Maureen Taylor (genealogist)

Maureen Taylor
Occupation	Photo Historian
Known for	genealogy

Maureen Taylor, born August 14, 1956, is a genealogist, author, and speaker in Westwood, Massachusetts, with expertise in genealogy, art history, costume history and cultural anthropology. She is a blogger, and author of many books and magazine articles. The Wall Street Journal named her the "nation's foremost historical photo detective."^[1]

Education and career

Taylor holds a B.A. and an M.A. in history from from Rhode Island College. She discovered a portrait of Dorothy Catherine Draper from 1893, which she believes to be the first American family photo.^[2] She has been widely featured in US national print media and television, including The Today Show, The View, the Boston Globe and MSNBC.^[3]

Taylor is the author of a guide to family history for children, Through the Eyes of Your Ancestors (Houghton Mifflin, 1999). Voice of Youth Advocacy named Through the Eyes of Your Ancestors to its best nonfiction list for 1999. "Taylor works with children as young as second grade to create simple family trees or charts. But give the kids a wealth of art supplies, she says, and kids will come up with their own creative expressions."^[4]

Taylor worked for the Rhode Island Historical Society, The New England Historic Genealogical Society, and Houghton Mifflin.

Taylor is the author of 11 books and an active blogger. She also acts as contributing editor to Family Tree Magazine.

Work

Taylor's work includes:

• Taylor, Maureen. Preserving Your Family Photographs: How to Care for Your Family Photographs - From Daguerreotypes to Digital Imaging. Westwood, MA: Picture Perfect Press, 2010. ISBN 0578048000
• Taylor, Maureen. Finding the Civil War in Your Family Album. Westwood, MA: Picture Perfect Press, 2011. ISBN 0578078090
• Taylor, Maureen. The Last Muster : Images of the Revolutionary War Generation. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2010. ISBN 978-1606350553
• Taylor, Maureen. Fashionable Folks : Hairstyles, 1840-1900. Westwood, MA: Picture Perfect Press, 2009. ISBN 0578034905
• Taylor, Maureen. The Avery Family : The Ancestors and Descendants of Christopher Avery. Boston : Newbury Street Press, 2004. ISBN 0880821655
• Taylor, Maureen; Henry B Hoff; New England Historic Genealogical Society. A Guide to the Library of the New England Historic Genealogical Society. Boston, Mass. : New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2004. ISBN 0880821590
• Taylor, Maureen. Scrapbooking Your Family History. Cincinnati, Ohio : Betterway Books, ©2003. ISBN 1558706836
• Taylor, Maureen. Westwood. Charleston, SC : Arcadia, ©2002. ISBN 073851036X
• Taylor, Maureen. Preserving Your Family Photographs : How to Organize, Present, and Restore Your Precious Family Images. Cincinnati, Ohio : Betterway Books, ©2001. ISBN 1558705791
• Taylor, Maureen. Runaways, Deserters, and Notorious Villains : From Rhode Island Newspapers. 1, The Providence Gazette : 1762 - 1800. Rockport, Me. : Picton Press, 1998. ISBN 0897252187
• Taylor, Maureen. Runaways, Deserters, and Notorious Villains : From Rhode Island Newspapers. 2.. Rockport, Me. : Picton Press, 2001. ISBN 0897254279
• Taylor, Maureen. Uncovering Your Ancestry Through Family Photographs. Cincinnati, Ohio : Betterway Books, ©2000, 2005. ISBN 1558705279
• Taylor, Maureen. Through the Eyes of Your Ancestors: A Step-by-Step Guide to Uncovering Your Family's History. Sandpiper, 1999. ISBN 039586982x
• Taylor, Maureen. Rhode Island Passenger Lists : Port of Providence, 1798-1808, 1820-1872 : Port of Bristol and Warren, 1820-1871: Compiled from United States Custom House papers. Baltimore, MD : Genealogical Pub. Co., ©1995. ISBN 0806314591
• Taylor, Maureen; Rhode Island Historical Society. Collections. Register of Seamen's Protection Certificates from the Providence, Rhode Island Custom District, 1796-1870 : From the Custom House Papers in the Rhode Island Historical Society.. Rockport, Me. : Picton Press, 1998. ISBN 0897252187
• Taylor, Maureen. Picturing Rhode Island : Images of Everyday Life, 1850-2006. Beverly, Mass. : Commonwealth Editions, 2007. ISBN 193321239X

Contributing author pieces:

• Taylor, Maureen. Family Chronicle's More Dating Old Photographs, 1840-1929. Family Chronicle, 2004. ISBN 0973130342
• Memory Makers Books. Family Tree Page Ideas for Scrapbookers. F+W Media, 2004. ISBN 1892127423
• Carmack, Sharon DeBartolo; Nevius, Erin. The Family Tree Resource Book for Genealogists: Family Tree Resource Book for Genealogists. Writer's Digest Books, 2004. ISBN 1558706860
• Ruberg, Michelle; Yagoda, Ben; Writer's Digest Books (Firm). Writer's Digest Handbook of Magazine Article Writing. Writer's Digest Books, 2005. ISBN 1582973342
• Nevius, Erin. The Family Tree Guide Book to Europe: Your Passport to Tracing Your Genealogy Across Europe. Betterway Books, 2003. ISBN 1558706755
• Family Tree Magazine. The Family Tree Guide Book: Everything you Need to Know to Trace Your Genealogy Across North America. Betterway Books, 2003. ISBN 155870647X
• Benes, Peter; New England Historic Genealogical Society. The Art of Family: Genealogical Artifacts in New England: NGS Conference in the States. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2002. ISBN 0880821329
• Hannavy, John. Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography. Routledge; 1 edition (August 24, 2007). ISBN 0415972353

Notes

1. ^ Alexander Alter, "The Photo Detective: Does the shoebox in the attic hold family secrets? Alexandra Alter on how one expert unlocks the past.," Wall Street Journal, October 12, 2007.
2. ^ Smithsonian, "Photography Changes Family History".
3. ^ MSNBC, [http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26455893/ns/today-today_people/t/tracing-your-own-family-roots/ "Tracing your own family roots "] The Today Show, August 29, 2008
4. ^ Audrey Schewe,"Turn family gatherings into history lessons.," CNN.com, December 20, 2006.

External links

• MaureenTaylor.com

Persondata
Name	Taylor, Maureen
Alternative names	Photo Detective
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Date of birth
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