CMS Research & Genealogy

Some of the most interesting parts in the research of history is the photographs. Some have been deemed “boring” and are often thrown in the garbage or end up in the bins of Goodwill or antique stores. Here are a few from our collection:

This is Casey. Her name is written on the back of the photograph. She looks happy, not really a smile on her face, but she looks comfortable with her surroundings. Dating the photograph is a little harder, but based on the top of her dress (probably a dress and not a blouse) and her hairstyle, we think that this photo was taken circa 1930, possibly late 20s.

Located in Williamsburg, Virginia, stands a reconstruction of the original capitol building that housed the Colony of Virginia government from 1705-1747. This photograph shows the reconstructed building which was opened in 1934 and was part of the revitalization that lead to the creation of “Colonial Williamsburg.” To this day, the building, stone fence, and gates still look the same. We don’t know who took this picture, but we do know that this picture was taken in June, 1950, as it is written on the back of the photograph.

This man is identified on the back of this photograph as Lester Connor. The date is unknown, but it could be said that the date is probably somewhere before 1880 and 1910. The photography studio named on this photograph is Skewes Studio in Cincinnati, OH and Covington, KY. Unfortunately, we don’t know which one. However, even with the questions that still have to be answered from this picture, we think it can be said that Lester had a stellar moustache, epic even. Do you agree?

This looks like a selfie to us. Were the ladies in the background included on purpose? The man and the women are unidentified, as is the location and date. That is unfortunate. One wonders what the story is about this picture. If you have any ideas on what you think the story is behind this photo, let us know in the comments below.

This beautiful woman is “Taby”. We think that “Taby” is short for Tabitha. The date is unknown, but the photo appears to be taken sometime between 1930 and 1950. The location is unknown. Does anyone know her? If so, let us know in the comments below. So many questions, but the biggest is: did she have a happy and long life? We sure hope so.

We all have some of these, most likely these days on our cell phones. That awkward moment when the camera slips and takes a picture or just fumbling with the camera and it accidently takes a photograph. Unfortunately, there is nothing written on the back to identify anything about this photo, therefore we will most likely never know the man (partial), location or date of this photograph. Regarding the date though, we think it was probably taken between 1940 and 1960. But it’s still kind of cool to see that photographers in the past had some “unusable” photographs too.

First of all, this photograph was probably taken in the first 25 years of the 20th century. That “severe hair part” and bowl cut is still seen in modern times, especially in the 1990s. It’s truly unfortunate that the date, location, and the name of the man are not written on the back of this photograph. And for the bowtie fans out there, it is quite, well, large.

The best case scenario for going fishing is catching at least one fish. Kind of the reason, right? This particular fisherman was successful. As there is nothing written on the back of this photo, the man is unidentified, but the clothing, car, and license plate style (although partially unreadable) seem to point towards sometime between the 1940s and 1950s. The location is probably lost in time, but the successful fly fisherman got to eat that night, so that’s good.

The people pictured are unknown, however on the back of the photograph it is written that this was taken on the Strait of Georgia near Victoria, British Columbia in 1932. We don’t know if this was taken on a particular island, or on Vancouver Island, but the photo does kind of give a visual feeling on the destinations for potential tourists at the time.

Absolutely nothing is written on the back of this photograph. What a shame. Is it a selfie taken with a timer on the camera or a camera operator “goofing” around? We are in the mind of thinking that the camera person was goofing off because that woman looks a little perturbed. Either way though, the details will probably be lost in time forever.

Please label your pictures. It will help your decedents on down the line.

This may be the an ongoing series of articles. If you enjoy this sort of thing, let us know in the comments below. Thank you for joining us and we hope to see you again!

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