Hi Dianne, Wow, you are lucky to have so many photos! Here are some suggestions on getting them identified. First if you have any elderly relatives around, make a point to go see them NOW with the suitcase in hand, and see which photos they can tell you about, if any. If some pictures are too tiny for an old person to see, blow them up on a scanner or copy machine before you go, and leave them some copies. This is your best bet. They may even share other photos with you and you may be able to recognize people from those in yours. (Be sure to copy and return theirs, I have found many are very sensitive on this.) Another possibility is to visit anyone still living who was a long time friend or neighbor (or child thereof), fellow club member, etc. of the person you inherited the photos from. He or she was likely involved in your relative's life and family comings and goings to the extent of being able to recognize some of the relatives or at least who they might be. This knowledge dies with them, so don't wait. At the same time, start on the written family history, so you have a clear idea of the names and life dates and locations of your people, so you will know what is possible as to who might be in the photos. Get a book on dating photos by the clothes & type of photo. Start contacting all your distant relatives for help with that and the pictures together. You will be surprised how much others may know, and will be willing to help you, even if you never solve ALL of the mystery photos. Also post family information to the message boards and ask for help and offer to share the photos. You may not get an instant reply but you will eventually find someone else who is researching that line who may have helpful clues or better for you. Don't toss any of those photos, even if you think you will never find out--you never know when someone else will come with a piece of the puzzle. Some very old ones may also be valuable. If you eventually don't want them make sure they get to someone who does, or at least some historical society in the area they are from, if nothing else, together with as much information as you know. Through a message board, I recently made contact with a very distant cousin I had never heard of. Her direct ancestor was a sister to my great-great-great grandmother, and she had a picture of not only of her relative and a book of reminiscences written by her, but also photos of my great-great-grandparents and several of the children, who had been mystery names to us in the old 1800s family plot at the little country cemetery. I shared some photos from my line and we both still have some mystery photos we hope to figure out in the future as we find and share new clues. Seeing these resemblance's may help. It also may help you to post the images on Ancient Faces or Dead Fred in case anyone can help you, but without some family names to anchor it it will be tough for anyone to even know to look there. Good luck--you have a treasure there. --------Pam Berger McGeesGirl@aol.com wrote: > Hi : > My name is Dianne,Im new to the list and I need to know exactly what to > expect?I inherited 3 suitcases of old/tintypes/postcard types > one picture on glass family photos,most of which have no names on the > backs.Id like to identify not only the time and types but the people in the > photos,most are from Indiana. > Any suggestions on how/where to start ? > Can I send pics as Jpegs to the list or do I do that if an individual requests > Thanks for any suggestions,Dianne > > ==== VINTAGE-PHOTOS Mailing List ==== > List problems? Contact the Vintage-Photos -List Mom kathleenburnett@earthlink.net > Use Kathleen as the subject line for your post > To learn more about my world visit http://dwp.bigplanet.com/kburnett > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237