"Oliver and Wife"

Where the Story Begins

An old photograph of some Irish great-grandparents thought to have been taken in Detroit, possibly in 1850. This was no unusual photograph, but a tintype. Rhetorical questions plagued minds if any of this information through family stories was true.

Research Highlights

Cross-referencing pieces of information from conventional core records, with newspapers, dating fashion for a twenty-year period and establishing history for the area, assisted in nearly pinpointing within a eight-year period when the photograph was taken. 

The Result

It was determined the tin-type was taken between 1862 and 1870, and most likely at a county agricultural fair in Quebec.