Uncovering Your Ancestry Through Family Photographs (PBS Ancestor) [Paperback]

Maureen Taylor (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1558705279 | ISBN-13: 978-1558705272 | Publication Date: January 2000 | Edition: 1st

A genealogical photo expert reveals methods for using visual clues in photographs to correctly date them, identify people depicted in them, and gain insight into family history .

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Maureen A. Taylor, of AncestralConnections.com, is the author of UNCOVERING YOUR ANCESTRY THROUGH FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHS (Betterway, 2000) and a guide to family history for kids, THROUGH THE EYES OF YOUR ANCESTORS (Houghton Mifflin, 1999).

Product Details

• Paperback: 148 pages
• Publisher: Betterway Books; 1st edition (January 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558705279
• ISBN-13: 978-1558705272
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #126,524 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #72 in Books > Education & Reference > Genealogy

More About the Author

Maureen A. Taylor is an internationally recognized expert on the intersection of history, genealogy, and photography. She has been featured in top media outlets, including The View, Martha Stewart Living, and The Today Show. Maureen is the author of a number of books and magazine articles, as well as a contributing editor at Family Tree Magazine. In 2007, The Wall Street Journal called her "the nation's foremost historical photo detective."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful and useful book, January 5, 2001

By 

Mark Howells (Puyallup, Washington State, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Uncovering Your Ancestry Through Family Photographs (PBS Ancestor) (Paperback)

This book is an outstanding way to expand your family history skills through photo research. It provides step-by-step advice on how to identify ancestors in photos using their poses, clothes, studio props, and other information.

After giving a history of photography with emphasis on identifying types of photographs by era, the author provides chapters such as "Looking for Clues", "Identifying Costume", and the very important "Identifying the Photographer". The book also gives detailed information on how to build your own family photograph collection including the use of photograph worksheets and proper labeling.

The photographs used to illustrate the book are simply glorious. It is a visual treat to follow the pictorial examples given to explain the text. Each photo is an exquisite specimen of how our ancestors faced the camera.

46 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A real help to genealogists!, April 17, 2001

By 

Linda Kleback (Lynn Haven, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Uncovering Your Ancestry Through Family Photographs (PBS Ancestor) (Paperback)

This book has great value to the genealogist. When confronted with unidentified photographs, we often despair of ever identifying the subjects. This book offers real assistance with this. Author Maureen Taylor offers detailed information on using clues in photographs themselves to identify their subjects. One example on pages 42-43 shows a street scene in Providence, Rhode Island. Since the photo contains telephone lines, research can place the image after 1881, the year telephone service was introduced there. The date can be even more precisely determined by other internal details of the photo. The book's appendices include a "Timeline of Photographic History" and an excellent bibliography of sources.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best for Photograph Dating, July 23, 2007

By 

Carol Boston (Eureka, IL, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Uncovering Your Ancestry through Family Photographs (Paperback)

This is an excellent "textbook" for anyone who is getting into dating old photographs. Taylor gives very thorough and accurate information on photography processes and the types of photographs to be found in old collections.

The section on identifying costume is especially fine, although it is just a beginning for learning how to determine age by the clothing being worn. The worksheets provided at the end of the book are especially helpful.

All in all, if you are only going to buy one book on this subject, this is the book for you!