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Of the 10 children in the photograph, only one looks straight at the camera. The eyes of the others dart in every direction. Their grim expressions reflect the annoying command to hold still for far too long.

Three babies, amazingly all awake and none crying, sit propped on a fabric-draped bench. A toddler sits beside the babies, and six other kids stand behind them like a pyramid with the tallest in the middle tapering down to the shortest on both ends.

The son of my dad's cousin sent me this old photograph a few years ago. "The kid with his finger in his mouth is my dad," he said. "Don't know who the other kids are. Cousins, I guess."

I had never seen this family portrait before, so I had to do some sleuthing to figure out who was who.

I recognized my aunt and uncle; I have seen many pictures of them as children and they had a distinct look. My uncle is one of the babies and my aunt stands behind him. Clearly, this was a group picture of the Hubbard family grandchildren.

My uncle was born in June 1908, and he looks to be about six months old in the picture so that gave me an approximate date.

Since I knew when all of the other grandchildren were born, too, I simply matched ages with the sizes of the kids: the tallest girl was the oldest granddaughter, etc. That's not a fool-proof method, of course, because of the erratic nature of growing children. But, I'm fairly confident that I've correctly ID'd all the cousins.

I had some good clues to help me with this old picture, but I still have a few anonymous friends and family floating around in my old photo collection.

If you're looking for a new project this new year, pull out those old unidentified family photos and put on your detective's cap.

How do you unmask unknown family portraits? Start with the obvious and examine any writing on the picture, both front and back.

Names and dates are handy but don't make assumptions. I've come across family photos that have been misidentified by well-meaning relatives who wrote names on the pictures years after they were taken.

Also, get out your magnifying glass and look for faint writing that may have faded over the years.

If no one took the time to write on the photo, look carefully at other written clues. You might find the name of the photographer's studio and location. The studio name might be embossed onto the photo itself, printed on the back, or printed on the card stock sleeve holding the photo.

Figure out who in your family tree lived near that location and that should help narrow down the suspects. Check city directories for that location and look for the photographer's name. Knowing when the photographer was in business will help narrow down the timeframe.

Next, focus on the people in the picture. Groups of people are often more easily identified than solo acts. When you have a group you can make comparisons between the people, just like I did with the 10 grandkids.

Look for distinct family relationships: parents and children, siblings, a married couple, etc. Compare known images of family with the unknown people in the photographs. Study their faces and look for similar features.

Next week, more photo sleuthing tips.