Memory Care Books are now available!

We are now making Memory Care Books! Many are touched by dementia and Alzhiemer’s disease, my family certainly has been. The loss of memories and the feeling of lost connections can be frustrating and anger provoking not only in those with memory loss, but also in their family and caregivers.

Reminiscing through photographs has shown promise in reducing depression and anxiety, improving cognition, and in improving overall mood in those with dementia. A Memory Care Book with photos of the person’s life and significant people and events can enhancing a sense of belonging and connection with family members and caregivers.

Our books are customized in content and format based upon the recommendations from memory care experts. Special consideration for each book are: the level of memory loss, specific content, sequencing, formatting of the pages, and font types and sizes. Our books are high quality with archival quality papers and are hand stitched for durability. They are nearly lie flat and will fit on someone’s lap to allow two people to sit side-by-side in a non-threatening way to connect with one another.

Prices start at $125 for a 20 page book. Books can fit up to 100 pages for an additional charge. Additional copies of the same book are available starting at $95.

Ready to get started? Fill out the contact form and you will be sent instructions on what photos and information to send in. Don’t have high-quality digital copies of photos? We can digitize your photos, as well.

Finding photographic materials in your family history research

Online family trees

Be skeptical of the accuracy of materials posted on-line as they have not been vetted for accuracy.

Family Search

A free “one family tree” website hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  In a one tree format all individuals are connected within the family tree, it is open source such that anyone can make edits.  All images have a delay in their posting as they are reviewed by a human prior to going live and have to meet decency standards, which exclude explicit materials, and also hate speech, like images related to Nazi’s or the SS.

Uploaded image on FamilySearch.org for Lewis Brunson and Catherine Keaton Carling

While the image could look better, all images list who uploaded them and you can contact the contributor via e-mail or through the messaging on the website.

Ancestry

Another on-line family history website with individual trees.  There is a fee to join, but it can be accessed at many public libraries and at Family History Centers

US Passport Applications after 1914

All US Passports Applications after 1914 have a photograph included with them.  Passports would be issued to a whole family group rather than just an individual, if more than one person was traveling.  As a result the photographs could be of more than one person. They are not the standardized passport photos of today and could be a portrait or a family snapshot.  A database can be accessed here: United States Passport Applications, 1795-1925 on Ancestry or at My Heritage.

Carl Ludwig Ferdinand Stelter’s photo from passport application dated 9 May 1922

Histories

Local, military, and published family histories can be a source of photographic materials. It was common in the mid-19th century and early 20th-century for communities, often at the county level, to have local histories written about the history of the local area and feature short biographies of prominent people in the area and those willing to pay a fee to have themselves featured in the publication. Local histories can be found at genealogical libraries, local Family History Centers, Google Books, and Internet Archive.

Image of the Stock Farm of John H Miller found in History of Miami Country, Indiana: a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests by Arthur L Bodurtha accessed on archive.org

There were two histories written of the 99th Indiana Infantry in the Union Army, the first in 1865 and the second in 1900. Jacob E Marsh was a sergeant in Company D, his photograph and a brief sketch of his life are included in the second publication.

SGT Jacob E Marsh of the 99th Indiana Infantry. Image from New History of the 99th Indiana Infantry: containing official reports, anecdotes, incidents, biographies and complete rolls by Daniel R Lucas; accessed from archive.org

State Archives & Historical Societies

Mabel Dague with two new teachers at Classen High School, photo by Ronald Pyer, 26 August 1952, published in the Daily Oklahoman 28 August 1952 from the Oklahoma Historical Society

Local Historical Societies

There are many local historical societies in the US. Many counties have historical societies whose missions are to preserve the history of the local area and the families that have lived within its borders. Many religious groups, fraternal organizations, and immigrant ethnic groups maintain histories of the people within their groups.

Protecting your photos

While magnetic or “sticky” albums were a quick and easy way to make photo albums, they used an acidic adhesive to attach photos and mementos to the pages. The acid in the adhesive on the pages damages the photos, while they are so sticky that it can be difficult to remove photos and papers without damaging the document and the plastic page protector adds to the damage further by helping to contain fumes given off by the pages.

To remove photos from the albums use a piece a waxed dental floss and carefully slide under the photos, starting in one corner to separate the photo from the album page.

Metadata in photos- Save your photos month

Metadata is information embedded in your digital files and it stays with the file when you e-mail it or give a digital copy to another person.  It can convey information about copywrite, the type of camera used to take a photo, the type of scanner used to digitize a photo, and location of where a photo was taken.  However, you can also add information to a digital photo, this can help you by making it easier to find photos of a certain person or place and document the story about the picture.

Adding metadata to a digitized photo in Windows:

• Right click on a file
• Click 'Properties'
• Click on the tab named 'Details'
• Click next to Title, Details, etc. and enter information about the file
• Use the 'Tags' to list location of the photo and individuals in the photo
• Use 'Comments' to describe the photo and enter narrative information about the photo

Below is an example of metadata added to a photo file.

Below is some basic information I added to describe the photo.

Subject- I described the photo. 

Rating- I rated is 4 stars because it is not a terrific photo, but I do have information about the photo. 

Comments- 'Aline visiting her parents, William Klatt and Florence Dean in Medford, Oregon at their Sewing Machine Store.'

Date taken- '1/1/2018', as I know it was taken in 1938, but I do not know the exact date

For more information on metadata and photos see my Pinterest board.

#saveyourmemories