With just a name scribbled on the back, the approximate year from the style of clothing, the photographers location and the type of photograph you can learn a lot. From our archives we have picked out this lovely group photograph of local dairymen. We glean the family name as ‘Peskett’ from above the shop and the cart gives away the location as Ilford.
But why leave it there? Searching records on TheGenealogist.co.uk can really build the story behind your photographs.
Taking the basics, we can search the name Peskett, with the keywords Ilford and Dairyman:
Instantly we find a 1911 census entry showing an Ernest Peskett aged 39 a Dairyman (Shop Keeper) at 6 Cranbrook Road in Ilford. From here we can use the Smart Search to locate marriage entries and birth entries for his children or open the original census document to view the rest of the family members:
With just a few clicks we may have already identified the young boy in the photo as Ernest’s son Percival Hugh Peskett aged 7. We can delve deeper and find the 1901 census for Ernest living with his parents George & Jane:
The 1901 census shows Ernests oldest son Ernest George Archibald Peskett aged 3, who appears to have enlisted with the RAF and is first shown on TheGenealogists Army List of 1917 and later the Air Force list for 1918:
Access Over a Billion Records
Try a four-month Diamond subscription and we’ll apply a lifetime discount making it just £44.95 (standard price £64.95). You’ll gain access to all of our exclusive record collections and unique search tools (Along with Censuses, BMDs, Wills and more), providing you with the best resources online to discover your family history story.
We’ll also give you a free 12-month subscription to Discover Your Ancestors online magazine (worth £24.99), so you can read more great Family History research articles like this!
Our initial All Record search also included Directory entries for the family, one of which was for the 1898 Essex Kelly’s Directory:
Directories are both a research tool and a valuable insight into the lives of our ancestors and what governed their lives. They can be an important resource in tracing ancestors, particularly if they had a distinctive trade. They can be used as a census substitute for years prior to 1841 or after 1911, and to provide information on their whereabouts between census years.
So whilst we endure the dark evenings for a little longer, why not shed some light on your old photographs? You never know what or who you will discover.
If you would like to share the tales behind your photographs please add your story to our website and you could be in with the chance of winning £100 in S&N Vouchers. For details please see our Subscriber Article Sectionon the website. We would love to hear your discoveries!