Photographs are good to show us what they looked like. If you're lucky enough to find photos of someone from childhood through adulthood, you will have a pretty good idea of what they looked like, as well as possibly what other members of the family looked like. You may get an inkling of their income level from the clothes they wore or other items in the picture. Remember, though, that they very well could be dressed in their best clothes, whether for the photo, or because of the occasion. If the photo was taken by a professional photographer, any other items in the photo may very well be the photographer's props.

Diaries, journals and letters can give a good insight into what was important to the person writing them. They may also speak of other family members and relatives, as well as friends. This may help you to better piece the family together, or even locate them in census records, since oftentimes family members and neighbors would move to a new area together or join family and friends who migrated earlier.

Books that a person owned (or even wrote) may tell you what his interests were, or how well-educated he was, be it formal education or not. Any stories or poems they wrote would reflect their interests and feelings. Cook books may have been hand-written, in which case they might have been that cook's favorites, or family favorites written for a new bride. Or printed cookbooks with notes written in, or pages marked, might also be an indication of well-used recipes.

Tools might tell you more about a person's occupation, or merely a hobby. You may have to do some detective work to find out what unusual-looking tools were and how they were used.

Textiles and needlework may reflect the interests of the women in the family. There are many different types of needlework that are used by someone at any time. However, there are some forms that were more prominent during a particular time period. Quilts, comforters, embroidered sheets and pillowcases, tatted collars, needlework samplers, Berlin work, lace making, tambour work, trapunto, all had their periods of popularity. Identifying what type of work it was may help narrow down the time period in which it was made, which, in turn, may narrow down the women who might have made it.

Sometimes there are items passed down through the family. They may be furniture pieces, clocks, a special vase, china sets, family Bible, military ribbons, quilts, wedding or christening gown, jewelry, or any number of things. It's important that the stories that come with these items are recorded and preserved.

Don't forget to document the stories. Write down the ones you recall hearing years ago. (Double-check for accuracy with other family members.) You might even do some oral history, sitting down with older family members and recording their memories of family, growing up, school, church, jobs, etc. Wouldn't it be interesting to find out that that serious-looking man in the photo was your great-grandfather, and that he actually had a sense of humor and loved jokes? Oral history is best collected with the use of tape recorders. These tapes should then be transcribed into a format easy to store and share with other relatives.

Lastly, don't forget the living! Family trees start with a living person and work backwards. When a future family member starts their tree, you may not be around anymore to answer questions, so be sure to include photos, stories, and documents about yourself and other living relatives. Make your family tree truly a living and long-lasting tree.

By paying attention to these types of sources as you do your genealogy, you can easily turn some of your "Black & White" ancestors into "Full Color" people.

About Author

Janet Nugent has a degreein History and MA in Historical Administration. She worked about 14 years in living history and local history museums, and is involved in researching and preserving her family's history.