“I Know Who That Is!” – Community Identification of Archival Photos

Archives Technician Megan discusses the significant role local community members have in identifying the archive's photograph collection.

By Megan Lockhart, Archives Technician

Did you know? Over half of the Oxford County Archives’ photo collection is unidentified. We often receive donations of photographs that arrive with other family records or were saved from being thrown away. Many of the photographs we receive arrive with no or little information related to who is in the photo, where the photo was taken, when it was taken, why it was taken, etc. We will accept photos that can be traced to Oxford County in some way, in hopes that we will be able to find out more information on the photograph in the future.

There are a few ways we can do this. Comparing photos to others we have in our collections, we may spot a familiar face or location that leads us to identify who is in the photo or where it was taken. Research the photographer, we can identify an approximate date for a photograph based on when a photographer was active, if it is a studio portrait, for example. Determine a date based on clues in the photo – what buildings are standing, what people are wearing, if there are visible hydro lines, etc. Sometimes researching the background information on the family who owned the photos or the history of the other archival records that came with the photo can provide more clues.

However, one of the best resources for identification is the local community. There are so many community members who have lived in the Oxford County region for many years, sometimes their whole lives. We have often relied on the knowledge of local residents, or previous residents, to help us identify information about a photo. We regularly share unidentified photos on social media for “Mystery Monday” posts. We have been so grateful to community members who have identified these photos for us, and it happens more often than not! We spend time verifying the information provided to us through social media, but the information we receive from the community has a high degree of accuracy (Oxford County residents really know their stuff!). By helping us identify photos, you’re not only helping us ensure our records and descriptions are up to date, but also helping us preserve important local history for future generations.

So, why is identifying photographs so important? An identified photo innately has more value than an unidentified one. While we like to believe that all photographs are important, the stories that are attached to the photos are just as important – if not more, as they provide us with context as archivists and historians. Without context, many photos remain in storage, rarely accessed, as they contain little information that can be used by researchers or for programming like exhibits – of course, there are some exceptions to this depending on the photo. This is why it’s so important to include descriptive notes with family photos, the who, what, where, when, and why.

An example of a recent community identification success story is the identification of Hugh Chong, former owner of the Food Rite Restaurant in Woodstock, Ontario. We shared the photo below on Facebook and Instagram, and it didn’t take very long for Woodstock residents to confirm that the man in the photo was Hugh (better known as Huey) Chong. Once we knew who he was, we then began crafting a biography for Mr. Chong. We were told by community members that Mr. Chong was well-loved and known by many residents. The Food Rite Restaurant was also well-loved by the community. Delving into our records, we were able to find out more about Mr. Chong and his family’s restaurant, including that Huey was big on sports in high school – he was part of the basketball team at Woodstock Collegiate Institute and a member of the boys’ athletic association. We also discovered that he was a veteran of the Second World War, and was enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force during his service. We learned interesting facts about the restaurant; for example, the restaurant was an early advocate for the “farm-to-table” movement in the 1970s (perhaps even earlier), which has gained massive popularity again in the past decade. Many of the ingredients used by the Food Rite Restaurant were locally grown on the family farm, run by Fay Ham Chong. Now, thanks to the help of the local community, we have a wealth of information on Hugh Chong and the Chong family to coincide with this photo.

Check out our Instagram page for more unidentified photos, or the Oxford County Facebook page. Help us put names and stories to the faces in our photo collection!