[camerabug]

Does anyone have any journaling ideas that I can use in scrapbooking pictures of my husband's ancestors who I don't know anything about?

[elibar]

There are lots of things you could say!

Your thoughts of the picture - what it makes you think or feel when you look at it.

Comment on any family resemblances you see.

If you have dates on the photos, you cold do some research and talk about historical events, popular music, or what was going on when the photo was taken. This can be done if you can narrow it down to a decade even. I purchased 2 books called "Everyday Life in the 1800s: A Guide for Writers, Students & Historians" and "Everyday Life During The Civil War" so that I could put my genealogy photos and documents in perspective. (Writer's Guides to Everyday Life is a series and there are more subjects - WWII, Colonial America, Wild West) I found that they are very helpful.

And I also have a couple of pages where I've made a nice word art title, "Unknown Ancestor."

[Bobbi Jo]

Amber, here is an example of what someone did with a photo in a similar situation to yours: Lost History.

I think telling the story of how these photos came into your hands could be part of the journaling -- remember, a generation from now someone looking at your scrapbook might not even know that much. I inherited several small tintypes from my grandma with no information on them, but when I scrapped them I made sure I noted that they were from her -- I even talked about how much I enjoyed the process of restoring the images with PSE.

Elisha's suggestions are excellent, too.

[April Showers]

I did this one of a lady who we are pretty sure is related but have no idea who she is.... I Wonder Who You Are

[jeschaff]

Here's another idea: If you know their names, try Googling them. I've found little tidbits about people this way. Your library may have Ancestry.com which also has stories from time to time. I subscribe to another genealogy program and would be happy to look them up, just PM me with names and whatever else you know (approximate date, location, etc.).

If all else fails, I also just journal about who I think they are, who they're related to (i.e. "your husband's ancestors"), or any of the suggestions others have made above. Sometimes it's fun to speculate!

[Sarah in VA]

All good advice! The main thing is to write something you know about the photo. As Bobbi said, it will be a lot more than future generations will know when they look through your things.

[Smiles]

These are all lovely and respectful ways to treat unknown ancestors. When my grandmother died, the family threw away a box of unidentified photos from the 1800s. Years later, aunts and cousins got heavily into geneology, and I'm sure they miss those treasures.