We recently bought MIL’s home that DH grew up in. In the midst of renovation and moving MIL into her new home, we found an old photo in a 24x30 inch wooden frame. No one knows anything about the couple in the photo. Anyone who would have known is probably dead. Looking at the photo it looks like the photo is from the 1910s. MIL doesn’t want it. DH doesn’t know what to do with it. It’s not something I would hang in our house. In the meantime it’s down in our basement. What do we do with it?
Take a photo with your camera and then put it in the trash pile. Or keep the frame if you could reuse it.
Since your mother-in-law doesn’t recognize them, could they be ancestors from your husband’s father’s side of the family? Is there a studio or photographer’s name which would help pinpoint the location?
The couple could be from my FIL side of the family. Unfortunately, my FIL passed about about 15 years ago and there are no living relatives on his side other than my DH’s cousins. There are no markings on the front. I might take the back of the frame off and check.
You may have to reach out to his extended family members. Maybe his cousins know of other extended relatives (great uncles, etc). If you can, take a photo as @abasket suggested and email it to as many of his family members as you can, and ask them to forward it to any other family members they may know. One of your husband’s relatives may do genealogy as a hobby or have an ancestry.com account; they could check his family tree for other photos of the couple people may have posted.
Another thought: if you know the names of his grandparents and great-grandparents, you can check the site https://www.findagrave.com/
You’ll need to know about when they died and where to find their burial site. Some FindAGrave memorials have photos of the individuals.
I was going to suggest that you take it out of the frame to see.
We have the big framed photos of DH’s gr gr grandparents, not so attractive. Now in the attic. I’m giving them to his side. Decades ago, DH’s father was the only one who wanted them and some other heirlooms. Our girls have no interest. Nothing of outstanding value, but they belong to his side. They can decide what next.
But after doing genealogical research on different branches of his tree, I connected with a very distant relative who had copies of other pix of them, much softer and sweeter. My feelings about those pictures changed.
If you send your photo, you could guess who it might be and find another interested relative on that side do the digging.
I hate to see photos trashed.
Most of my own and my mother’s childhood pix were lost in a pipe flood at my mother’s. I’m sorry and not. Our kids can’t hang on to everything.
For others who come across old photos, consider this: If the place or photo situation has any significance, a historical group might be interested in the photo.
My father passed away this summer. I was looking at pictures in a little museum in his hometown for his long-gone old high school. Low and behold, there was my father in a group shot in his marching band uniform. The photo wasn’t saved with me in mind but it means a lot to me.
Depends on her background. If she lives in the same area she grew up in or her husband’s, donate it to the local library or historical society.
It’s sad to come across vintage family photos in antique stores. That said, I don’t even know what to do with the many 8x10s I have of my own kids at various ages. Everything is in boxes in the basement from when we moved six years ago.
You may get something from the back, or at least a studio marking. If you think it was from your FIL, and his family was from around there, you could try searching on Ancestry for any related names. (Since FIL is deceased, he is probably there, along with others of his ancestors). Also, if there is a local historical society, they may know something about where to look. Personally, I would pursue it a bit if I had time.
Last summer, I found an old album of photos in our attic which had come from my mother’s stuff. I didn’t recognize any of the names, so I hunted on Ancestry, found someone doing research on some of the names, contacted her and ended up sending her the album. She was very excited about it, and I didn’t have to end up throwing away someone else’s historical artifact.
I like the digitize and toss option if you can’t find someone with a connection to it.
It’s a good reminder to label your photographs. I’m the family photographer and have some back work to do.
Thanks for all the suggestions. I took the back of frame off hoping to see some kind of name or other details but no such luck just random numbers. I think FIL family was from South Bend area. I’ll ask my DH to check with his cousins if they might want it or know other details. I would love to donate so I’ll look into that more in detail. I hate to see it tossed in the trash.
If you really think they might be from the South Bend area you might be able to find a Facebook group or two in South Bend to post it on. People seem to share that stuff a lot so you never know how many people you might reach.
I’m an archivist. Please don’t trash that photograph! Definitely investigate the possibility of donating it to a local historical society or archives. My organization frequently receives materials about which the donor has minimal information but for which staff or other researchers can provide further detail, creating new value. I have seen people walk in to my workplace and suddenly put names to mysterious faces whose identification had seemed hopeless. Any historical society worth its salt will understand that, too, and at least be willing to talk to you about your picture.
(And, yes, please let this be a reminder to all of us to print photos and label them on the back–in pencil!)
Another thing–taking a picture of the photograph and tossing the original is not what I would recommend. A snapshot of a printed photo is generally of much poorer quality than the original, which inhibits its preservation and the identification of content. Many of us (myself included!) let pictures of that nature just linger on our devices, and it’s so easy for the digital copy to be lost that way.
OTOH, using Photoshop on the original can bring out detail the eye can’t see on an old picture. The digitizing helps. But I agree not to trash the original.
We have photos someone mislabeled in prior generations. It was by researching that I could confirm what I believe are the right people. Without any other photos to reference, you need to look at the clothing era, if the age seems appropriate for great granddad or that must be his father. Or the surroundings, if it’s not a studio pic. But that’s a lot of work. And other skills I’d bet an archivict has. Sometimes, digitizing brings out some identifying feature.
And sometimes, it doesn’t matter if you get it right.
You’re correct to say that digitization can help to see new details or create a surrogate that’s better for viewing, and I don’t think any archivist would dispute that. I hope not, at least! It’s discarding the original that introduces a problem. If we had tossed everything that we digitized in the late 1990s or very early 2000s, we wouldn’t be able to take advantage of things like Photoshop or improved scanners, for example. What a loss that would be!
We have boxes of pictures taken in the early 50’s or prior. Most are black and white family photos. We have no idea who these people are…at all. No pictures were labeled with the names…or the places.
I know these things are of interest to some people, but they are not of interest to our immediate or extended families…we have asked.
As much as some feel we should find a new “home” for these, we just won’t. We think we know the town where these were taken, and inquired with the historical society there. They had NO interest in old family pictures UNLESS they were of famous people from the area.
I’d call any place first before sending or schlepping a box or even one picture to any place. That way…you will know if they want them.