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Explore the best tips and resources – online and offline – to find old family photos. Discover common and uncommon places to look.
Is it possible for the genealogy researcher to find old family photos?
As genealogy researchers, we know a lot about our ancestors. We can place an ancestor on the map at any given point in time. We know what they did for a living, how many children they had, if faith was important to them, and even if they broke the law. In some cases, we even know about their mental health.
What we really want to know is what they looked like?! Secretly, we wonder if we looked like them. Which side of the family did we take after?
We do have options for finding old family photos and seeing what our ancestors looked like. Even better, many of the places you can search are free.
Tips & Resources To Find Old Family Photos
1.Ask Your Family.
I know. I know. This seems pretty basic, but ask your family anyway. Ask your immediate family, AND ask those more distant relatives if they have old family photos. Your ancestors shared family photos. My great grandmother was a young women when the Brownie camera gained popularity and photography became more affordable for the general public. She shared a large number of photos with her cousins and her friends.
Genealogy Tip: No “cousin” is too far geographically or on the family tree not to have photos of your ancestors (or at least information) on your old family photos.
Alternatively, ask fellow researchers who are researching on the same family line.
2. Local and state archives
Archives often have photographs and your ancestors could be among them. Photographs can be found in an archives digital collection or on-site at the archives. Ask the staff for assistance in where their specific repository keeps its photographs.
Melissa Barker (AKA The Archive Lady) recommends the researcher ask about photo collections on the shelf that have not been cataloged yet. [Listen to this tip and other great photograph tips in this Facebook Live I did with Melissa.]
3.Flickr
Archives and large libraries are using Flickr to house digital collections including many photographs!
4. Yearbooks
Yearbooks are another place to search for your ancestor’s photograph. Many yearbooks are being digitized and can be found in archives online collections. One such example is the yearbook collection at Digital NC.College and high school yearbooks dating back to the 1890’s can be found. Large genealogy databases such as Ancestry.com and FindMyPast also have yearbook collections.
Additionally, check the local library and the historical society for where your ancestor lived for copies of yearbooks.
5. Church Directories.
Similar to yearbooks, church directories contain photographs of their members. That means you can potentially find old family photos in them! Finding specific church directories (especially for smaller rural churches) can be difficult, but certainly not impossible. The church itself most likely has a collection of any directories created. Check with local members if you know any. Additionally, check the local library and local historical society for copies.
Genealogy Tip: Church directories can be a gold mine of information for the genealogy researcher.
6. DeadFred.comand orphaned photo sites.
Orphaned photo websites are another place to find old family photos. DeadFred is a free online genealogy photo archive. Search by location or by surname and see if any of your ancestors are there.
Similarly, look at Ancient FacesandOld Photographs Of African Americans – Unknown Faces (OPOAA).Cyndi’s List has an extensive list of websites for orphaned or lost photos you will want review.
7. Online auction sites.
Sadly, old family photos sometimes end up in antique shops and online auction sites. {Sigh…} Check online auction sites such as ebay for old family photographs and other family ephemera.
8. Family history books
Published family histories on a specific family line or surname can contain photographs of your ancestors. Early in my research, I was directed to a family history book (by the author and fellow researcher) to find a photograph of my GGG grandparents! The book was in a library just 3 miles from my home.
Also, check WorldCat and Internet Archivefor family histories.
9. Online Family Trees
As genealogy researchers, we know to be careful when getting information from someone’s family tree. We never accept the information as fact unless we can confirm the facts ourselves. You can use these online family trees as clues and many contain those coveted old family photos.
If you find a photograph of your ancestor in an online family tree, I recommend you reach out to the tree owner. You are both researching the same person and they may have other photographs for that family.
10. Perform a Google Search.
Type in an ancestor’s name and click on images in the results page.
GenealogyTip: I recommend including a date range in your search to help narrow down the results.
Have you found old family photos in an unusual place? Share your experience in the comments below.
Want to learn more about photos? Check out these other posts and video!
- Restoring Old Family Photos – A Vivid-Pix Tutorial
- What Genealogists Ought To Know About Photo Organization
- Best Practices for Storing Heirloom Photographs
- Preserving Your Family’s Historic Photographs
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