Vintage July 4th Photos As You’ve Never Seen Them Before — and the Stories Behind Them

  • By Esther
July 3, 2021
Vintage July 4th Photos As You’ve Never Seen Them Before — and the Stories Behind Them

In honor of this year’s 4th of July, the MyHeritage Research team found some intriguing historical photos taken as long as 150 years ago. They ran the photos through MyHeritage In Color™ and the Photo Enhancer to produce stunning, full-color, crystal-clear versions, and then set out to learn the stories behind the photos.

Here’s what we found:

Young Couple at a Restaurant

This photo was taken on July 4, 1945. It was posted on social media several years ago by the couple’s son, Ed Yourdon of Washington, D.C., who has unfortunately passed away since.

“My birth parents grew up in Washington D.C., married, and moved to Florida in the early days of World War II,” Ed wrote. “My birth father worked as a flight instructor for the Air Force, and I was born on an Air Force base near Ft. Walton Beach, in the panhandle section of Florida.”

Ed explains that sometime after this photo was taken, his parents divorced, and his mother moved back to Washington D.C. with Ed. “After a bitter custody battle over me (so I’ve been told), I didn’t see my birth father again until I was 30 — at which point I was surprised to learn that I had 3 more half-sisters, in addition to the two I had grown up with.” It turned out that both of his parents remarried and had more children.

None of that future turbulence is apparent in this sweet photograph of Ed’s mother smiling mischievously and his father in his Air Force uniform.

Little Patriot 

This charming photo was taken on July 4, 1940. The little boy waving the flag is Eldon Miller. “That photo pictured one of my earliest memories,” says Eldon. “We were living in Oak Park, Illinois, on the edge of Chicago. Getting away to the park was a big deal and I was having a ball, running around, waving my American flag. Just a year later, my best friend and playmate, a little Japanese boy, was shipped off to an internment camp, and I had no one to play with. I didn’t know about Pearl Harbor. I just knew I loved my country, especially the Navy Sailors at Navy Pier nearby.”

Eldon served in the U.S. Army from 1959–1961 as an Army Band musician. He played the French Horn in many parades.

3 Patriotic Kids

This photo was uploaded to MyHeritage, colorized, and enhanced by MyHeritage user Linda Schrom. “The photograph contains my father, Frank (1904–1962) on the right, and his sister, my Aunt Evelyn (1902–1997) on the left. The little boy in the center is unknown, perhaps a cousin or family friend,” Linda told us.

Frank and Evelyn (“Evy”) were born in Chicago to European immigrant parents. Judging by how old they look in this photo, Linda guesses that it was taken in Chicago around 1910–1912.

“We don’t know anything else about the photo,” says Linda. “It was unmarked in a box of family photos. From what I’ve read, ‘Columbia’ was the ‘female personification’ of America and is the inspiration for Evelyn’s costume, and Frank is dressed as Uncle Sam.”

“It’s quite a photo,” she adds. “I wish I could talk to one of the ancestors to ask about it!”

Young Lady and Gentleman

This lovely photo, taken during the 4th of July parade in Eureka, Utah, was uploaded to MyHeritage, colorized, and enhanced by MyHeritage user Ann Lloyd. Her husband, Brian, is the grandson of the young “lady” in the photograph: Beverly Frances (Cronin) Lloyd (1926–2019).

“Beverly and her family were very patriotic,” Ann and Brian told us. “They loved their community and wanted to serve one another. Every Sunday, Beverly’s extended family would gather together. After all the fun and chatting, Beverly’s grandmother would gather the children and grandchildren around and ask them what they could all do to help people in need in their community.”

All-American Cowgirl

The adorable cowgirl in this photo is MyHeritage user Barbara Hughes, who is now 85! Here’s what she told us about the photo:

“That dress was actually probably made by my grandmother! This picture was taken when I was 4 years old in my grandparents’ yard in Arizona. It was probably my dad who took the picture.”

Unfortunately, Barbara’s father died in an accident shortly after the photo was taken, and Barbara, her mother, and her little brother all moved to California.

More iconic American photos improved with MyHeritage photo tools

The MyHeritage Research team also found these iconic patriotic historical photos and enhanced and colorized them with the MyHeritage photo tools.

Unidentified Black soldier in Union uniform with a rifle and revolver in front of painted backdrop showing weapons and an American flag, sometime between 1863 and 1865. Courtesy of the Library of Congress

Unidentified Black soldier in Union uniform with a rifle and revolver in front of painted backdrop showing weapons and an American flag, sometime between 1863 and 1865. Courtesy of the Library of Congress

President Harry S. Truman receives the gift of a firecracker from a young boy in the Oval Office of the White House, July 4, 1947. Courtesy of the Library of Congress
President Harry S. Truman receives the gift of a firecracker from a young boy in the Oval Office of the White House, July 4, 1947. Courtesy of the Library of Congress
President Harry S. Truman receives the gift of a firecracker from a young boy in the Oval Office of the White House, July 4, 1947. Courtesy of the Library of Congress
President Coolidge receives a giant envelope with “birthday greetings from 20,000 Mass citizens” from Louis Demontreux, Honor. Messenger of the Western Union from Boston, July 4, 1924. Courtesy of the Library of Congress
President Coolidge receives a giant envelope with “birthday greetings from 20,000 Mass citizens” from Louis Demontreux, Honor. Messenger of the Western Union from Boston, July 4, 1924. Courtesy of the Library of Congress
President Coolidge receives a giant envelope with “birthday greetings from 20,000 Mass citizens” from Louis Demontreux, Honor. Messenger of the Western Union from Boston, July 4, 1924. Courtesy of the Library of Congress
A clown participates in a July 4th celebration in Salisbury, Maryland on July 4, 1940. Courtesy of the Library of Congress
A clown participates in a July 4th celebration in Salisbury, Maryland on July 4, 1940. Courtesy of the Library of Congress
A clown participates in a July 4th celebration in Salisbury, Maryland on July 4, 1940. Courtesy of the Library of Congress
A little boy participates in a soapbox auto race with his vehicle, ‘Bullet,’ in Salisbury, Maryland, during the July 4 celebrations in 1940. Courtesy of the Library of Congress
A little boy participates in a soapbox auto race with his vehicle, ‘Bullet,’ in Salisbury, Maryland, during the July 4 celebrations in 1940. Courtesy of the Library of Congress
A little boy participates in a soapbox auto race with his vehicle, ‘Bullet,’ in Salisbury, Maryland, during the July 4 celebrations in 1940. Courtesy of the Library of Congress
Boy holding an American flag, Morgantown, West Virginia, 1961. Courtesy of West Virginia University

Boy holding an American flag, Morgantown, West Virginia, 1961. Courtesy of West Virginia University

A goat pulls young boys in a cart at the Takoma Festival in Takoma Park, Maryland, on July 4, 1922. Courtesy of the Library of Congress
A goat pulls young boys in a cart at the Takoma Festival in Takoma Park, Maryland, on July 4, 1922. Courtesy of the Library of Congress
A goat pulls young boys in a cart at the Takoma Festival in Takoma Park, Maryland, on July 4, 1922. Courtesy of the Library of Congress
A group of girls dressed in patriotic costume in Takoma Park, Maryland, July 4, 1922. Courtesy of the Library of Congress
A group of girls dressed in patriotic costume in Takoma Park, Maryland, July 4, 1922. Courtesy of the Library of Congress
A group of girls dressed in patriotic costume in Takoma Park, Maryland, July 4, 1922. Courtesy of the Library of Congress
The 4th of July parade on 5th Avenue, NYC in 1918, with French-American girls leading the French Division. Courtesy of the Library of Congress
The 4th of July parade on 5th Avenue, NYC in 1918, with French-American girls leading the French Division. Courtesy of the Library of Congress
The 4th of July parade on 5th Avenue, NYC in 1918, with French-American girls leading the French Division. Courtesy of the Library of Congress
President Ford boards the Michigan wagon at the Bicentennial Wagon Train Pilgrimage encampment in Valley Forge State Park, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, July 4, 1976. Courtesy of the Ford Library Museum
President Ford boards the Michigan wagon at the Bicentennial Wagon Train Pilgrimage encampment in Valley Forge State Park, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, July 4, 1976. Courtesy of the Ford Library Museum
President Ford boards the Michigan wagon at the Bicentennial Wagon Train Pilgrimage encampment in Valley Forge State Park, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, July 4, 1976. Courtesy of the Ford Library Museum
Woman worker creates American flags for military activities in the Philadelphia Quartermaster Corps depot, May 1942. Courtesy of the Library of Congress
Woman worker creates American flags for military activities in the Philadelphia Quartermaster Corps depot, May 1942. Courtesy of the Library of Congress
Woman worker creates American flags for military activities in the Philadelphia Quartermaster Corps depot, May 1942. Courtesy of the Library of Congress

Do you have any iconic photos of your ancestors celebrating a national holiday? Enhance and colorize them with the MyHeritage photo tools!