AncientFaces

Photo from Author's collection.

Every year the Family Tree Magazine publishes their list of the top genealogy sites. Among them is AncientFaces. Let’s look.

​What is AncientFaces? It is a collaborative free site that allows people to upload and share photos and biographies of their ancestors. People also use the site in the hopes that orphaned photos might be identified. According to their site, “AncientFaces is a family-friendly community to share memories about our loved ones, and to connect with others who remember them.”
 
The site is relatively straightforward with the main categories of People, Photos and Purpose. While you can search from the main page, if you go into the people categories, you can search for someone by first, last, birth and death date and place. They also have a people directory (based on collaborative biographies as well as a surname directory. When you look at the surname directory, you can filter by beginning of last name and eventually to the last name you are looking for. Once you’ve reached this point, you can choose to look at the results, including just looking at the photos. I find it interesting that the information shared includes simple biographies as well as photos of more famous events and people such as photos from a movie set or a group of WWII soldiers.
 
You also can view photos under the photo category. In this section, they highlight featured photos. I do not know how they were chosen but the day I looked at these, there was a comical photo of a little girl dress up in an egg costume from 1920s and a poignant photo of a little girl dressed in an angel costume. Sadly, the “angel” would be deported to Auschwitz in 1944 when she was only 8 years old.
 
Whether or not you find information about your own family or decide to join and share memories and photos, I think it is worth your time to explore this interesting site. I like the idea that this free site is the result of “community” sharing information and photos with each other. I hope you take some time to see how this site will help you or you can help others. Happy Exploring!