Genealogy Chat

I was given several photographs of my ancestors. Most of the people in the photos were identified, one was not. The unknown photo is of a youngish man, sitting in a chair, holding a piece of paper (or small envelope?), hair parted on the side. I've tried a few websites (dating old photographs) and I'm having trouble pinpointing a date. Does anyone know of a good website that might help me? (The women are easier to date, because of the dress and hair styles.) Thank you, Lisa.

Lisa, if the corners of the photograph are round then it is over 0ne hundred years old, square are more recent, Also the chair can be dated, go to an Antique funiture site, you will need to take some years of the chair to give you an idea of it's date. Janet

Hi Lisa Another suggestion is to take them to a local professional photographer or antique dealer. They should be able to help you date the photos.

Hi Janet: Unfortunately, all of the photos are photographs of photographs (they aren't the originals) so I can't tell if they had rounded corners. I am almost positive it is from 1880 or before. Thanks very much for the antique furniture idea. Unfortunately, very little of the chair is shown, but it is definitely worth checking on. Hadn't thought of dating the furniture -- thanks so much!! Lisa PS Hi Rosemary: Actually, I thought of going to a photographers this week. I think I will have to do that. Thanks very much for your suggestion.

http://www.genealogy(.)com/73_taylor.html Looks useful Kim

Thank you, Kim. Quickly scanned the article; previously wasn't too sure about children's clothing -- I now know two of the small children in one photo could be either boys or girls (which is helpful for me). Thanks for the site, shall now read it more slowly. :~)

Hi Lisa here's another good site to help with dating photos http://www.*costumes.org/history/100pages/photodating.htm Christine

Christine: Thank you very much for the site. It looks like it has quite a bit more than the other sites I've tried. I will try it to see if I can get a more specific date for the photograph. Update for everyone: thank you for your suggestions. It encouraged me to go to our town's photographer (hadn't wanted to bother him because we are both scout volunteers and felt like I would be asking him to do a favour). Anyway, he couldn't date the photo, but suggested I try our town's museum. I was extremely fortunate: "George" was there and sat us down to look at my photos. What I had hoped for turned out to be true! The photo was taken during the 1860's, or no later than 1870. It was a "calling card" which would be left when he visited people. "George" also dated three other photographs and told me information about each one. He also told me that two of the previously unknown children in one photo (photo has 19 people, taken outside) were boys (they look like they are wearing dresses), which enables me to identify who they were. Now that I know that the "calling card" photo was taken around the 1860's I know that the person was either my "brickwall" ancestor James Mumford, or James' daughter-in-law's father. Either way, I'm thrilled. Thank you all for your help. :~)

Hi, If anyone wants od sites for dating old photos go to http://www.rogerco.freeserve.co.uk/index.htm http://mywebpage.netscape.com/hibchris/instant/aboutme.html http://www.ajmorris.com/roots/photo/index.php http://www.users.waitrose.com/~rodliffe/index.html Cheers, Glynis