Community Chat

[jackthebear]

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@traveler wrote:

My sons do not want their childhood photos. They want them scanned then destroy the baby photos. I haven't gotten around to it yet.

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let them do it, I started trying to weed out pictures, it's a time s**k.  better use of my time 

[patbz]

My late father started photography as a hobby in the 1930s.  Many of his photos are in albums but not all of them. I have been interested in photography since the mid 1950s and many are in albums but the saving grace is that I worked overseas (Europe and Asia) and took thousands of photos over a 15 year period. I included them in nearly daily letters and wrote who and where on the back of each photo.  Since the internet I don't see it as a big problem since I use Facebook a lot and all those photos are saved and labelled.

[AuntG]

It's so important to label family photographs. I threw out boxes of portraits and 1900's wedding pictures that had zero percent chance of being identified by anyone left in the family.

[godi]

When we cleaned my fathers out we went through the pics and what no one wanted we threw out. 

[Still Raining]

Wouldn't it be wonderful the voices could still be heard?  Such a part of a person.

[FLtricia]

My grandmother's voice can still be heard because over 40 years ago we interviewed her about her childhood and through her life.  We converted them from cassette to cd.

Now my grandchildren have heard their great-great grandmother share stories of her life.

We have my parents on video which now needs to be converted too.  These are precious possessions.

[DiAnne]

I took many of the professional old family photos I have and had them framed.  Some were taken in the 1800.  I hung them in my home office.  

[skatting44]

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@luvmybeetle wrote:

I also feel the same way.  I joined Ancestry.com and didn't get very far.  I am only second generation born American and I know most everyone in my mother's old albumns but that's as far as I can go.  I found that the more you pay Ancestry the better you get.  I can't afford that.  I would love to go way back into by family past.  What I did find out is that I thought I was one nationality and I'm not.  It was interesting to see that.

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 Have you tried the free  website Family Search.org   ? They have  alot of records , some of which are not indexed but accessible.

 I do know there are  many people  who have accounts on Ancestry that are willing to help others. Some will even go to the local court houses to gather info for  free . Agree, Ancestry  subscription fees are outrageous . You even have to pay extra  on Newspapers  to have acress to more papers.

[qualitygal]

I know, been down that road.  To not  ID them, is to loose them.  That's why scrapbooks are good.  Photo albums insure nothing either.  Write the names on stickers and put on back of the photos even with dates.  So much is lost, to have that happen to them.  

[suziebee1]

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@nana59 wrote:

we just went through family pictures...divided them up between our two children...only kept pictures of people we knew...if we didn't know who they were....my children certainly would not....

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I have the same project to do.  All of the organizing sites and lectures I see say the same thing - if you don't know who they are, toss them.  It is sad, but it makes sense.  I keep saying I will do it, but just have trouble starting to go through them.  Once I start, it will be easier.