About Photos

The photos and memorial cards offered for sale on Jewels Heirlooms have been found in a variety of antique stores, mostly in the Central Missouri area. When a new photo is acquired I will devote three to four hours of genealogy research to determine if further information can be found on the subjects in the photos. Sometimes tracking down an ancestor is easy, sometimes it is very difficult. However, I apply the same standard of research to these photos as I would my own genealogy research. When I am confident I have found the correct person I enter the information and documentation into my database using Roots Magic. The photo, research, and documentation are then uploaded to Jewels Heirlooms and offered to you at what I feel is a fair price. When developing Jewels Heirlooms I gave the “selling” of family photos a lot of thought and introspection. After two years of collecting photos my final decision was to:

1. Sell the photos and memorial cards to interested legitimate family members; no online buyers associated with e-bay, antique stores or commercial photo sites.

2. Offer the photos and cards at a price which allows an ordinary genealogist, like me, a chance to recover a piece of their family history.

3. Offer options:

a. Purchase the original photo or memorial card.

b. Purchase a good quality digital copy of the photo. Photos and memorial cards are scaned at 300ppi and sent via e-mail. You must provide a working e-mail for scans to be sent. I will not sell or share your e-mail with any person or company. All digital transfers will be sent as a .jpg file. I do not touch up or photoshop images. I can do this for you if you request. Scans will always be available for purchase even if the original photo or memorial card has been sold.

c. View the photo or card for free, with a watermark. I know many of you would not pirate the photo for free, but there are those who would.

4. Conduct three to four hours of free research on each photo  or memorial card and present the information at no cost. The genealogy work-up is done to help visitors determine if the photo is indeed one of their family heirlooms. Due to the limited amount of research, mistakes may be made. All documents and sources used are listed.

5. Handle, store, and ship the photos and cards as if they were my family members. For this reason I will not use media mail. Media mail is a low cost media shipping option, but can take two weeks to deliver and in the words of my local postmaster “gets very damaged and banged up”. He also stated if it was a photo of his great-grandmother he would not use media mail, and was hesitant as to whether photos even qualified as media mail. All photos are stored and shipped in an acid free sleeve, sandwiched between two pieces of cardboard, packaged in a bubble-lined mailer and sent in a flat rate priority mailer. These precautions will add to the weight and thus the shipping cost, but I feel it is a good compromise between media mail and express mailer boxes. Price of the photo includes shipping and handling. I recommend you insure your purchase; this protects you and me from fraud, theft, and damage.

6. Take requests, if your family lived in Missouri or the surrounding areas I can keep an eye out for your lost heirlooms. Just e-mail me your names, and I will take the list with me to the antique stores. If I find a match the photo is yours for the price of the photo and shipping. My time to conduct research on families other than my own is limited; see “Will you research for me?”

7. Sell the photos for only enough to cover the purchase, shipping, care, and maintenance of the photos as well as the upkeep of Jewels Heirlooms.

8. Do not get attached. The first photo I offered on Jewels Heirlooms was of the Lewis Palmer Family. I spent more time than I should have researching this family. In fact I grew quite attached to Lewis, May and Dolly Palmer. When the photo is reunited with a family member I will be quite sad to see it go.

9. All purchases are final. Everyone today either has or has access to a digital camera or scanner. Once you purchase the photo it is yours. If you are interested in a scan of the photo see number three.

I have many more photos than what are listed on the site. Photos I have which are not yet listed on the site can be found under “Coming Soon”. Please do not e-mail me asking if I have a picture of your grandfather.

If I have made a mistake in your family’s genealogy feel free to politely correct me. As stated above I devote about four hours of research on the photos offered. After fifteen years of conducting research on many of my own lines I still make mistakes. Most likely I will make mistakes on some of the photos’ linage. I have yet to meet a genealogist who gets everything correct.

If you have any further questions please contact me . Remember, Jewels Heirlooms is not a full time business for me. Genealogy is my hobby and passion, but I do need to go to work, clean house, fix dinner, and break through my own genealogical brickwalls. I will respond to your e-mail as quickly as time permits.

*Sizes listed on the photos are approximate.

*Condition of the photos vary and are presented as is.