ANCESTRY TIPS

Animate Your Ancestors

Welcome to the world of retro reality

Welcome to the world of retro reality. And meet my 3rd great-grandmother, Ellen (Nelligan) Murphy, who was born in Ireland in 1832.

MyHeritage announced its Deep Nostalgia tool which allows you to animate photos (also available as an app). It doesn’t work for all photos, but succeeds with many, and is simultaneously weird and wonderful. Pro Tip: When it’s your own ancestor, you might find yourself unexpectedly emotional, so consider starting with ancestors you didn’t know personally.

Want another example? Here’s Barack Obama’s 3rd great-grandfather — also an Irish immigrant — Fulmoth Kearney (born in 1830), along with a side-by-side with his famous descendant.

UPDATE:

Deep Nostalgia has exploded since I first wrote about it just six days ago. In fact, it’s been holding down the #1 spot among apps for a while now. So here are a few more tips from someone who’s played with a number of photos, as well as seen countless other examples from my fellow genealogists:

1. It’s been described as “creepy cool,” and there’s something to that. Setting aside one’s comfort level with bringing the dearly departed back to life (and there’s a definite contingent that’s squeamish), different photos turn out — surprise! — differently. Depending on the original expression, some appear restless as if they want to escape the box they’re in, while others wind up looking flirty. Perhaps the most charming ones are the ancestors who look around as if taking the situation in and then end with just a hint of a smile as you’ll see with my great-grandfather here.