In a message dated 9/30/2006 11:26:01 PM Central Daylight Time, leichmann@iw.net writes: Also go over your pictures you have taken over these years and put in the names Loretta This is so important. I have nearly 4,000 from my mother's estate that I am scanning and getting out to family. I lucked out in that my uncle was doing the family tree and she worked with him on them and nearly 90% are ID'd. There are pics going back to 1884 in England and before, and colored photos of a painting of a family home in England painted in 1858, plus ones of a painting of another home in Australia painted in 1850 and two photos of "Aunt Elizabeth's home in Scotland" that I was lucky enough to have help from some researchers in Scotland to identify. On that one there was even verification of the approximate year the pic was taken as her husband was a building contractor and did renovations on it when they were living there. One of the researchers contacted the present owner who has also recently done some renovations and found boards with my great aunt's husband's name on them and a date. So the present owner has scanned copies of those pics and what his house looked like then and I have confirmation of which house it was and dates of when my great aunt was living there. I still have to get pics of what it looks like now. Old military photos are another challange, but worthwhile to work on. I have some postcard photos of a drummer in a military band signed just "Pvt. Jack Cooper" stating he was in India. With the help of an English cousin we were able to identify which of our John COOPERs it was. A military list id'd the uniforms for us, and we were able to find one who was in the Kent Cyclists. Then with the help of the military list we were able to trace the movements of the regiment he was in and find that he was indeed in India, what months in 1914 the unit was there and the action he saw. Then a gal who belonged to the list sent me a book published of the journals written by her father who was in the same regiment, and what it was like on those actions. It was bad! And our Jack Cooper had to drag a big base drum around with him except when they were in battle!! On one of his postcards he stated he had lost 40 pounds from doing that. It was true. We have a pic of him in England before they left for India and he was chunky then. In the pics from India he was slim as can be and looked really good. So scanning and tackling those seemingly impossible photos can be fun and rewarding and tell their own story!! He married after the 1901 census so we did not have a name for his wife or if he had any kids. On one of the postcards he mentions "Mary" and the 3 boys!! So we know his wife's name was Mary and that by 1914 they had 3 boys. So have at those pics and have lots of fun. There are lots of people out there who can help you learn all kinds of things about them. Annie in Minnesota

On thing I have found . I have printed these pictures just on plain paper and put in the names that I know . As I go to the next family with my own album they can look at it while I scan there pictures and so often they can give me names . Which I write by the pictures . Hope to get this done & edited to print it out right for a 50th wedding ann. present for my brother in law. loretta