Know Who Is in Your Old Family Photographs

1. Assign Every Photograph a Unique Case Number
2. Photograph the Front, Back, Sleeve, and Album Page Before Separation
3. Complete a One-Photo Name, Relationship, Date, Place, and Occasion Sheet
4. Transcribe Every Caption, Stamp, Studio Mark, and Pencil Note Verbatim
5. Separate Known Facts, Remembered Claims, Inferences, and Open Questions
6. Record the Source and Date Behind Every Proposed Name
7. Build a Candidate List From Family Branch, Place, Date, and Occasion
8. Mark Each Identification as Possible, Probable, or Confirmed

First moveClear a clean, dry, organized work surface. Remove food and drink, following Library of Congress guidance.

1. Classify Daguerreotype, Ambrotype, Tintype, Cabinet Card, Postcard, or Snapshot Format
2. Date Photographer Imprints With City Directories and Newspaper Ads
3. Date Card Mounts, Borders, Corners, and Print Finishes
4. Bracket the Date With Clothing Silhouettes and Garment Details
5. Bracket the Date With Hairstyles, Facial Hair, Hats, and Eyewear
6. Date Uniforms, Badges, School Dress, and Work Clothes Against Local References
7. Test the Estimated Date Against Life Dates and Apparent Age

First moveChoose one intact photograph visibly printed on paper, or use an existing digital copy. The U.S. National Park Service states that paper-based photographs are never nitrate.

1. Use Studio Addresses, Postmarks, and Envelope Returns to Name the Town
2. Enlarge Storefront Names, Street Signs, House Numbers, and License Plates
3. Match Buildings and Streetscapes to Local Archive Photographs
4. Compare Porches, Fences, Rooms, and Outbuildings With Known Family Homes
5. Use Historical Maps and City Directories to Test an Address
6. Identify the Occasion From Decorations, Programs, Ribbons, Bouquets, and Table Settings
7. Read Album Sequence and Neighboring Photos as Trip, Visit, or Event Context

First moveChoose a paper-based print or an existing digital copy whose place or occasion is unknown. The U.S. National Park Service states that a paper-based photograph is not nitrate. Leave uncertain film for the unknown-photo safety method.

1. Number Every Person Left to Right and Back Row to Front
2. Work Outward From One Confirmed Person in the Group
3. Assign Each Person an Age Band and Generation Before Naming Them
4. Find Repeated Family Units Across Several Group Photographs
5. Match Wedding, Reunion, School, Church, or Workplace Roles to Positions and Clothing
6. Compare the Group With a Census Household, Class List, Church Directory, or Reunion Roster
7. Recover Missing Names From Duplicate Prints, Crops, and Copies Held by Other Relatives

First moveChoose a group photograph with unresolved identities and open a digital or plain-paper working copy.

1. Start With the Album Owner's Relatives, Neighbors, and Regular Visitors
2. Build Census-Household Candidate Sets for the Estimated Place and Year
3. Use City Directories to Separate Same-Named People by Address and Occupation
4. Extract Kin, Nicknames, and Hometowns From Obituaries and Anniversary Notices
5. Compare Faces With Identified School Yearbooks, Church Directories, and Workplace Rosters
6. Use Newspaper Social Columns to Link Visits, Gatherings, and Out-of-Town Guests

First moveChoose one unidentified photograph with a clear starting clue: its owner, place, date wording, event caption, or an identified comparison portrait.

1. Make Same-Scale, Same-Angle Side-by-Side Face Crops
2. Compare Ears, Brows, Nose, Mouth, Chin, and Face Proportions Feature by Feature
3. Check Whether One Image Is Mirrored, Retouched, or Taken From a Distorting Angle
4. Test the Age Gap Against Dated Anchor Photographs and the Person's Timeline
5. Separate Look-Alike Siblings With Companions, Locations, and Life Events
6. Use Face-Matching Software Only to Generate Candidates
7. Complete a Face-Date-Place-Companions Evidence Matrix Before Declaring a Match

First moveChoose a disputed pair of digital family photographs. Leave unidentified film and other originals out of this task.

1. Build a Birth-to-Death Timeline With One Event Per Line
2. Record Exact, About, Before, and After Dates Without False Precision
3. Add Residences and Moves From Censuses, Directories, and Newspapers
4. Add Marriages, Name Changes, Births, Deaths, and Household Changes
5. Add School, Work, Military, Church, and Community Milestones
6. Place Every Photograph in a Dated Window on the Timeline
7. Resolve Conflicting Dates With a Source-Comparison Table

First moveChoose a relative, then gather the records and photograph images already in your possession.

1. Draw a Three-Generation Relationship Map Around the Unknown Person
2. Create Separate Identity Cards for Relatives Who Share a Name
3. Compare Household Membership Across Successive Censuses
4. Turn Obituary and Wedding-Notice Kinship Sentences Into a Relationship Diagram
5. Build a Friends-Associates-Neighbors Table for Recurring Nonrelatives
6. Chart Who Was Alive and in the Same Place at the Same Time
7. Cluster Photographs by Shared People, Addresses, and Events to Connect Family Branches

First moveChoose the unresolved photograph with the clearest relationship, place, address, or event clue. Use an existing digital image or make a reference image without removing the original from its current housing.

1. Run a Ten-Minute Voice Memory Session Around One Photograph
2. Ask Who, Where, When, and What Happened Before Asking for the Whole Story
3. Use a Name, Place, Recipe, Tool, Song, or Household Object as the Memory Trigger
4. Ask for Maiden Names, Nicknames, Exact Spellings, and Who Used Each Name
5. Clarify Whether Each Aunt, Uncle, Cousin, or Grandparent Is by Birth, Marriage, or Custom
6. Capture Ordinary Habits, Sayings, Work Routines, Celebrations, and Family Jokes
7. Read Back Key Facts and Ask How Certain the Speaker Feels
8. Label the Recording and Transcript With Speaker, Date, Interviewer, Photo ID, and Conflicts

First moveChoose a digital copy or reference print for the conversation. If the original is identified or suspected nitrate, follow the NPS guidance to isolate it and leave it out of the session. If its material is unidentified or it is deteriorated, the Library of Congress says identification or professional treatment may be needed. Use an existing copy and leave the original alone.

1. Open The Family Names & Places Ledger With One Answerable Missing-Fact Question
2. Recover a Maiden Name Through Marriage Notices, Children's Records, and Obituaries
3. Connect a Nickname to a Legal Name Through Directories, Yearbooks, and Newspapers
4. Recover a Hometown Through Siblings, Neighbors, Draft Registrations, and Social Columns
5. Document a Relationship With Census Households, Obituary Wording, Witnesses, and Burial Links
6. Search Sideways Through Spouses, Children, Siblings, and In-Laws When Direct Records Fail
7. Search Spelling and OCR Variants While Logging Rejected Matches

First moveSet a copy or screen image of the unresolved photograph beside a sheet of paper or your notes app.

1. Write a Future-Proof Caption With Full Names, Relationships, Date, Place, Occasion, Source, and Confidence
2. Link the Original, Scan Filename, Digital Metadata, and Paper Notes With the Same Case Number
3. Choose a Reversible Label or Photo-Safe Enclosure for Each Original
4. Preserve Album-Page, Envelope, and Original-Order Context Before Rehousing
5. Rehouse Photographs in Photo-Safe Sleeves and Boxes in a Cool, Dry Interior Location
6. Prepare a Handoff Index of Identified People, Unresolved Questions, and File Locations
7. Decide When a Stuck, Moldy, Torn, Curled, or Faded Photograph Needs a Conservator

First moveClear a clean, dry, organized work surface. Remove all food and drink, following Library of Congress guidance.