To collect and preserve historical photos and other media, make the material
available to the public online at no cost, and return the material to surviving
family members on request.
I started collecting lost photos after doing a project for my father. He was keeper of the Perkins family archives, storing several generations of family photos. A few years ago I set about scanning the entire archive, around 23,000 photos I think. I finished that project and gave him a copy of the complete archive. I sometimes ask him about some of those pictures (Who is this? When did that happen? Do you remember such-and-such happening?) but it bugs me that we don't know who a lot of the people are in the older photos.
I visit auctions, swapmeets, and thrift stores and I occasionally find photo albums or packets of photos from a few years back to over 100 years ago. It bugs me the same way as my family archive- so many memories, so much time, so much history lost, all these photos destined for...what, a dumpster in back of some anonymous junk store?
I started this project because I wanted to preserve what I could of the lives and memories of the people that took these photos.
There is an extensive FAQ here. If you have any questions or complaints, that's where to start.
Click on the link for each family under the Photos tab to see the page for that family.
If you are one of the people in these photos, if you know any of the people in these photos, or if you still have any questions, please contact me here.
>>> If there is any information you want to add to this site- especially genealogy info- please contact me here.
Since the rule of thumb for this page is to include photos that are at least 20-25 years old, most of the Family 1 photos are from the 1970's and 1980's. I haven't included the Perkins family archive because there are a number of people in them that I know and who are currently alive. I know the photographers for many of these photos. In creating this page, for Family 1, I am working under several conditions requested by various people as to which photos I can and can't post. For this reason, the Family 1 photos posted here consist mainly of a trolley museum, cats, my early childhood, and my high school (graduated 1989). There are currently (as of April 1, 2016) 151 images in this set.
Family 2 Nothing written on the backs of these photos. 99 images in this set.
If you have a batch of photos that you want to donate, please contact us
here. You can
get an invoice and declare the photos as charitable donations
on your taxes.
If you are a person or company and you want to donate equipment, you can get
an invoice and declare that as a charitable contribution as well. We
currently have several 8.5 x 11 flatbed scanners and a Wolverine single slide
scanner. We could use any flatbed scanner with a larger surface area
and/or a slide scanner with an automatic feeder. Please contact us
here.
If you want to donate funds to Lost Photos, please click on the donate button
below. Contributions go toward equipment, increased hosting space, and
scanning hours/employee time. If we get an angel donor, our goals include
at least 1 full time employee and perpetual hosting for the photos.
1986 July 3rd Marriage James Francis McKee And Betty Jean Watson
1986 August
1987 April
1987 February
1987 May
1987 December
1988 Crystal 2 Months Old
1989 November 16th
1990 December 19th
1988 January
1989 December Mom And Jessie
1989 December
1990 May Chanel And Me
1990 May
1993 July 23rd
1994 June 7th
1994 November 17th
1994 December 22nd
1994 December 27th
1995 May 1st
1995 May 5th
1995 August 19th Hazel White And Betty Ankley
1995 November 23rd Hazel White And Virjean Hazel Gave Virjean Her First Perm 1933 Still Doing Hair In Her Own Shop
1996 April 18th
1996 April 23rd
1996 April My Babies
1996 May Charles And Charles Inc
1996 May Mikey
1996 May Seaworld
1996 May TN Nashville
1996 May
1997 May
1997 May 24th
1998 March
2002 YMCA 5 Years Old
1995 April 12th
1995 April 4th
1999 December 18th Riverside Poly High School
2003 Nicole Goodbye RU Hello MSU
2004 July 19th
2005 May
2004 August 3rd
Betty Ankley
Betty Hal Virjean Evelyn
2003 October
2004 July 28th
Betty Thompson Ankley And Dale
2004 August 19th
2005 February
2005 August
2005 July 3rd
2005 July 14th
2005 July 25th
2005 August 1st
2005 August 7th
2005 August 19th
2005 August 20th
2004 August 18th
2005 November 24th
Birthplace Of Frances Catherine Pech Hook On March 30 1903
Chilly Trying To Show Off
Dale And Jeff
Dale VJ Evelyn Rosa
Don Waldman And Opal
Evelyn Harton Larson Her Son And His Date
Grayslake Grade School Class Of 1937
Hal
In Middle Age 5
Irma
Norm And Dale
Wes Betty Hal VJ
Jackie
Knotts Scary Farm
L To R Wesley Druce Dale Smith Rosa Harold Fleming Virjean Hook Halbrooks Apal Allen Waldman Orlena Rich Kick Elsie Craft Michelau Evelyn Horton Larson Norman Geary