German-American Genealogy

10/05/2024

Using Vintage Photos As A Help For Your Research, Part 2: When?

If there is no time stamp on the photo or the reverse side and also no note, there is still a good chance that you will be able to find out when it was taken. Not by the exact day, week or month, of course, but maybe the year or at least the decade - and that will help you a lot to finally find out, WHO is shown on the picture.

But let's try to find out first, when it was taken (approximately).

The first hint is... the address of the studio. Yes, the name and address of the photographer (or the studio) will not only tell you WHERE the photo was taken, but it will also tell you about WHEN it was shot.

Yesterday I showed you the address on the reverse side of my vintage photo from the States:
"T. M. Swem, 419 Wabasha St, St. Paul, Minn."
There is no year, so how could I find out the date or at least the decade?

Well, people are moving. They will rarely stay at the same place for their whole life. People are moving and so do photographers. If you know the name and the address of the photographer or the studio - lucky you! Check old address books and/or the US Censuses!

Do some research on the photographer. It wll be worth while, you'll see! I did some research on "T. M. Swem" and here is what I know by now:

T. M. Swem aka Thomas Marion Swem was born in 1849 in Ohio. When he married first time in 1872 he lived in Missouri and the US Census from 1880 tells us that he was still living in Missouri by then. BUT in 1895 he was living in St. Paul in Minnesota and so he was in 1900. Then, in 1910, we will find him living in North Dakota.

So, here we are! We have a first estimation, a first time range. He moved to St. Paul in or after 1880 and he left it in or before 1910, which gives us a 30 year period for the photo.

30 years is a long time. Can we narrow it down? Yes, we can.
I did some more research on him and I found a (hopefully) reliable note, that Thomas Marion Swem moved to St. Paul in 1882 or 1883 and that he was working as a photographer in St. Paul for 18 years, which means, if he started there in 1882 or 1883, he left in 1900 (after the Census) or 1901. The Census data has no different information, so now we are down from 30 years to 18 years. Can we still get closer? Yes, we can!

Yesterday I told you that photographers used the reverse side (and sometimes also the place below the photo) for private advertising. There was a fierce competition among the studios and photographers, so they tried to convince the people to let him (or sometimes her) make the photos. And the best thing to convince someone is...? Having a special status or even a title and/or win a competition! In Europe you can find photographers presenting themselves as "His/Her Majesty's Photographer" or "Official Photographer of..." And of course, you will find all of their awards and medals they won - and the year when they won it! Check your vintage photos for information like that!

Is there anything on T. M. Swem's photo? Yes, there is!
He won a Silver Medal in 1888 from the "Minnesota State Agricultural Society" (see attachment).
Now, let's make a short summary:
Thomas Marion Swem moved to St. Paul in 1882/1883 and left it in 1900/1901. He won a Silver Medal in 1888, which means - the photo was taken between 1888 and 1900, or, roughly said, in the 1890's. Down to 12 years. Not that bad, isn't it?

And sometimes you can get even closer.
Imagine T.M. Swem had won another award or medal, let's say in 1895. Of course, he would have put that on the reverse side of his photos (or below the photo). And then we would be down to only 5 years! Imagine there would be an annual address book of St. Paul from the decade of the 1890's! Maybe he moved within St. Paul and his studio was not in 419 Wabasha St. all the time. You could find out - and in the best case, you could really get a time frame of only 1 or 2 years.

So, here's my advice: If you want to know the "when", and if you know the name of the photographer or the studio - do some research on it. It will be worth while as you can see above!

And there is more information given on most vintage photos to find out the "when". Curious about what it is? I will tell you in my next post!

- to be continued -

09/05/2024

Using Vintage Photos As A Help For Your Research, Part 1: Where?

So, let's talk about vintage photos and how they can help you to get some more information about your family.
There are 3 questions we will have in mind at once:
Where (was it taken)? When (was it shot)? Who (are the people)?

It will be very easy for you to find out where it was taken - or it will be almost impossible. If there is no hint, no note, just nothing but the picture, it will be almost impossible. But most vintage photos will tell us where they were shot, because usually you will find a name or even an address on it - the address of the studio, where it was taken.

Many photographers used the reverse side for private advertising. So, let's have a look at the reverse side of the photo I posted yesterday and there we are:
T. M. Swem, 419 Wabasha St, St. Louis, Minnesota
This is the answer to question no. 1: where?
Knowing the location means knowing where to look for further information about your family, your ancestors and/or relatives.

That was easy, wasn't it?
But don't worry. This was just the easiest part. Question no. 2 will be more difficult: when? If you only know the place where to look, but you don't have a time period, a time frame, the research will become very frustrating.

Tomorrow I will give you some hints how you can find out when a picture was taken. With some experience and by simply using all information a vintage photo will give you, you will be able to narrow it down to only a couple of years.

07/05/2024

Each picture tells a story. You just have to watch and to listen carefully.

I am collecting vintage photographs, even if there is no connection with my own family. It is important to save these old photos for future generations. Even if you don't know the people and/or buildings - don't give or throw these pictures away. They are part of your family's history and those people wanted to be remembered. If you give these pictures away or even throw them away, you give away a part of your own history.

Here's a vintage photo which is originally in a bad condition, but by scanning it in high resolution (1200 dpi, 48 bit) it will regain much of its former beauty and by saving it on my hard drive, I can preserve it for the next generations.

And like all other vintage photos it really does tell a story, but I can only understand a small part of it. Are you curious? Ok, starting tomorrow I will let you know, what this vintage photo told me and how YOU can easily learn to understand your family's vintage photos and how you can use that information for your own research.

27/03/2024

Back in the game. Let's get this thing started!

There are still some unsolved family mysteries and gaps in your family tree? You still don't know your German ancestor's place of origin? You are unable to read the old German script? You would like an expert and guide to show you the places where your ancestors lived before they emigrated to America? You would like to find some distant relatives in Germany? You don't know how and where to start your own research in German sources and archives?

Well, maybe I can help you. I am a motivated, curious German genealogist with almost 40 years of experience and specialized on emigration to the Americas. I like to start my research where others will give up.

What are you waiting for? Contact me! Let's get this thing started!

Photo:
My grandaunt Cornelia "Nellie" Honer nee Mueller and her husband Fritz Honer. He emigrated to the USA in 1925 to find a home and a job and when he had prepared everything, he returned to Germany to take my grandaunt, who had waited for him, with him for starting a new life in the States. They were married on October 3, 1927, the day of their arrival, in the port of New York and remained a happy couple until death seperated them.

02/05/2022

Remembering Mary Katharine Goddard:
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/568836/remembering-mary-katharine-goddard-only-woman-whose-name-appeared-declaration-independence?fbclid=IwAR3g-OFmc-hKQ7ASIxIzth0N-iXHBAii1rm8q2dOOhH_eXOssNJSR2TmYLQ

Mary Katharine Goddard was one of America's first publishers, and she was tasked with printing and delivering the Declaration of Independence to the 13 colonies.

29/11/2020

29/11/2020

29/11/2020

Welcome on my new FB page!

I am a highly experienced and motivated genealogist and historian, age 56, living in Lower Saxony in the beautiful city of Nienburg (Weser) - not far from Bremen, Hamburg and Hannover.

I am specialised in German, German-American and Danube-Swabian genealogy. I will look for your ancestors in all over Germany (in the borders of 1871), the former Danube-Swabian regions and in the Alsace (France).

I am used to working with original sources (also others than just civil registration and church records) and in transcribing old German documents. The more difficult a research gets, the more I will be motivated.

Contact me and let us uncover your family's history!

Manfred Schank