I would add photos of historical documents (marriage certificates, census reports, etc), personal writings (such as handwritten letters, recipes or anything w ancestors signature/writing) and personal hand-me-down items (such as a family quilt, ggfather’s pocket watch, etc). It’s not just photos of people and places that tell stories; photos of artifacts help make connections too. A great reminder to pay attention to the visual story too b
Great post! I try to include as many family photos as possible, and when I don't have family photos, I use maps, current photos of the same place, print screens of the documents, historical pictures, and photos of myself doing the research. I often have trouble putting the photos in right, adjusting the size and placement. And I have no idea how to draw arrows and circles on them.
When adding a photo, do you suggest having the text content before or after the photo? I have tried both and can't decide.
Most software programs allow you to caption photos so I’d suggest using that. And yes adding them is difficult which is why formatting for book publishing is such a solid career choice (seriously!).
I have been tasked with making sense of our family archives. Paring down the many hundreds of photos to a few that tell a coherent story is difficult. I also have 70 years of correspondence, news clippings, recipes, baby books, and miscellaneous ephemera. I originally planned to do one volume through 1900 and a subsequent one for the 20th century but I believe that I may have too much information when I have weekly letters running from the 1930s to the 2000s to and from family members from all over the world. Should these be divided into eras? Abridged? Maps are helpful. I had not thought to include them. You have definitely given me food for thought. What is the best way to store the originals?
Wow! I think you need a professional archivist course! Seriously, the state archives and some universities around the country will run week long courses to teach how to do this. There’s a lot involved and in a project of this size. The biggest question is - what stories do you want told from it all?
I’m a huge fan of “representational imagery” ala Ken Burns in telling stories! I took one of his master craft classes eons ago, and the topic was so convicting and inspirational I’ve never looked back. Nothing beats an authentic family photo that’s been perils identified and dated, but, in its absence, the other images you suggested can do the trick. Great piece @Denyse. 🤩
This is actually what I plan on doing: incorporating everything I can find, like antique maps, material from the Library of Congress, and especially photographs that I take myself (especially black and white) when I go back to the places my people lived. All this can be included in what scholars call the "deep map," the way we try to describe a place from every angle possible.
What a great idea! It sparked an idea to request all that my cousins have both as stories and images. Even descriptions could be great as they would give me starting ideas for images. Thanks for this post.
I love the idea of using the Sandborn maps. Several of my ancestors' homes were caught up in the urban renewal craze so nothing is there except buildings and concrete. I know so many people think genealogy is about dates and names. There is so much more. Great article!
So many cases of long gone homes! This may be a long shot, but public works departments in cities often took photos before major reconstruction projects. These might not be digitized on a website, but the city would have them filed somewhere. They are public documents, so free to use without copyright.
Love this! My family was heavily affected by the year of no summer 1816 when they moved from Ohio to Illinois. I have all of the details of their journey but no photos of course. What a great way to illustrate the year in paintings of red sunsets. I'm stealing this idea!
Steal away! The other image I saved of Friedrich's is "Greifswald in moonlight" https://www.wikiart.org/en/caspar-david-friedrich/greifswald-in-moonlight which shows something worse than LA smog in the 1970s. You are the first person I've met who has noted they had ancestors affected. So glad you are capturing it in your family history.
This was an important rabbit hole for me. Wm. Morris was part of the great Socts Irish migration from Abbeville, SC to Preble Co. Ohio and then on to Randolph Co. Illinois. This was a Presbyterian group of many hundreds of people. We discovered he was three years into 4 year money borrowed to buy 160 acres in Preble Co. Just as the balloon payment was coming due, the year of 1816 hit and he had to give up and move on. He moved his family of young wife, 14 year old, two toddlers and a two month old baby to Randolph County in December 1816 and moved into log cabin. The price of commodities that year was documented by the Bureau of labor and statistics. High prices equals crop failures. Thank you so much for the link!
There is a travel book written the same year tracing the same trail by an Englishman whose name I can not recall. By 1816 you could ride the trail from Preble County to Randolph County and find a tavern (there is no good term for it but a barn for your horse and a dry bed for your family with a hot meal) every night except a couple when you camped under the stars. I like to think he was a planner and made sure his wife and children had the comfort of shelter. But yes, financial ruin, growing family and starting over in a new land was a lot to handle.
I agree 100% except for the use of the AI photo. As an artist the AI makes me cringe and it’s not authentic.
I would add photos of historical documents (marriage certificates, census reports, etc), personal writings (such as handwritten letters, recipes or anything w ancestors signature/writing) and personal hand-me-down items (such as a family quilt, ggfather’s pocket watch, etc). It’s not just photos of people and places that tell stories; photos of artifacts help make connections too. A great reminder to pay attention to the visual story too b
Great idea to include the documents. With our high resolution digital images these days, they really add something special.
Great post! I try to include as many family photos as possible, and when I don't have family photos, I use maps, current photos of the same place, print screens of the documents, historical pictures, and photos of myself doing the research. I often have trouble putting the photos in right, adjusting the size and placement. And I have no idea how to draw arrows and circles on them.
When adding a photo, do you suggest having the text content before or after the photo? I have tried both and can't decide.
Here's one of my stories with documents, historical photos, and current photos of the same or similar places. https://grandmasgrannysfamilyalbum.blogspot.com/2025/03/dead-babies-in-city.html
In looking thru my posts, I see where I could definitely add more pictures.
Most software programs allow you to caption photos so I’d suggest using that. And yes adding them is difficult which is why formatting for book publishing is such a solid career choice (seriously!).
I have been tasked with making sense of our family archives. Paring down the many hundreds of photos to a few that tell a coherent story is difficult. I also have 70 years of correspondence, news clippings, recipes, baby books, and miscellaneous ephemera. I originally planned to do one volume through 1900 and a subsequent one for the 20th century but I believe that I may have too much information when I have weekly letters running from the 1930s to the 2000s to and from family members from all over the world. Should these be divided into eras? Abridged? Maps are helpful. I had not thought to include them. You have definitely given me food for thought. What is the best way to store the originals?
Wow! I think you need a professional archivist course! Seriously, the state archives and some universities around the country will run week long courses to teach how to do this. There’s a lot involved and in a project of this size. The biggest question is - what stories do you want told from it all?
I’m a huge fan of “representational imagery” ala Ken Burns in telling stories! I took one of his master craft classes eons ago, and the topic was so convicting and inspirational I’ve never looked back. Nothing beats an authentic family photo that’s been perils identified and dated, but, in its absence, the other images you suggested can do the trick. Great piece @Denyse. 🤩
This is actually what I plan on doing: incorporating everything I can find, like antique maps, material from the Library of Congress, and especially photographs that I take myself (especially black and white) when I go back to the places my people lived. All this can be included in what scholars call the "deep map," the way we try to describe a place from every angle possible.
What a great idea! It sparked an idea to request all that my cousins have both as stories and images. Even descriptions could be great as they would give me starting ideas for images. Thanks for this post.
Great idea! I need to do this with my cousins too.
I love the idea of using the Sandborn maps. Several of my ancestors' homes were caught up in the urban renewal craze so nothing is there except buildings and concrete. I know so many people think genealogy is about dates and names. There is so much more. Great article!
So many cases of long gone homes! This may be a long shot, but public works departments in cities often took photos before major reconstruction projects. These might not be digitized on a website, but the city would have them filed somewhere. They are public documents, so free to use without copyright.
Love this! My family was heavily affected by the year of no summer 1816 when they moved from Ohio to Illinois. I have all of the details of their journey but no photos of course. What a great way to illustrate the year in paintings of red sunsets. I'm stealing this idea!
Steal away! The other image I saved of Friedrich's is "Greifswald in moonlight" https://www.wikiart.org/en/caspar-david-friedrich/greifswald-in-moonlight which shows something worse than LA smog in the 1970s. You are the first person I've met who has noted they had ancestors affected. So glad you are capturing it in your family history.
This was an important rabbit hole for me. Wm. Morris was part of the great Socts Irish migration from Abbeville, SC to Preble Co. Ohio and then on to Randolph Co. Illinois. This was a Presbyterian group of many hundreds of people. We discovered he was three years into 4 year money borrowed to buy 160 acres in Preble Co. Just as the balloon payment was coming due, the year of 1816 hit and he had to give up and move on. He moved his family of young wife, 14 year old, two toddlers and a two month old baby to Randolph County in December 1816 and moved into log cabin. The price of commodities that year was documented by the Bureau of labor and statistics. High prices equals crop failures. Thank you so much for the link!
What a story! I can feel the stress he must have been under through your details.
There is a travel book written the same year tracing the same trail by an Englishman whose name I can not recall. By 1816 you could ride the trail from Preble County to Randolph County and find a tavern (there is no good term for it but a barn for your horse and a dry bed for your family with a hot meal) every night except a couple when you camped under the stars. I like to think he was a planner and made sure his wife and children had the comfort of shelter. But yes, financial ruin, growing family and starting over in a new land was a lot to handle.