True Identities

13 Apr 2020
Ultimate Blog Challenge

Many times, when I'm working on genealogy research, I run across a photo or several photos that have no identification on them at all. Trying to identify these photos can be a daunting task.

How many of you have photos tucked away in the top of your closets or in a box down in the basement or even up in the attic? Then there are the family photograph albums. Do you know everyone that's in them? I don't...and the people that could have identified them are no longer with us. It's like trying to put a jigsaw puzzle together without missing pieces. 

Who are they? How do they fit into our family? What was their connection? Where did they live? What year was this? These questions cross my mind every time I come across a photo that I have no clue who it is while working on my family tree. 

I find it interesting at times when I'm researching our family that the presumed name is not the actual name. In other words, a person may be using an alias name. That complicates things a great deal in many cases. Especially when it comes to photo identification and records. I may know a picture by one name and my sister may know it by another name - so then at that point, the question becomes, WHAT is the true identity of the person? Are they who I think they are or are they who my sister knows them to be...in either case, ensuring we have the correct name is crucial for records, documentation, and researching. 

How do we determine this? Through records and other photographs. It's possible we can find those answers through stories that have been passed down through the family. 

When I have photographs that I can't identify, I post them to genealogy sites such as Deadfred.com or on social media pages like, Lost and Found Vintage Photos.  Ancestry even has a place for photos that people are trying to identify. I usually find these through their 'community boards'. 

Whatever the case may be, I think it's agreeable that most of us have photos that can't be identified, and the identity baffles us. 

In this stack of photos that were my dad's (he is the man in the Navy Uniform on the first row towards the right). Most of these photos are unidentifiable. There are no dates, no names, and no locations. Since my dad was in the Navy, my assumption is that he took these during his time serving our country. 

I've tried to figure out the locations and era (which would have been between 1944-1963). He was stationed in the Philippines. Several of these could have been taken there, while others are from here in the states. The question remains - - who, what, and where! In the meantime, I have them in a folder waiting for a nugget to drop in my lap from Deadfred or another site that I have posted them in. 

Unidentified photo in my dad's things

For me, it's not that I care about the where’s or the what’s, but I think about the other people in the pictures. Maybe their family would like to have a copy of the photo I have. I know I would want copies if someone had them of my family lines. 

This has always been one of my pet peeves when it comes to family photos. I've mentioned it before - - and so far, I still haven't gotten any answers. I would like to know WHERE all our family photos are from my mom's childhood, her parents, her grandparents, etc. They exist out there somewhere - -it's just the 'where' is the million-dollar question. I don't want the photos, I'd just like to scan them and document them...let me share in those memories you have hidden away in your closets, basements, and attics! Please don't let them get destroyed when you leave this earth...these are my thoughts! 

I cringe when I hear of natural disasters that have wiped out homes, businesses, etc. because I think of all the history and memories that are lost with life sometimes when these disasters happen. I would like to be one of those individuals who are picking up the albums, the loose pictures, the framed photos, etc, in order to SAVE the memories! At this point, they all would find their place in a humongous stack of unidentifiable photos. I would wonder what the identity was of each photo I rescued. Talk about a puzzle with missing pieces. I would relish in the opportunity of saving these memories for people who lost most of their worldly possessions. Some of these photos are irreplaceable. They can't be recreated. This is heartbreaking to me on so many levels. The only thing a person would have at that point is what they can remember in their minds and HOW can they recreate that for their children and grandchildren, not to mention for the generations that follow? 

I have many photographs that are identified, like the pictures below. I know the people, places and most times, the dates the photos were taken. This group of photos has my Grandmother Kercher, her children and many grandchildren pictured. 

My Grandma, her children, and grandchildren

When I'm saving photos like these to my family tree, I attach them to everyone that is represented in the photograph. If I know the dates and the event, I will most likely put a comment in the comment box. This way, if other people are researching their ancestors - they might learn something from what I've saved in my family tree. It keeps the memories alive for generations to come. 

The next time you see a photo that you don't know that the identity of it is...ask yourself this question,  are they someone in my family? If so, how are they connected and what can I do to preserve their memory for generations to come. You might not be interested in the who, the whats, the wheres - but maybe your children or grandchildren will be one day! 

Let the research journey begin! 

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