Another Family History Hardcover Book Completed

Time is rushing by and my projects have been plenty!  Without much time to post here, I am posting a link to a book I recently published for a client, but have altered to protect the family's privacy.  Hope it inspires you to do some work on your own family!

Click on the image to view a preview of this project.

     I haven't had much free time to create any blogposts over the past year or so.  I've been busy working on a major project for a client who delivered 36 boxes from his mother's attic!  The boxes contained thousands of photos, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, documents and other treasures that had previously belonged to his parents and grandparents on both his mother and father's sides.  A treasure trove for sure!

Phase 1 of this project included cataloging each and every item in the collection and sorting the items by person.  At the same time, I used the information contained in those items to build the client's family tree, which has now grown nine generations back!

Phase 2, which is underway now, involves scanning every item and then preserving the originals worth keeping and organizing the digital files to distribute to all family members.  It has been a fabulous project, perfect for my skill set and one that will provide this family with priceless memories to pass on to future generations.  Here's an example of a short video I created for one of the family members from their box of photos.  Click on the caption/link below the image to view the video.

An example of a video I created for client

Resolve to organize your photos this year!

Being able to take and store amazing photos on our smartphones is a double-edged sword.  On the one hand, it's GREAT to be able to capture all those memories.  On the other hand, it is STRESSFUL knowing that you've accumulated some wonderful shots but that they're unorganized, at risk without backup and no one is enjoying them while they're sitting on your phone.

Put it on your Calendar!

The key to reducing that stress is to schedule some time to organize your photos on a regular basis.  Starting this month will help you feel relief right off the bat.

First, you'll need to determine where you'll back up your photos.  

Sites such as Shutterfly offer unlimited free storage space and can be accessed from your computer, phone or tablet. 

Apple users can utilize seamless integration for a fee with the Apple icloud service.  

My personal preference is Heritage Makers, (www.ginealogy.com to sign up) where Club HM members can store up to 10GB for free and have them at  hand to create cards, photo gifts and photobooks.  For tips on organizing your photos in your Heritage Makers account, see my previous post from November 2011.

Google Photos provides free unlimited storage space with the ability to auto upload from all your devices.  You can also edit and share your photos and search by person or subject with their smart recognition search feature.  This is a GREAT and super easy option I recommend you explore, especially if you're already using a google/gmail account.  You'll probably be surprised to see your photos are already stored in your Google Photos ready to enjoy!

I CAN HELP!

I spent some time over the holidays taking classes to become a Certified Photo Organizer.  If you don't want to take the time to organize your photos monthly, contact me to get on my schedule.  For a small fee, I'll remind you to upload your favorite photos into your Heritage Makers account and at the end of the year I can even put them into a Yearbook for you and your family members to enjoy.  Now, that is what I call stress FREE!  Happy New Year!

In search of the mysterious Gertrude Helena Brown Smith

The Mysterious Gertrude Helena Brown Smith   

Gertrude Brown, c. 1905

When I started doing research on my ancestors for the first time in 1993, my mother assured me that her side had already been “done” by a friend of hers who was a hobbyist genealogist, so I should concentrate on my dad’s line.  In 2001, when I took a closer look at what my mother had, however, I realized that my mom’s friend, while meaning well, had attached our Gertrude Helena Brown to the wrong Brown family.  My search began to find Gertrude’s true family and the search still continues today, twelve years and literally hundreds of research hours later.

I.  What I know about Gertrude

            The family story about Gertrude:

1.      She was orphaned at an early age (around 9 years old)

2.      She had one “much older” sister who survived – all other siblings and her parents died in an epidemic of some sort (cholera?  Diphtheria?)

3.      The older sister married, but the husband did not agree to take in Gertrude (couldn’t afford to care for her), so Gertrude was taken into the home of a family where she worked for her keep.

4.      She grew up in New York city according to the family story

5.      She was born October 25, 1875 (her own handwriting in a Bible register)

6.      Some family members seem to think she may have been born a triplet but the others did not survive long.

7.      She married David Harp Smith, of Missouri, in North Dakota on March 7, 1905 (have marriage record).  He was homesteading there (have homestead file).

8.      They had a child born December 8, 1905 in North Dakota.  This child died the day he was born (have birth/death record).

9.      She and David moved to Carterville, Jasper County, Missouri sometime around 1906 or 1907.  David was suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis, which they believed he contracted because of the terrible North Dakota winters.

10.  Their second child was born April 17, 1907 in Carterville, Missouri (no birth record available due to courthouse fire).  She was named Minnie Annie Smith, but changed her name to Mary Frances when she became Catholic in 1917.

11.  Around 1910, Gertrude received a postcard, which she saved from “loving Niece and Nephew Gus & Helen”  It is not postmarked and has no return address.  It is addressed to Mrs. D. Smith, Carterville, Mo.  Box 56 and to “Dear Aunt, Uncle & Cousin”.

12.  David Smith died November 18, 1913 “from” Rheumatoid Arthritis (have death certificate and probate file).

13.  Gertrude and Mary Frances may have moved back to New York for a short time after David’s death, but did not stay.

14.  Gertrude attended a Babies’ Hospital nursing school in New York in 1895 and lived with and cared for other people’s children the rest of her adult life.  Gertrude went to work for the Schaeffer family in Joplin, Missouri after David’s death.  (There is some connection to the McConomy family and therefore the Schaeffer’s from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, but not sure what that is.)

15.  Gertrude and her daughter moved to Kansas City, Missouri c. 1919.

16.  Gertrude died in Kansas City, Missouri on January 10, 1934 (have death record and cemetery records).

II.                Looking for Gertrude on the census records

1920 – Kansas City, Missouri –Gertrude Smith appears on the 1920 census at age 44 (1875 birth year assumed), born in Ohio (father born in French speaking France and mother born in Germany).  She is a widow and a Servant to the family whose home she is living.  Gertrude’s daughter appears with her as Mary Frances Smith, boarder, age 12, born in Missouri (parents both born in Ohio), attending school.  They are in the home of Ernest Schreiber, who has a wife and four children under the age of 7!  Gertrude's job was to care for the children.  (FHL 1820929)

1910 –  Joplin Twp., Carterville, Jasper County, Missouri -  Gertrude H. Smith appears on the 1910 census at age 33 (1876 birth year assumed), born in Ohio (Father born in French speaking France and mother born in Ohio).  She has been married one time for five years and has had two children with one still living.  She is living with her husband, David H. Smith, age 25 [believed to be incorrectly recorded and should say 35], born in Kentucky (both parents born in KY as well).  He has been married one time for five years (1905 assumed) and has no occupation.  Their daughter appears as Minnie A. Smith, age 3, born in Missouri (parents born in Kentucky and Ohio).  They are living in the home of David’s parents: Andrew and Mary Ann Smith and David’s brother, Willis Wheat, age 31 is also living there.  His occupation is Water Wagon driver.  A boarder is also listed - Loyd Ruder, age 16.  He is also a water wagon driver.

The address is 606 N. Tennessee Ave.    (FHL 1374804)

1900 – Newark City, Essex County, New Jersey - Gertrude H. Brown appears on the 1900 census at age 23, born October 1876 in New York (parents both born in New York), living as a Boarder with William J. and Minnie B. Brewer at 439 4th Avenue.  The Brewers have two sons:  Charles H. and Harold W. ages 9 and 11 and a servant girl, Mary Billings, age 31, born in Pennsylvania is living with them.  Gertrude is listed as a Salvation Army officer, as is William.   (FHL #1240965)

On Christmas 2001, Gin found the proof that this was indeed our GHB by locating a photograph in Liz Soetaert's archives in Placerville, CA.  The photo was of two young boys playing football.  On the back, it was signed "To dear Gertie, Herbert" and "To my sunchine Gertie, Harold Brewer xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx."  Upon contacting the Salvation Army in  Alexandria, VA, they told me that Minnie Brewer was the National Secretary for Slum work, so she would have been Gertrude’s supervisor.  She also sent a photograph from the 1899 “Harbor Lights” Salvation Army newsletter showing Mrs. Lieut. Col., Brewer and New York Slum Officers.  I think Gertrude is shown there.

Brewer boys card to Gertrude

Which one is Gertrude Brown?

1880 – There are 5 Gertrude Brown’s on the 1880 census who were born between 1874 and 1876 in New York.  Several of the families and eliminated some of them simply because both parents were born in the U.S. or other reasons (see spreadsheet)

One family may still be a viable option: Valentine Braun, age 37, b. Frankfort on Main and wife Martha Braun, age 27, b. PA.  They are living in Manhattan, NYC, New York in 1880 with Gertrude Braun, age 5, born NYC, Lizzie, age 7, Valentine, age 2 and Natalia, age 2 months (all born in NYC).

If the birth year of Gertrude is expanded, another family looks like a possibility:  Samuel Brown, age 37, born in Germany with wife Anna Brown, age 35, born in Germany with children: Jane, age 13, b. NY, Gertrude Brown, age 7, b. NY, Jacob, age 6, b. NY, Falk, age 4, b. NY.  They are living in Brooklyn, Kings Co., NY in 1880.  I have done quite a bit of research in this family (see spreadsheet) and Samuel and Anna disappear around 1882.  Perhaps they died?

If we assume Gertrude was born in Ohio between 1874 and 1876, there are 8 possibilities (see spreadsheet), but all can be eliminated because both parents were born in the U.S. 

One family remains:  Henry Bruns, age 46 born in Prussia and wife Karolena Bruns, age 31, born in Ohio have Dora, age 10, Ida, age 7, Gertrude, age 3 as well as Elisabeth, age 18, and Minna, age 16 from a previous marriage.  Karolena’s mother, Dorothea Meyers is also living with them.  She is 69, born in Prussia and her daughter, Anna Meyers, age 28 is also in the home.  We eliminated this family because we located the birth record for Alisa Gertruth Bruns and she was born 21 August 1876 (not in October).

III.  The Problem:  Not sure if Gertrude was born in NY or Ohio (our family had no knowledge of her ever living in Ohio).  Have not been able to determine how to prove or disprove Samuel Brown family or Valentine Braun family of New York City.

On October 4, 2013, I met with "Photo Detective" and genealogist Maureen Taylor to get her thoughts on several mystery photographs from our family collection.  Here's what I knew about this postcard photo:  This postcard was owned by my Great Grandmother, Gertrude Helena Brown Smith.  It was (presumably) mailed to her in an envelope (postcard not canceled or stamped) sometime around 1910 (based on the date of the car).  This is the ONLY link we have of Gertrude to any of her relatives.  The writing on the back says:
Mrs. D. Smith, Carterville, Mo., Box 56
Dear Aunt, Uncle & Cousin - How would You all like to go Automobile riding?  Hope to hear from You all soon. Write Soon as You can.  Loving Niece & Nephew Gus & Helen
It is also stamped with the words Post-Card and says: Printed in the U.S. and there is a Serie # stamped as well.

Maureen quickly dismissed the notion that the people in the photograph are related to me or are Gus & Helen or that the sole male in the photo is the mystery man from the posting below (distinguished man in the very conservative clothing and pinky rings)..  She says that the photo is too goofy and that it was simply purchased in a drug store like we can purchase pre-printed postcards today.  She says that the Serie # indicates that the card was a European design, but she couldn't read the copy I had well enough to identify the number for a google search.


I did not believe her until I google-d "We Are Having a Great Joy Ride" postcard and found another identical card that sold on Etsy.  It was stamped and postmarked from Massachusetts in 1910.  http://www.etsy.com/listing/27063451/humor-postcard-2-we-are-having-a-great
and another one postmarked 1911 from Ohio http://www.cardcow.com/447853/we-are-having-great-joy-ride-group-happy-people-car-transportation-cars/ 
and another on a French website!  http://postcards.delcampe.fr/items?language=F&searchString=%22We+are+having+a+great+joy+ride%22&cat=0&catLists[]=788&searchOptionForm[searchMode]=all&searchOptionForm[termsToExclude]=&searchOptionForm[searchTldCountry]=fr&searchOptionForm[searchInDescription]=N

This is a big disappointment but really good to know!  Wish I'd thought to google that caption sooner!

Gertrude Brown's Mystery Man

On October 4, 2013, I had this photograph analyzed by "Photo Detective" and genealogist, Maureen Taylor in hopes of discovering something I hadn't that would lead me to finding out who this distinguished gentleman is and if he is related to me through my Great Grandmother, Gertrude Helena Brown Smith, who I believe owned this photograph.  Unfortunately, the photograph does not have a photographer's mark on it, which would help us pinpoint the location the photo was taken, but it does have the following writing on the back: 91903, which she confirmed may be a date (September 1903).  That does match the age of the photograph, at least.  It appears this photograph was taken in a Studio.
The first thing she pointed out was the "silvering" that is present on this photo.  When turned at an angle to the light, the edges have a silvery shadow to them.  She said that this was due to the way photographs were processed before 1920.  That silvering will destroy the photograph over time, so she warned that we should have a good scan of it before this happens further.
She mentioned the following:  He is a young man, maybe in his 30's.  He has a tie pin.  He has rings on both pinky fingers and no other rings (not married).  He has very conservative shoes, which she repeated several times.  She found these to be quite distinctive.  He has a pocket watch, which is tucked into his lapel and dropped into his breast pocket.
This man's pose exudes confidence and importance.
That's it.  :(  I am posting it here and at Dead Fred and Ancient Faces, in hopes someone will see it and recognize him or have the same photo in their possession.  Also, praying to Saint Anthony, who always helps me find lost things and this man's identity is definitely lost, at least to me.

Combining Past and Present

My daughter was cast in the school musical as Salvation Army Officer, Sarah Brown in Guys & Dolls.  It was a role that mirrored that of her Great, Great Grandmother, Gertrude Brown who actually was a Salvation Army officer in the New York slums around 1900.  Here's the book I created to combine them. 

Click here to view the contents

Who Are The People in Your Pictures?!!

People tell me all the time that they have a box of photos they inherited from (fill in the name of a deceased ancestor here) and they have no idea who the people are.  Should they through the box away.  This is when I nearly faint and try to act really calm and say NO!!!  

One of the best ways of discovering who the people are in your mystery photos is to do a little family history research.  Often you can piece together whole families this way!

To get started, use these instructions to fill out your Pedigree Chart and Family Group Sheets.  Ask your oldest living relatives for help and you'll be surprised how much you can fill in!

Instructions:

“Key to Completing Your Pedigree Chart”

b. = born

p. = place (of birth)

m. = marriage date

p. = place of marriage

d. = death date

p. = place of death

1.     Fill in yourself on line #1

2.     Line #2 is for your Father

3.     Line #3 is for your Mother

4.  Line #4 is for your Father’s Father (your grandfather)

5.  Line #5 is for your Father’s Mother (your grandmother)

6.      Line #6 is for your Mother’s Father (your grandfather)

7.      Line #7 is for your Mother’s Mother (your grandmother)

8.      Line #8 is for your Grandfather’s Father

                                     (your Great Grandfather)

9.      Line #9 is for your Grandfather’s Mother

                                     (your Great Grandmother)

Continue with as much information as you can.

Important:      

§       Use each person’s full name

(indicate if they went by their middle name or a nickname)

§       Provide dates and places as completely as possible

§       If children’s names are known of any of the couples listed, include them on a Family Group Sheet

§       The more information you can provide, the better

Preserve Your Family Recipes in a Book This Holiday Season!

Here is the book I just finished, with photos and pictures of my children's grandmother and great grandmother. Click the link below to see the preview and Email me if it inspires you to do one of your own!

Your Jewish Grandmothers’ Cookbook

Capture precious memories in a book this holiday season!

Here is one of my latest creations...

Our mother-daughter trip to Hershey, PA!

click here to see the book

Things to do with your oldest living relatives right away....

Grief is a powerful emotion, which I’m reminded of daily since my sweet mother-in-law passed away two weeks ago. I have brought all of her photos home to scan them and preserve them so that everyone in the family can have them all. It was just in last month’s newsletter that I wrote: “Our photos become more precious to us with each passing day - reminding us not only of when we were younger, but of good times with the people we love, some of whom may not be with us any more.”

Each day we struggle to deal with our loss and I have found that another emotion, GRATITUDE is a great combatant of grief. As I go through Jean’s photos, I am reminded of the good times we had together and am so grateful for so many things.

Here are a few: I worked with Jean on her family history and helped her locate many cousins she never knew; I helped her put together a scrapbook (pre-HM) of her oldest pictures and labeled each one with her dictated caption; I asked her to write down every place she’d ever lived, along with memories of those places and the people she knew; I made a friendship quilt for her 70^th birthday and sent her photos and cards to help her feel less far away from her grandchildren. Those things took time, but time that was well-spent.

Here are some things I urge you to do with your oldest living relatives (especially your parents, if you're lucky enough to still have them here on earth):

1. Pull out the photo albums and find the oldest photos. Ideally, scan those photos at 300 dpi and preserve them on several CDs (put one in your safe deposit box and distribute them to your siblings). Print those photos (or make good quality COLOR - even if they're black and white photos - copies of them) and ask these questions: Names of everyone in the photo; place photo was taken; approximate date of the photo/event. Pay attention to details like jewelry and clothing worn (family heirloom?); cars (who owned them); houses (who lived in them and what was the address). You'll be surprised what people will remember and tell you IF ASKED. Photos are a great way to prompt your oldest living relatives to tell you really interesting things about their lives before you knew them and about the people you never knew or are already gone.

2. Ask your parents to write down every place they've lived - just list them. Ask them to try to include an address if they can recall it and if they have any particular memories about the place, to jot those down as well. This should not take too much time (maybe 20 minutes?), but will be treasured by many!!!

3. Ask your parents to do the same thing as #2 with every school they attended. Ask them to jot down any particular memories, names of teachers and friends, favorite subjects, as well as worst and best experiences.

4. Ask your parents to do the same thing as #2 and 3 with every job they had. Details might include names of bosses and co-workers, description of tasks, best and worst experiences and lessons learned.

That's a good enough start for now and my best advice of all... DON'T WAIT. I had so much more I wanted to do with and for Jean. I thought I had a lot more time.

Senior Mom's Club

I’m so excited to get our group together and get started on our graduation projects! These will truly become instant family heirlooms and lifelong treasures for our graduates. You should feel so proud to be taking the time to do this!

We will meet three times over the next three months. If you attend each time and complete small and very manageable tasks in between, you’ll be ready to publish your project and get it back in time for graduation day! If you ever need help in between our meetings, we can always meet online anytime.

Here’s what you need to do to prepare for that first meeting:

1. Pick out a project template from the templates below. You can click on the image or the links below the images, which also have a description of the projects. Look for a project that has an overall layout that appeals to you. ANYTHING and EVERYTHING on any page and the covers can be changed, so just look for a general layout (how the photos are organized on the pages) that you like.

2. Upload at least 10 photos to your account. To do this, login to your account, click My Photos (top tabs) and then create a FOLDER with the name of your graduate. Within that folder, you can add ALBUMS for each of the 2-page spreads in your book, i.e. Birth, School, Sports, etc. Here is a short youtube video that shows how to upload your photos: Upload photos to your Studio account (6:18)

3. Start gathering items you’d like me to scan. Examples include: photos, certificates, report cards, etc. Photos must be loose (not in frames or albums) when you bring them to me next week and cannot be wider than 8.5”. If you want to include larger items or trophies, medals or other items, take a picture of those items in good light and upload those into your account.

We still have room for a couple more moms, so spread the word this week! See you on the 21^st!

Click on the links below to see a preview of these projects:

ALL TEMPLATES ARE FULLY CUSTOMIZABLE

I’LL SHOW YOU HOW TO MAKE IT

JUST LIKE YOU WANT IT!

http://www.heritagemakers.com/projectBrowserStandAlone.cfm?projectID=1332459&productId=9&sponsorID=250202

(HS graduation cornerstone book – 11” x 8.5” hardcover book – 60 points with 21 pages – can add up to 99 pages for 1 pt/page)

http://www.heritagemakers.com/projectBrowserStandAlone.cfm?projectID=1398340&productId=60&sponsorID=250202

(Senior Send-off - 8 x 8” board book – 15 page limit – 60 points)

http://www.heritagemakers.com/projectBrowserStandAlone.cfm?projectID=1358866&productId=3&sponsorID=250202

(Advice for a daughter - 7 x 5” hardcover book – 40 points with 21 pages – can add up to 99 pages for 1 pt/page)

http://www.heritagemakers.com/projectBrowserStandAlone.cfm?projectID=1358950&productId=3&sponsorID=250202

(Advice for a son - 7 x 5” hardcover book – 40 points with 21 pages – can add up to 99 pages for 1 pt/page)

http://www.heritagemakers.com/projectBrowserStandAlone.cfm?projectID=1346721&productId=5&sponsorID=250202

(Graduation Party Guest book – 8 x 8” hardcover book – 50 points with 21 pages – can add up to 99 pages for 1 pt/page)

http://www.heritagemakers.com/projectBrowserStandAlone.cfm?projectID=1654456&productId=15&sponsorID=250202

(Graduation Announcement 5” x 7” greeting card – 3 pts/card)

http://www.heritagemakers.com/projectBrowserStandAlone.cfm?projectID=1652161&productId=57&sponsorID=250202

(Gallery-Wrapped Canvas – 16” x 20” – 90 points)

http://www.heritagemakers.com/projectBrowserStandAlone.cfm?projectID=721150&productId=5&sponsorID=250202

(Child’s Story – 8 x 8” hardcover book – 50 points with 21 pages – can add up to 99 pages for 1 pt/page)

http://www.heritagemakers.com/projectBrowserStandAlone.cfm?projectID=765507&productId=9&sponsorID=250202

(Child’s Story #2 – 11.5 x 8.5” hardcover book – 60 points with 21 pages – can add up to 99 pages for 1 pt/page)

http://www.heritagemakers.com/projectBrowserStandAlone.cfm?projectID=1668645&productId=11&sponsorID=250202

(12 x 12” hardcover book - 82 points with 27 pages – can add up to 99 pages for 2 pts/page)

Organizing Your Photos in Your Heritage Makers account

We talked about this at the digi-crop last week, so I wanted to send these tips to you, just in case you're interested.... If you start with your January 2011 photos you'll be CAUGHT UP! :)

Here are some organizing tips:

Organizing and Uploading Your Photos

(1) You'll want to isolate and edit your favorites before you upload. However you go about it, your goal is to get your favorites separated from the duds. Most programs have a "flag" or "tag" feature (may be called something else). As you scroll through your January photos, flag or tag your favorite photos. Go ahead and flag ALL your favorite January photos. Even if you don't use them all in your yearbook, you may eventually want to use them in a different project. This step is SO HELPFUL because when you upload to HM, you won't want to upload all the bad photos. And it's much easier to pick your favorites in your photo management program than on the HM upload screen. Also, you should edit your favorites for red eye, brightness and color balance as you cannot do those tasks in the HM Studio (yet).

(2) In your HM account, create a folder for the year (like 2010). Then create an album in the 2010 folder for January. I like for the albums to be listed in order so I add 01, 02 etc. before the months, or they will be alphabetized and out of order. I add an "a" or "b" for special layouts, like "06a Swim Team" for example. See the sample to the left above.

Hope that's helpful.

Have you noticed the COPY and MOVE buttons in your albums yet? I can get online with you to show you how to use those.

Happy Organizing - nothing else to do on these nasty rainy days (plus it keeps my hands busy so I don't just keep eating)!

Here's a quick youtube video to show you how to upload your photos to HM.

Why Scan??

When I first heard that Heritage Makers consultants were offering scanning services to their clients, I thought to myself - why would someone want to scan their photos?

I know many of you are thinking the same thing, and the main answer is PRESERVATION of your precious photos and memories. You may feel like your photographs are safe, but if you, like I, have gone through boxes of old family photos, even ones that were "properly" stored in a good climate and temperature, they have lost much of their original quality, if not all of it. Now is the time to get those photos scanned!

1. Restoration
2. Sharing
3. Fading
4. Color Shift
5. Scratching
6. Disaster

1. RESTORE When I scan photos for my clients, I also restore them. This brings back the color to photos that most people didn't even realize had faded. I can also do more extensive restoration (see previous blog postings for samples) as well, but even just a simple "refeshing" of the photos really makes them a joy to see.

2. SHARE Often, a family will gather after the death of a loved one (or before) and determine how to "divide up" the photographs. This is a shame because not everyone gets to enjoy all of the photos. With scanning, all of the photos can be placed on CDs, making it possible to divide up the actual photos, but for everyone to have the digital images of each and every one. They are then ready to make prints of, or put into a Heritage Makers book for everyone to enjoy!

For information about the other four points above, see the article on Fading below as well as the Scan Cafe website. I have recently been introduced to this fine company and they do excellent work with scanning of slides, which is a service I could not previously offer.
Contact me to handle your photo or slide scanning today.

Fading, Fading...Gone!

Concern about fading in photography is as old as photography itself, and dates at least to a well-known "Fading Committee" established by the Photographic Society of London in 1855.

This 1994 photograph had been framed with an oval frame. Note how the area exposed to light has changed.

But the photos we are all most concerned about aren't quite that old! They date from 1936, with the introduction of Kodachrome film for 35mm slides, to about 1990, and it's these photos that are particularly in danger.

These photos were printed using a number of different variations on what is called a chromogenic process. That simply means that the surface on which the print is made does not already contain the dyes necessary to make the colors required. Rather, this process relies on a number of chemicals and chemical reactions to create the dyes, on the fly, at the time of processing. And it is the combination of dyes — typically, cyan (blue), magenta (red), and yellow — that creates the final colors we see in a color photo.

Why fading is inevitable

Unfortunately, these dyes — that is, these chemical reactions — are inherently unstable. In fact, they begin to degrade as soon as the photo is printed! And light hitting a photo — nearly any kind of visible light — simply accelerates this process. This is why packages of film have typically carried disclaimers about the fact that colors may fade over time.

This film box, bought in November 2008, carries the disclaimer "Since color dyes may change in time, Walgreens cannot warranty this film against any change in color."

Typically, there are two effects: a loss of detail in general, particularly in the highlights, and a color shift. As the magenta dye is most unstable when exposed to light, compared to the other two dyes, the result is a photo that can shift to a slightly greenish cast.

Over the last 50 years, there have been many different chromogenic approaches to making prints. As the work of image permanence pioneer Henry Wilhelm has shown, these approaches do vary widely in terms of potential image permanence. Unfortunately, the most popular of these — for example, Ektacolor-processed prints from the 1960's and 1970's — have tended to have significant fading problems when exposed to light.

If your photos are already faded

This photo was slightly faded, and correction was straightforward under ScanCafe's standard service.

Prior to the availability of scanning and digital photography software, if your photos were faded you were largely out of luck.That's not true any more!

Depending on the degree of fading, an image can be scanned and then digitally adjusted using a variety of photographic management software tools, like the ones ScanCafe technicians use. However, if your photos are severely faded, it can be challenging to bring them back to life — so it's definitely in your interest to hurry.

Source: http://www.scancafe.com/image-preservation/fading

What's FREE this month?!

As you probably know, I am a family history researcher, as well as a Heritage Makers Personal Publishing Consultant. It's the perfect match for me, marrying my passions for heritage and the preservation of family photos and stories in a way that brings me and my clients a great deal of joy.

This month, I wanted to share some places on the web where you can go to find out some fun things about your family tree for FREE! Family Tree Magazine (a great magazine, if you're not familiar with it) posts a list of top 101 websites every year. This time, they've only included the free sites, so check out this list

As I mentioned in my October Celebrations newsletter, one of my favorites is the Bureau of Land Management site At this site, you can plug in the name of an ancestor you think may have purchased a homestead in one of the federal land grant states (anything other than the 13 original colonies, MN, VT, WV, KY, TN, TX & HI). The Homestead Law was a series of enactments beginning with the Act of 20 May 1862. Its purpose was to distribute public lands to those who did not own any and, later, to encourage settlement in the less-developed western states. Most claims were made between 1863 and 1917, though the law was not abolished until 1976.

The Bureau of Land Management, over the past 10 or so years, has been indexing and digitizing the land patents - certificates issued when the land was finally granted to the claimant. These patents provide some interesting information as well as the "key" to gaining even more: your ancestors Land entry case file.

If you have an ancestor in mind, here's what to do:
1. Go to the BLM website
2. Identify the state where your ancestor lived when he applied for land
3. Go to "Search Land Patents"
4. Enter your zip code and Continue
5. Search for your ancestor's land application

You can copy or print the certificate and use Form 84 to fill in the information needed to order your ancestor's Land Entry Case File from the National Archives.

Why send for your ancestor's Land Entry Case File?! There is a fee to send for the case file, and this file may contain only the name of the claimant, the location of the land, acreage, price, dates of final papers and the name of the land office. However, files made after 1840 may also contain things like copies of birth certificates and marriage records, citizenship records, military service information, information on other family members and more. These files can be a true peek into the life of your ancestor in a way you never thought was possible.

So, if you think you might have an ancestor who was a homesteader (I did and I never would've guessed!), give this a try - and make sure you tell me what you find out!

Ginealogy tips for September

Back Up Your Digital Photos

Don't Neglect Digital Photos in Your Backup Routine

By Sue Chastain, About.com Guide

You do have a backup routine, don't you?

Some people will save film negatives for generations, but when they make the switch to digital, they may never even consider the idea of making a second backup copy of their images.

Folks, any kind of digital storage is susceptible to failure. It can't be predicted, but you can certainly plan for it. Please get in the habit of making at least monthly backups of your digital pictures--and by backup, I mean a second copy. Archiving your photos to a single CD and then deleting them from hard disk is not a second copy.

Currently, the most convenient backup solution is a second hard drive. The most affordable solution is recordable CDs and DVDs. HP's SimpleSave Photo DVDs are a very easy and affordable solution for anyone with a DVD burner drive.

For the best protection, consider making duplicates of all your archive CDs and pass one copy along to a family member or put it in a safety deposit box or fire-proof safe. Then, even in the event of a fire or theft, your precious photographic records and memories will not be lost.

Personally, I keep copies of my most recent and my best photos on my hard drive for convenience. Every night, my pictures are copied to my HP MediaSmart Server where the files are automatically duplicated. Whenever I make a CD of pictures, I make an extra copy or two to pass along to a family member to have.

In addition, my best photos are usually uploaded to an online photo sharing site such as Picasa Web Albums or Photoshop Express **. If you do rely on an online storage site for backups, be sure to choose a company that does not resize or recompress your pictures, and one that you feel confident will not go out of business.

**Gin's note: Of course, you'll want to upload them to your Heritage Makers account so you can not only have them safely stored, but also have them available to use to create fabulous gifts for your loved ones this holiday season.

Wedding photo before and after restoration

Wedding photo

Monsignor Kiernan's Commemorative Book

Click on the image at left to preview Monsignor's book, which is 12 x 12", hardcover, library-quality, with 22 pages. Email Gin at gShaw1234@aol.com to order. Include your name, address, phone number and number of copies. Gin will reply with payment details.