So, you have inherited a box (or boxes) of family photos and
have no idea what to do with them. They
seem old and may be of interest to someone, and you feel like you shouldn’t toss
them. What to do!
First and foremost, go through them. Each photograph tells a story of someone in a
moment in time. If you are lucky, there
will be a name, date and location of where the picture was taken written on the
back of the photo. If there isn’t, don’t
panic. There are a few ways you may be
able to deduct who is in the picture.
But we will get to that later.
1. Sort the photos. Divide the pictures by time period if you
can. If you
come across extremely old photos, like tintypes, you most definitely want to
set them apart from all other modern pictures.
Are there theme photos such as family reunions, school pictures or even homesteads? If so, you can sort that way, too.
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| John and Mary Lackey Homestead, Alexander, North Carolina. Built circa 1865. |
2. Identify. If the photo has a name, date and location on
the back, you are lucky! Too often when
we take pictures, we think we will recall names and dates. The truth of the matter is, we don’t. However, if you come across a picture of your
grandfather, and you know it is a photo of your grandfather, then with pencil
write his name on the back of the photo.
Unless you were there when the picture was taken, or you took the
picture, you really can’t date the photo.
But you can comment “circa 1950” or something indicating the time
period. If you only “think” you know who
the person is, do not write anything on the back of the photo.
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| Corvisant Wilson with her husband William Hobbs and their children, Tom and Vassar. |
3. Digitize. Life happens. Houses flood.
Summer humidity. People move and forget the boxes in the attic. If you digitize your family photos and save
them on a thumb drive, you will have preserved your family’s photo history for
generations to come. Currently, there
are several ways to digitally save your photos:
Dropbox, Trunx, Instagram, or simply on a thumb drive. If you use a thumb drive, make certain you
make that drive distinctive from other thumb drives you are using and place it
where you can grab it should you have a house emergency, such as a fire. (We keep ours in a safe.)
4. Share. Any photos you have decided not to keep safe
in an album, you should share with other family members. Perhaps take the extra photos to a family
reunion or next gathering with your immediate family. This would also be a great time to take the
pictures you can’t identify and see if there is anyone who can tell you who the
photos are about and the stories behind them.
5. Toss. Sometimes it is okay to toss out photos. Photographs of someone’s vacation are not
typically something you want to preserve, unless there are some once in a lifetime
events in those photos. (ie. Great Granddad
touring Russia or one of your parents visiting the Berlin Wall.) Keep photos that have meaning and memories
for you.
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| Granddaddy Franklin E. Watts. Snake found while working as a lineman in West Palm Beach, Florida. |
6. Storing. For the photos you have chosen to keep, think
about placing them in a safe album. If
you have numerous albums that must be stored in boxes, make certain they are
kept in a dry area free from humidity to avoid mold. I recently heard about placing rice in cheesecloth
in your photo boxes. The rice will
absorb the humidity and keep your photos safe from moisture.
Who
Are These People?
If you
cannot identify a person in the photo, you can do a photo comparison. Take the photo of the older person and
compare it to a photo of a younger person.
Depending on the timeframe of the pictures, you might be able to discern
if the man in each picture is the same person in a different time of life.
Still
can’t place a name with the face? Share
on Social Media. There are sites such as
DeadFred.com that will allow you to upload pictures of unknown individuals for
others to see and perhaps identify.
Sorting, digitizing and preserving family photos can
take time. Remember to start small. Only pull out what you feel you can
accomplish and put away in one hour.
Slowly but surely you will accomplish this project and be pleased that
you were able to share these memories with other people.
Keep in mind:
History Not Shared Is History Lost!
