As mentioned in my last book review about social networking, sharing photographs is just one way of performing genealogical research. Thanks to Drew Smith's suggestion in Social Networking for Genealogist, I have posted many photos online for family members to peruse. Now, thanks to "Uncovering Your Ancestry through Family Photographs" by Maureen Taylor, I have a better understanding of the relevance of photos to genealogy. However, Taylor has taught me more than just appreciation of these photos; she presents a solid research methodology for interpreting these photos and identifying your ancestors.

Her book is a beautiful soft-cover volume written for beginning genealogists, which includes many early photographic images from both her family and those that are "unknown" and available for purchase. A concise Table of Contents and Introduction quickly points readers to different topics such as types of photographs, occasions, and deciphering genealogical clues from the image. The book's layout, with its chapter headnotes and summaries, bold-faced section headings, and full-color graphics and images, make it visually appealing and easily navigated. Other helpful features of the text are the case studies in each chapter that illustrate the principles taught. Timelines on the history of photography help provide clues to dating photographs. She also includes diagrams that illustrate principles and sidebars with helpful pointers and resources round out the text. At first glance, this book is impressive in its present ation; further examination shows that it is equally impressive in its content.

Chapter One discusses the importance of compiling a visual history and lists important "Tools of the Trade," such as a magnifying glass and cotton gloves. Taylor further explains her methodology and introduces her worksheet for investigating printed images. Similar to other worksheets for researching written records, such as a census, Taylor encourages use of the worksheet as an effective step in the research plan (she includes bl ank forms in the appendices). She recommends taking the worksheet and a copy of the photo with you on research trips, especially if that trip is to the home of elderly relatives who may provide answers to the image's contents. The first case study demonstrates how to examine a photograph; the example image is of a woman and her children. Taylor narrates how to examine the photo for clues about the individuals and encourages readers to begin doing the same with their own family photos.

Chapter Two, "Talking with Relatives," emphasizes the importance of looking to your family early on in the research process. Taylor points out that not only will older relatives likely know who is in the photograph you are researching, but they may know the stories behind the photograph, or even other stories about the individuals pictured. She includes sample interview questions on page 21 to help you get started. This chapter also includes three case studies that illustrate how this research method of conversing with family members helped others identify those pictured in old photographs.

The history of daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and tintypes is presented in chapter three. Taylor also points out how to identify and differentiate between these early nineteenth-century images. The tintype was an American-made invention that was less expensive and allowed many more people to have their pictures taken. These three types of images were almost always put in a protective case and Taylor provides a short informative discussion on their manufacture and distribution.

Chapter four looks at the increase in popularity of candid photography thanks to the development of the paper-printed image and inexpensive cameras like the Kodak Brownie. Taylor also talks about the development of photo albums and photographic jewelry.

Taylor points out in chapter five that most early photographs were colored and retouched by hand. It was not until 1907 that color film was available for portrait photographers and in 1935 it became available for amateur photographers. Taylor also gives the history of the Polaroid camera and film, along with preservation guidelines, and points out some other valuable sources on color photography.

Chapter Six examines professional photographers and shows how to use the information from a professional photographer's imprint on a photo to identify one's ancestors. Taylor shows how to locate these photographers in historical directories, newspapers, census records, or online using websites. She does say that the George Eastman House provides a database of historical photographers, but when I looked at the website I could not find such a link.

The next topic in Chapter Seven looks at photos from "Birth to Death." Taylor offers insight into deciphering the different life events that our ancestors would have had photographed. She offers clues to recognize these life events. One such clue she offers is that girls dressed in white for only two occasions: either celebration of their First Communion or graduation from high school.

Chapter Eight shows readers how the internal elements in the photograph have relevance for family historians, such as facial characteristics, props, architecture, technological details, and signage (p. 74). As with most other chapters, Taylor provides interesting case studies that illustrate how internal clues, such as facial characteristics, helped identify the person in the image. This chapter also lists further reference works that can help identify significant details.

Chapter Nine, "Identifying Costume," is the most significant and valuable in the entire book because of Taylor's research on fashion. For instance, babies in the 19th-century were dressed in gender-neutral gowns and had long hair. The secret to figuring out the baby's gender, according to Taylor, is in the part of the baby's hair: a center part means the baby is a girl, and a side part means the baby is a boy (p. 86-87). Other helpful information Taylor includes is how to determine a young girl's age: look at the length of her skirts. The longer her skirts the older she is -- adult women typically wore full length skirts until the early twentieth century. As interesting and helpful as these details are, the most important aspect of Chapter Nine is the table Taylor makes for women's fashion from 1840-1914 (p. 88-91). She includes details about the bodice on a dress, its neckline, sleeves, and skirt, along with descriptions of accessories and hairstyles of the wearers. Taylor also includes examples that illustrate the progression of styles. And while men's fashions did not change as much as women's did, Taylor still made a table noting the differences in coats, shirts, neckties, trousers, accessories, hair, and beards for men from 1840-1900 (p. 92). Both tables are invaluable for beginning researchers.

Chapter Ten focuses on specific types of photographs -- weddings, military, or foreign places -- and offers some research strategies for reading the clues contained within. For instance, wedding portraits then were a different style of portrait than what is typical today. Women did not always pose in wedding clothes. Often the photo was taken in their best clothes since few could justify the expense of single-use wedding clothes. Or women who did have a specific wedding gown often chose colors besides white, especially in the 1870s-1880s when synthetic dyes became more readily available (p. 99). Something else to be aware of in wedding portraits is that brides may have worn "vintage" clothing -- a dress or veil passed down from a mother or grandmother -- so the costume was not always new to the bride.

Chapter Eleven, "Building a Family Collection," teaches researchers how to find more photos in archives and online. There is an excellent case study of a man who made a family archive, ultimately saving photos that other family members were going to throw out.

The final chapter, "Adding Up the Clues," is also valuable in that it offers success stories about how photos furthered genealogical research. Taylor also introduces the DeadFred.com website, which is a reunion photo site that allows free searches of its database.

The book concludes with appendices of worksheets, addresses, and an index. This is a useful beginning guide for genealogists that teaches solid research methods for those who want to identify ancestors and learn more about their lives beyond the basic vital statistics. This book would also be a good companion guide to the book I recently reviewed called Scrapbooking Your Family History by Creative Keepsakes. I highly recommend Uncovering Your Ancestry through Family Photographs,for the novice and advanced genealogists alike.

Review written by Larisa S. Asaeli