Don’t get “crop happy” and cut away too much of a document. There may be clues in the edges that may not be immediately relevant.  The illustration has obvious clues in the license plate and the home. Neighbors in the census may be relatives, cutting them out of the image you save may cause to miss that clue years later. Handwritten records where just the “entry of interest” is saved can be hard to analyze without the context of other records to serve as a guide.

Clues in the edges aren’t as clear-cut as they are in this image. mom-grandma

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  1. Thanks for posting this. It is my firm belief that you should keep the original scan of each photo to help identify the photo. Years ago I scanned photos taken at the house we lived in until I was 5 and a half years old, focusing on the people. Later, when I went to write about our family life and traditions, including to document the houses where we and our relatives lived, I was glad that I kept the original photos!

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