Ellis Island Images Identified with LouisTakács

This week Maureen Taylor, The Photo Detective, is joined by Louis Takács, a former librarian, who comes from a line of immigrants and refugees, which inspired a project to examine 20th-century migrant and immigrant lives from 1914-1925, using passport photos. One of the great hurdles that many fledgling genealogists face is Ellis Island. Known for being the spot where immigrants had to pass through for migration to the United States, Louis began to find emergency passport applications, which gave him insight into the process of immigration, and, more importantly, what individual experiences were like going to Ellis Island. Louis’ goal is to construct the narrative of how individuals came to the United States, and what their lives were like. It’s beautiful, poignant, and shines a light that not many of us have seen on what it means to come to a new country.  Related Episodes:Episode 55: Photos of Our Mill Working Ancestors with Joe ManningEpisode 108: Researching the Ships of Our AncestorsLinks:Let Me Get ThereSign up for my newsletter.Watch my YouTube Channel.Like the Photo Detective Facebook Page so you get notified of my Facebook Live videos.Need help organizing your photos? Check out the Essential Photo Organizing Video Course.Need help identifying family photos? Check out the Identifying Family Photographs Online Course.Have a photo you need help identifying? Sign up for photo consultation.About My Guest:Louis Takács studied Anthropology and Philosophy as an undergraduate and Information Science and Learning Technologies in graduate school. He became a librarian, worked at the Chicago Public Library and Northwestern University, then moved to the Netherlands. He currently works in the communications field for an NGO.Takács’ great-grandfather was a return-migrant, his grandfather an immigrant, and his father a refugee—all from Hungary to the United States. Becoming an immigrant himself caused him to reflect deeply on migration in general and seek to better understand the role photography has played in shaping the age of mass migration. So, he decided to combine his interests, skills, and love of photography in a creative way. “Let Me Get There” is a born-digital project created to help document, visualize, and better understand early 20th century immigrant/migrant lives, utilizing thousands of passport photos from 1914-1925. Another part of the project involves deciphering the widely circulated Ellis Island portraits of Augustus Sherman and Lewis Hine, a process that has revealed so I'm thrilled to be offering something new. Photo investigations. These collaborative one-on-one sessions. Look at your family photos then you and I meet to discuss your mystery images. And find out how each clue and hint might contribute to your family history. Find out more by going to maureentaylor.com and clicking on family photo investigations. Support the show