You are going through all of your photos of your family. The further you go back the less pictures you have. Let's face it, in the early 1800s not everyone got their picture taken. So now what do you do? Here are a few places you can look for to at least find a description of your "camera shy" ancestor.
1. Passport Applications- Not all of these have photos. Some of the earlier ones just have a description of the applicant. Even if you find your ancestor and the application has no picture you will at least have an idea of how tall, color hair, eyes and other features like tattoos or any other markings.
2. World War I Draft Cards- This information also has a description as to their build, color eyes, color hair and other features. No pictures of the applicant on these records, but again you get an idea if your great great uncle had the blue eyes that run in the family. Although if an older relative filled one out they might have had gray hair by then so you will have to look at other records.
3. Naturalization Records- Again as in the other resources listed here some of these records have eye color, height, hair color and other distinctive marks and features.
4. Military Records- Same as the WWI records in most cases. Discharge papers will tell you about the person's health when they left the military and if they were wounded. They usually have a description too sometimes.
5. Voter Registrations- There were some applications where a description was needed to be filled out in the 1880s.
6. Military Yearbooks- These are great to find. For the United States Air Force WWII here is a link to some of the airfield schools and yearbooks. We found our great uncle who was a B-17 pilot and his yearbook.
7. Immigration Papers- If you know when your ancestor immigrated here to the United States you can check their immigration record/ship manifests here at Ellis Island online and some will have their height, eye and hair color.
We hope these will be some helpful resources for you in your research.
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