13 Ways to Find Physical Characteristics Without Photos

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(This page's most recent update is November 2025)

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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.

Download the Quicksheet PDF

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

Quicksheets are also known as Quick Reference Guides. They are generally a one or two page PDF that is downloadable. A few QuickSheets are as large as a five page PDF.
Every QuickSheet is in a specific post on The Ancestor Hunt website. Just bring up the post, and at the bottom of the page is a big brown Download button that allows you to view and/or download the PDF when clicked.
Yes! You can view or download as many as you wish.

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