Photo Return Project: Salvaging Ancestor Faces

My own Ancestors

I wasn’t much into photo editing until I discovered that a distant cousin of mine posted my great great grandmother. Stella in a family portrait with a teenage great-grandma Phoebe, I found it on Flickr.  Phoebe was only 24 when she died, leaving my Grandma Ollivene orphaned at 3 months old. Phoebe’s mother Stella was 48 when she died and I didn’t see either of their faces until I was 46.  

Antique Shopping

I’m not about to spend a (bigger) fortune purchasing antique portraits and personal ephemera at estate sales, auctions and antique shops. Sometimes I just snap photos while I’m there and don’t really bring them home. I can’t bear the idea of letting the photos rot away when their real-life descendants could benefit so greatly just from seeing their faces.

I didn’t realize this hobby would be such a big part of my life until I met Idella and Clara Case in a tintype.  The photo was so small but it was the first tintype I ever purchased for reunification and when I researched them, I realized that we have shared ancestors, so I just kept them. You might also be related to them, via the Vorhees and Westervelts, who arrived in the 1600’s, New Amsterdam settlement, if I am not mistaken. They are my 6th cousins, 5 times removed. Their image is used frequently on this website, but I’ve also uploaded it to FamilySearch and Ancestry, for my cousins.

Research

I only purchase photos that look like they have clues.  My favorite kind of clue is when full and complete names are listed on the edges or back of the photo, but some of our ancestors were real dopes about that, if I’m being honest.

I came across a photo yesterday with the word “Grandma” written on the back.  I will never be able to find grandma with that caption. Sometimes, if the whole family’s first names are on the image, I can enter them into Ancestry and if they’re all on one census record together, I might actually find them.  

Once I track down the individuals in the portrait, I upload their image to a public tree on Ancestry.  If I find direct descendants with trees on Amazon, I trust the algorithm will show them the image. Sometimes, it’s easier to find them on Facebook. When that happens, sometimes I will send them a note offering to mail the original image. 

Returning unhoused portraits

Other than the Case Sisters, I feel no sense of ownership over any of the physical images I have purchased. I truly feel like I am holding onto them until I find their family.  All those antique photo albums and cabinet cards in my desk drawer, those aren’t mine, I am just holding them for a friend. I am their foster guardian.

I love mailing the originals back to their family. I try to always save a high resolution scanned version of the image in case I’m approached by other family members; at least I can help them get a good print.