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cosplayernerdgirl OP t1_j9c2xiq wrote

My grandmother passed away two years ago from brain cancer. I’m helping my grandfather go through photos. He doesn’t know anything about the people pictured. I don’t want to destroy them but I also don’t know what to do with them. Any advice is appreciated.

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lmaliw t1_j9c6lef wrote

I think this is earlier that 1940 - maybe 1920. The headpiece the bride is wearing looks really similar to the one in the wedding photo of my great-grandma, who was married in 1919.

I save all the family photos, even the ones I don't know. I can't bear to get rid of them. I wonder if you could dig through your family tree and see how many direct relatives you have that were married ca 1920, maybe by process of elimination you can figure it out.

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Binged_Kelvin t1_j9ccqbr wrote

Yeah - and the hairstyle on the woman at the back screams early 1920s to me.

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Mjaguacate t1_j9eq0xn wrote

I would say around 1925 judging by the fashions

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leifnoto t1_j9cb7k8 wrote

Find older relatives, even distant that might be able to identify. Both of you will love it, my 96 year old great aunt had a great time going through all the old photos and memories with us.

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cosplayernerdgirl OP t1_j9ckxnc wrote

Unfortunately my grandmother was an only child. I may have relatives in other states but I’m unsure. I might have to save up for a dna test.

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codeking12 t1_j9dofsf wrote

Ancestry has free trials where you can really dig down into your family tree for up to two weeks. That’s more than long enough for an exhaustive search if you’re dedicated. It’s a lot of fun and you’d be really surprised at how far you can go back and the history you can put together. You’ll also be connected to a number of your relatives who also use the service. If the marriage and birth records don’t help you out, no doubt some of your distant relatives may be able to.

I will say it’s unfortunate there weren’t notes on the backs of the photos. I thought everyone from the pre-digital world did that. Maybe I just got lucky.

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zolakk t1_j9gkwxx wrote

Also if you l happen to have any Mormons in your family, reach out to them because IIRC genealogy is a big part of their faith and at least all the Mormons I know have surprisingly exhaustive family tree records

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icky_sticky_notes t1_j9cgp85 wrote

Defintely somewhere in the range of 1920-1930 or so. The fit of the dress, footwear, hairstyles, veil style. 1939-45 was WWII so even if you think about the fact that the bouquets are abundant, that would not have been the case during wartime making this prior to that period.

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FelixTaran t1_j9cjhar wrote

Yes, the lack of corset and the loose top. Also, it looks short, which also seems 1920’s.

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cosplayernerdgirl OP t1_j9ccz1y wrote

Wow! That’s crazy. I’m obviously bad at dating things.

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Bekiala t1_j9dqepi wrote

No shame in that. Some of us have an embarrassing obsession with vintage clothes and will happily help.

Also the others are correct. This is 1920s. Someone really good can sometimes narrow it down within a few years.

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BSB8728 t1_j9exo35 wrote

I agree. My dad's half-sister got married in the early '20s, and this looks very much like her wedding photo.

Edit: Also note the groom's high collar. Nobody wore those in the '40s.

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DirectorTop233 t1_j9flvum wrote

Yes. That was my first thought also. The attire looks older than the 1940's.

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BuildingAFuture21 t1_j9csqw5 wrote

It wouldn’t hurt to get an ancestry account for a bit so you can create a family tree with the people you do know. I’ve been able to ID two family member photos doing this. Other people will upload pics and know who it is…it’s crazy how much you can find. Some of it’s kinda fuzzy since census stuff was hand-written, but overall I’ve found it really useful.

You can pay for however long, and even when you stop, you can still log in and see what you already created. You just can’t add stuff without paying.

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jargo1 t1_j9d8qsq wrote

Family Search is a free alternative to Ancestry and is actually incredibly thorough

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Perrykat12 t1_j9da6ez wrote

I found more through family search than I did with Ancestry!

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scouter t1_j9d80zd wrote

This. My wife had legacy photos that her mother was unable to identify (dementia), and we were able to use ancestry submissions to figure out some of the unknowns.

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codeking12 t1_j9doqnu wrote

I just commented this! Such a great service and enjoyable experience. I even paid for a 6 month membership and really dug deep. It’s totally worth it to do and share with family that might continue the quest or who would have otherwise never known.

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CrimsonKepala t1_j9dgx8u wrote

I've become the family tree historian of the family and I found it EXTREMELY helpful to digitize all of the photos (a major task, I know) and upload them to my google photos. Google photos is really smart about face matching, even across drastic age differences, and people in photos that I didn't recognize before, I realized who they were only after the face match suggestion was made by google photos. It's not a perfect system by any means, but I have been able to identify way more people by doing this.

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cardew-vascular t1_j9e4v4k wrote

This happened to me when my grandmother died in 2005. My mom and I started searching the internet a few years ago and found out that all of the portrait style photos where taken by the same photographer (you could tell by the backdrop).

This photographer was notable in the city but his entire collection lost. Local historians were looking for his works as he was Vancouver's first Chinese photographer. He mostly photographed immigrant families and marginalised communities.

The city wanted to put together an exhibit and add his works to the archives, so we donated them and they were able to actually identify my non relatives because other families had also donated their photos.

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Swordfish1929 t1_j9el6cp wrote

I would say the mid 20s given the length of the dress. Hem lines were at their shortest in about 1926 before starting to descend again but a wedding dress would have a longer hem anyway the very boxy tunic shape to the top invokes the earlier half of the decade to me so I would pin this in about 1925/6 but I'm not an expert or anything

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somebodys_mom t1_j9e7uc2 wrote

If this was in your grandmother’s things, I would suspect it’s her parents, depending on your grandmother’s age. As others have said, it looks like they were married in maybe the early 1930s

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allisawesome7777 t1_j9ez0ph wrote

I collect antique photos, and i would be overjoyed to give them a new home

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Browncoat4Life t1_j9chb27 wrote

Would a DNA test through Ancestry maybe help? Might at least be able to narrow it down.

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Bearcarnikki t1_j9f02in wrote

Take them to your local historical society. Even if it is tiny they will probably take them.

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olympede t1_j9g96ov wrote

Is there an ethnographic/photographic museum that would be interested?

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fire_butterf1y t1_j9dps1d wrote

These are the type of photos that Junk Journalers would love to have. Being one of them, I’m raising my hand. Happy to pay postage if you’re in the USA and your otherwise willing to part with them for free.

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Lybychick t1_j9evtjc wrote

What is a “junk journaler”?

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fire_butterf1y t1_j9ftvmx wrote

In my estimations, the best way for an ADD person to do their crafting. It’s basically using paper you might otherwise throw away to create journals. It’s turned into an industry of multi-media creations that are often more art journals than anything else. Some people collect them. Some people do write in them. YouTube is a great resource for more information.

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sausage_k1ng t1_j9dhhzr wrote

Throw them away. We did. Found hundreds of old pics, and nobody had any idea who, when, nor where they were from. Two less Rubbermaid tubs to keep up with!!

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codeking12 t1_j9doz9u wrote

I’m sorry but this is a terrible idea. There has to be a thousand more productive and creative things you could have done with them.

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sausage_k1ng t1_j9ds4um wrote

Sorry, we’re not hoarders…

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Galoptious t1_j9fhq6b wrote

If you had a tub of black and whites from the 30s or earlier, that’s not only a ton of history flushed, but also money.

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