Arrangement of old photo album photos

[missmilliemaam]

I have a family album that dates back to the 1800s and into the mid 1900s. Most are photos from Louisiana and Kentucky.

Did people arrange their photos in any certain order back then?

If so knowing this would go a long way toward identifying some of the people.

The first page is a wedding photo of my great grandmother (Lelia) and ggrandfather (Melchior).

The next 8 pages are baby pictures of their 7 children in the order they were born in. (only seven children there was one photo of the first two boys together)

10. an older couple who are believed to be the grandparents of Lelia.

11.  a young woman believed to be Lelia’s only sister
12. a young believed to be Lelia’s only brother
13. Melchior’s father
14. has space for three photos two small and one regular size. One small is a tintype of an unknown female person. The larger space has a picture of Lelia’s mother. (The other small space is empty).
15. Lelia, adult, wearing a white dress.
16. Fifth born child a female first communion picture
17. Mother of Melchior
18. A picture that is believed to be Lelia’s confirmation
19. Fourth born child a female first communion
20. Second born child a male first communion
21. unidentified baby (Lake Charles Louisiana photographer).
22. Fourth born child’s first communion class photo
23. First born child a male riding a tricycle
24. Third child a female first communion
25. Confirmation photo of person believed to be Lelia’s sister
26. Unidentified little girl taken in New Orleans
27. Adult female wearing a white dress taken in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania believed to be Lelia’s aunt.
28. Mechior’s baby picture
29. Lelia’s baby picture
30. A tintype photo of an unknown family standing on what looks like back porch steps.
31. Tintype photo of a man wearing what looks like a conductor his And holding a shovel
32. An unidentified girl possibly a confirmation picture.
33. Unidentified child
34. Unidentified adult female
35. Unidentified adult female
36. Unidentified child

[Viktoria]

I would not like the task of sorting all those out.
I would be inclined to leave them in their present order as that meant something to the original owners.It would be hard to think of appropriate
categories,especially as you have so many unknown to you.
Sorry to be of no help but think of it this way,they were in all probability put in the album by ancestors of yours,they touched them.
That is very special.
Viktoria.

[Treetotal]

It could be that they were put in the album at the beginning and then some were added as they acquired them. It would help if you posted the ones that you are unsure of, to post them for dating on the Photo board to help identify who they mat be. Do bear in mind that they may not all be family members as it was popular in Victorian times to collect Cartes de Visite.
Carol

[missmilliemaam]

Thank you for your answers. I truly appreciate your help.
Rest assured i have no intention of rearranging any of the photos. I cherish it and want it to stay exactly the way my family ancestors arranged it.

[Ruskie]

I suppose it depends on the timeline of the album. If it grew 'organically' then the earliest photos would be at the beginning and as Carol said, and new photos would be added over the years, as they were acquired.

If you look at the photos at the beginning of the album and then at those at the end of the album, presumably there is a substantial time difference as you mention 1800s to mid 1900s? As the first photo is a wedding photo, perhaps the book was given as a wedding gift to Leila and Melchior. Obviously if you know when they married you have an approximate date for the start of the collection of photos.

You mention 36 photos - is that all that there are in the album?

I would say that the only way you may be able to identify the unknown people is to ask other family members if they recognise them.

[Christaelrod]

I have a family album that dates back to the 1800s and into the mid 1900s. Most are photos from Louisiana and Kentucky.

Did people arrange their photos in any certain order back then?

If so knowing this would go a long way toward identifying some of the people.

The first page is a wedding photo of my great grandmother (Lelia) and ggrandfather (Melchior).

The next 8 pages are baby pictures of their 7 children in the order they were born in. (only seven children there was one photo of the first two boys together)

10. an older couple who are believed to be the grandparents of Lelia.

11.  a young woman believed to be Lelia’s only sister
12. a young believed to be Lelia’s only brother
13. Melchior’s father
14. has space for three photos two small and one regular size. One small is a tintype of an unknown female person. The larger space has a picture of Lelia’s mother. (The other small space is empty).
15. Lelia, adult, wearing a white dress.
16. Fifth born child a female first communion picture
17. Mother of Melchior
18. A picture that is believed to be Lelia’s confirmation
19. Fourth born child a female first communion
20. Second born child a male first communion
21. unidentified baby (Lake Charles Louisiana photographer).
22. Fourth born child’s first communion class photo
23. First born child a male riding a tricycle
24. Third child a female first communion
25. Confirmation photo of person believed to be Lelia’s sister
26. Unidentified little girl taken in New Orleans
27. Adult female wearing a white dress taken in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania believed to be Lelia’s aunt.
28. Mechior’s baby picture
29. Lelia’s baby picture
30. A tintype photo of an unknown family standing on what looks like back porch steps.
31. Tintype photo of a man wearing what looks like a conductor his And holding a shovel
32. An unidentified girl possibly a confirmation picture.
33. Unidentified child
34. Unidentified adult female
35. Unidentified adult female
36. Unidentified child

Hi,

Selecting the best photos for creating an album seems to be an easy task. But, in reality, it requires expertise. Hiring professionals for photo culling support is a wise decision.

[Ruskie]

This thread is a couple of years old so maybe the OP has made some progress with their photo identification.

I would hope that the OP is looking to preserve the album and photos as they were arranged over the years by their ancestors, and do not intend to “cull” any photos, with or without support from professionals of any sort.