Photographs of ancestors and the best way to find them?

Question

I am looking for any tips on how to best find photographs of my ancestors.I would be very grateful if you have any tips for me, this has been a problem for me since 1996 and it is about time that i sorted it out!

If you have found a guide anywhere online or in a genealogy / family history book then please share it for me and others.

We all have talent's but this is obviously not one of mine!

Thank you

Answer 1

I realize not everyone can do this but we are retired.  We took a 6 week vacation and visited family in 6 states.  Besides the nice family connections, we asked them to pull out their old family photos.  Of course, they said they didn't have any....ha.  But, they discovered photos they had forgotten about and ones they thought were destroyed and useless with age.  We brought back a treasure of photos and had them restored for FREE by a facebook hobby group called Restore and Color Old Pictures.  They restored photos that were nearly impossible to see.  One photo...when restored, I could identify the mother therefore, I knew who the newborn was that she was holding.  One 3rd cousin I did not know, drove on snow covered country roads to meet us at our motel.  She brought a box of 'goodies' including photos in those old curved glass frames.  We took them out of the frame for picture taking and it worked great.

I think you get better results if you meet with relatives.  NUMBER ONE SOURCE is relatives. But, I have also gotten photos from google search for name /photo.  That is how I found Wiki Tree.   Family reunions, funerals.... go with a good cell phone camera and contact people ahead of time to bring their photos.  School year books, join facebook groups, etc.  Good luck.  I LOVE FAMILY PHOTOS.

Answer 2

Ask you're relatives. All the photos that I have of ancestors, came from other descendants. they are the only ones who care enough to save them. My father found a lot of "cousins" on the internet, back in the "genforum" days who were more than happy to share the photos they had. Remember also that photos have not been around that long in the grand scheme of things, only five generations in my case.

Comments

I'd just add that your relatives may have forgotten what they have. When I cleared my parent's house recently, I found an old album at the back of a wardrobe . This had photos of my mother as a child and a few of her parents wedding. My grandmother died when my mother was 14, so I didn't know what she looked like.

 I also took all the photos out of their frames .I found that the older frames contained several layers of photos including one of my grandmother aged 10-12  with her sisters and what must be their parents  I'm the oldest now on both sides so doubt I will come across any others.

Answer 3

I have had some success with local histories.  I found a photo of my great-grandparents house in one and a photo from a fall fair in another that showed a cousin with his prize winning horse.  Local newspaper archives have also been helpful.

Answer 4

Zoiya Tate 

Shared a photo resource site in g2g yesterday .. 

https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/316811/i-just-found-this-neat-photo-site

 

C'est Bon 

 

Answer 5

Oh, wow!  You gave me my fist stared "best answer".  I wasn't expecting that.  I answered because I LOVE finding old family photos.

Comments

So do i Sharon!

Answer 6

I have a family tree on www.ancestry.co.uk and through their hints system i have managed to obtain many photographs of ancestors

Comments

Karen, I have found many pictures through ancestry also. I have verified their authenticity through relatives.