Old photographs.

[JenkinsFerry1864]

I usually cant even find civilian photos of many of my civil war era ancestors. I see in other people with cool photographs of their ancestors posing in uniform. Are there any methods of finding photographs or is it usually a lost cause? I started my research last year in October and I've come to just accept the fact most of everything is lost to time.

 

[DBT]

I have quite a few photographs passed down from older relatives and I post them on Ancestry for the benefit of my extended family. Are you on Ancestry? It's quite possible you have cousins that have photos from their particular branch of your tree. I got a number of photos of uncles, first cousins and second cousins that way.

Dave

 

[Fairfield]

Several ways that I can suggest:

1. Google your ancestor's name, then set the screen to "image"
2. Do a historic newspaper search--if you find an article, check to see if there's a picture
3. Check with the state web page (of the ancestor)--many have ACW sites with photographs; ditto the largest library in his state.
4. Check with the state historical society; also its genealogical web list (in Maine f.e. there is a person who seems to collect old photos found at yard sales--then posts to find associated family)
5. We have a site in Maine called "Heirlooms Reunited" which sells old photos, books, etc. to associated family. You may have such a site where you are--use Google
6. Dead Fred is a web pool of photographs: https://deadfred.com/
   
   
   

 

[lupaglupa]

Many more people don't have photos than have them - you have a lot of company! Just think about all the steps required: Your ancestors had to have photos taken at some point. Not everybody did. Then they kept them. That means over 150 years of someone caring for those pieces of paper. No floods, no fires, no uncaring kid who just throws everything out, etc. Then whoever does have the photos has to care enough about family history to share them - online or in person. So many ways for that to go wrong!

Of my six direct line ancestors who fought in the War I have photos of two and both are post War. They others I don't and it's a shame but what can you do?

 

[Mike Serpa]

Try Find a Grave, HathiTrust or Internet Archive.

 

[DixieRifles]

I usually cant even find civilian photos of many of my civil war era ancestors. I see in other people with cool photographs of their ancestors posing in uniform. Are there any methods of finding photographs or is it usually a lost cause? I started my research last year in October and I've come to just accept the fact most of everything is lost to time.

I don't have any photos passed down through my family. One of my 2nd cousins was a genealogist and visited almost every known family descendant. He gave me a photo of my Gr-Grandfather taken after the War but he added a caveat---- he wasn't sure if this was him but it came from the family he lived with. Also, he was wearing what appears to be a Veteran's pin.

I have a FB friend who has accumulated a lot of Civil War images. He watches a lot of auctions and I really can't tell which images are ones he bought or just copied. I was amazed at how many of the ones he found of Alabama soldiers. He bought one of a veteran in civilian clothes that he researched and found out he was in the 15th Alabama Regt that attacked up Little Round Top and wounded.

I guess you have to knock on the doors of all your cousins and search auction sites.

 

[Championhilz]

If your relatives were members of the United Confederate Veterans, Confederate Veteran Magazine is an excellent source of photographs, and the entire run of the magazine has been digitized and put online: https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/serial?id=confedvet

 

[digne]

I usually cant even find civilian photos of many of my civil war era ancestors. I see in other people with cool photographs of their ancestors posing in uniform. Are there any methods of finding photographs or is it usually a lost cause? I started my research last year in October and I've come to just accept the fact most of everything is lost to time.

The farther back you go the harder it is to find, because the photos were never centralized, they were taken and sent home to families who passed them down — but until recently, photos could only go to one person. And in a couple generations they are lost. For example, there are photos of 5 Civil War solidiers in my family, but all I have is a photo of a photo. The originals were passed on to someone (don't know who) and I'm left with these very poor quality images. I'm grateful to have them, but I'd love to find the originals to get true copies. However I have had a lot of luck finding other sources for old photos. And here's my advice:

Search by topic, not just by name.

• What church/denomination did your ancestor attend? — I knew the denomination of one Civil War soldier and I contacted their regional office and that led to me getting in touch with a distant cousin who has TONS of photos.
• Were they involved in any clubs/groups/political parties etc....?
• Where did they work? What company? What industry? — I know the name of the company my great-grandfather worked for and I was able to find at least one photo of him searching this way.
• If you know they were a soldier in a war, what regiment were they in? — I googled my great-grandfather's WW1 regiment and found a company photo. It was unlabeled, but because I had other photos of him I could find him in the photo.
• What school did your ancestor attend? — I have found family members in unlabeled school photos, because I know the schools and dates they attended. If you are lucky you will find a photo with the names attached (often spelled wrong)

Then search for any historical society in the area where you ancestor lived. They often have collections of materials. (Search it by topic as well as name). And if you know your ancestor was a member of some organization, the more you learn about that organization the more likely you are to find more resources about that organization which could lead to finding a photo.

Search books, but don't just rely on the electronic word search. Many things aren't detectible by electronic word search (weird fonts, unlabeled photographs).

 

[JenkinsFerry1864]

Thank you guys for the tips and feedback!