Lessons from a 1954 Picture

Running across this picture in my great-aunt’s collection of photographs made me remember several genealogical truths:

  • We sometimes don’t see the obvious–I didn’t immediately recognize my mother in this photograph and might not have without the identification that was already written on it. Now I clearly recognize her. At first I did not.
  • We need to view things in context–other pictures on the same page provided additional information about this photograph that were not stated on photograph.
  • You may not recognize things that have changed. I’ve been in the house this picture was taken in front of many times. I don’t recognize this back porch because it was altered when a den area was added to the back of the house in the 1960s