13 Ways to Find Physical Characteristics Without Photos

As we all know, there are no photos available of all of our ancestors, especially many of those who lived primarily in the 1800s or earlier. On the other hand, we may have photos in our collection in what I call my “Unknowns,” where they have not been identified, and may never be identified.

So how do we know what our ancestors looked like if there are no identified photos? Well, several artifacts are available to family historians and genealogists that at least describe their physical characteristics.

Below is a list of 13 examples. I am sure that there are more.

• World War I or II Draft Cards – on the second page of the card, questions were asked about the applicant’s physical characteristics: height, build, eye color, hair color, physical markings, physical deformities, and in one version whether he was bald.​
• Naturalization Records – there have been a few variations of naturalization forms, but several of them asked for skin color, height, weight, eye and hair color, as well as distinctive marks.
• Passport Applications – although some applications indeed have photos (although less than high quality), several physical characteristics were requested of the applicant, such as stature, forehead, eye color, nose, mouth, chin, hair color, complexion, face characteristics, and distinguishing marks.​
• Military Discharge Records – forms are abundant in the military, and many of them record physical characteristics. My father’s discharge from the Marine Corps included height, eye color, hair color, and complexion were noted.
• Military Enlistment Records – include height, hair and eye color, and complexion
• Voter Registration – in some voter registration logs, physical characteristic information was requested. In some records, applicants included their age, height, complexion, eye color, hair color as well as marks or scars.
• Pension Applications – In pension applications, there often is a place to enter physical characteristics.  Examples of a Civil War pension, include a place to enter age, height, weight, complexion, and eye and hair color. In Surgeon’s Certificates, health information is abundant as well.
• Immigration Records – In immigration records for specific years, some physical description info was required. In this example, health conditions, deformities, height, complexion, eye and hair color, and identifying marks were required.
• Prison Records – The usual age, hair color, height, eye color, physical deformities, and I have seen one that includes temperament!
• U.S. Customs Service Records – for seamen, their physical description was included in the records.
• Chinese Exclusion Act Case Files – physical appearance information was included in the records.
• Drivers and Other Licenses – Licenses didn’t always have photos but often included height, weight, hair color, and eye color.
• Hospital and Other Medical Records –  include height, weight, and race.

Download the Quicksheet PDF

Below is a link to a Quicksheet that contains 13 different places where you can discover your ancestors’ physical characteristics. To obtain the one-page Quicksheet pdf for easy reference of what information to look for, you can view or download it by clicking on the Download button below.

For all the previously published Quick Reference Guides, click on QuickSheets. 

Genealogy QuickSheets – Frequently Asked Questions