The Frome Family History Group welcomed Mike Bolton as the speaker of their September meeting for a talk entitled, ‘Fotography, Family History and Fun’ .
Mike started his PowerPoint presentation, by showing a variety of documents including census, workhouse registers, family bibles and gravestones, that told about our ancestors. Looking at the development of photography, Mike noted that whereas in 1851 there were only five people with the occupation of photographer, by 1861 there were 2,534, and the numbers increased enormously as the century wore on. This resulted in thousands of photographs of our ancestors were being taken.
Mike touched on how to date family photographs by clothing and hairstyles, and explained how children in a photo gave a good idea of the date. He talked about the types of early photographs such as daguerreotypes, cartes de visite, and cabinet prints.
Following a quick look at the development of cameras, Mike showed examples of interesting ways of displaying the photos of our ancestors, combining photos through generations into one composite photo, taking a theme such as wedding photos, comparing the clothing and styles of each generation, and even using family photographs in textiles in a variety of forms.
There was finally some discussion on relationships of 1st. 2nd and 3rd cousins, and mention of the difficulties for future family historians, with changes today in the many types of families and more complex relationships.
Our next talk will be on Tuesday October 29th in the library when Alan Campbell will be showing old films of Somerset. Regular family history advice sessions continue on the first Saturday in the month. Please book a place with the library staff
