhat similar to the drawn portrait of Nathan that was in the county history, which might vary somewhat as it was an artist’s conception of a photo. The hairline and brow seem similar, too.

The Bible has mostly Peters information, and very little on the Beerbowers, so that is another clue that suggests this first image in the Bible might be Nathan Peters and wife.

What do you think?

 

It is so wonderful that Historical Societies and scholars are finally working with family historians- that is the only way to tell the whole story of history.

And please, if you know anything about the couple in this image, contact us!

 

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Image courtesy of the Marion County Historical Society.

2) Ohio Photographers: 1839-1900 by Diane VanSkiver Gage, Carl Mautz Publishing, Jan 1, 1998. https://books.google.com/books?id=LChcvLOmf-UC&pg=PA81&lpg=PA81&dq=Wm.+H.+Moore+photographer+marion+oh&source=bl&ots=_MClGo0rAD&sig=XL9n5rCyt7z-j3m1tpdO68C8XVk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=nJb-VOX0IoiUNtPXgfAI&ved=0CC8Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=Wm.%20H.%20Moore%20photographer%20marion%20oh&f=false

3) “History of Marion County, Ohio,” Leggett, Conaway, 1883, p226. https://archive.org/details/historyofmarionc00legg

4) Family Tree of Anna May Beerbower:  http://heritageramblings.net/family-trees/the-helbling-beerbower-springsteen-family/

 

Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images. Click to enlarge images.

We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see Contact Us form), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.

Original content copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.

Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly.

Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright of our blog material.

Five Family Photos for Friday- A Green Family Photo Album

This entry is part 2 of 7 in the series A Green Family Photo Album
A Green Family Photo Album- Page 1
A Green Family Photo Album- Page 1. Rose Brave Green  is the woman in the upper right, and younger woman at the bottom left is Bess Dorothy (Green) Broida.

 

A Green Family Photo Album- Page 2
A Green Family Photo Album- Page 2
A Green Family Photo Album- Page 3. Gertrude Broida is sitting in the front, and her mother, Bess Dorothy (Green) Broida, may be the woman in the back.
A Green Family Photo Album- Page 3. Gertrude Broida is sitting in the front of the picture on the right, and her mother, Bess Dorothy (Green) Broida, may be the woman in the back.
A Green Family Photo Album- Page 5. Woman at bottom left may be the mother of Abraham Green.
A Green Family Photo Album- Page 5. Woman at bottom left may be the mother of Abraham Green.

 

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Photo album owned by the author.

2) Family oral history plus comparison to known family photos.

 

Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images.

Copyright 2013 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

 

Five Family Photos for Friday- A Green Family Photo Album

This entry is part 1 of 7 in the series A Green Family Photo Album
Unknown people in a photo album probably owned by Bess Dorothy Green, p.22.
Unknown people in a photo album probably owned by Bess Dorothy Green, p.22.

Very old family photo albums are such delights to find, but so maddening too! Usually people are not labeled in the photos, and seldom are dates or places noted- after all, the person who made the album already knew all that information that we now so desperately seek.  So it is up to the family historian to try to decipher the clues found in these albums.

Unknown people in a photo album probably owned by Bess Dorothy Green, p.17.
Unknown people in a photo album probably owned by Bess Dorothy Green, p.17. [Click on image to enlarge.]
This album is chock-full of pictures of many different people, which was typical for the time,  probably the very early 1900s. Happily, we recognized one of the person in the photos as Bess Dorothy (Green) Broida. Bess was born in 1891 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Abraham M. Green and Rose Brave. Bessie married Phillip Edwin Broida in 1910. On page 17, she may be the young girl in the oval portrait just to the bottom left of the center circle; we have positively identified her at an older age in other photos in the album. Using some detective work, we have been able to determine the names of a few of the others. (More on those folks in another post.)

Following are some photo album pages of people we would like to know more about. Please contact us if you can help identify any of these persons.

Unknown people in a photo album probably owned by Bess Dorothy Green, p.31.
Unknown people in a photo album probably owned by Bess Dorothy Green, p.31.
Unknown people in a photo album probably owned by Bess Dorothy Green, p.33.
Unknown people in a photo album probably owned by Bess Dorothy Green, p.33.
Unknown people in a photo album probably owned by Bess Dorothy Green, p.34.
Unknown people in a photo album probably owned by Bess Dorothy Green, p.34.

 

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Green family photo album.

2) Family oral history.

 

Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images.

Copyright 2013 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Mystery Monday- Unknown Girl Related to the Lee Family?

This sweet young girl's portrait was in with photos from the Samuel Lee family in St. Louis, Missouri. It would have been taken after 1881.
This sweet young girl’s portrait was in with photos from the Samuel Lee family in St. Louis, Missouri. It would have been taken after 1881.
This sweet young girl's portrait was in with photos from the Samuel Lee family in St. Louis, Missouri. It would have been taken after 1881.
Reverse of sweet young girl’s portrait that was in with photos from the Samuel Lee family in St. Louis, Missouri.

 

Any ideas out there of who this may be?

 

Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images.

Copyright 2013 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.