Unknowns
I'm pretty sure if I went back through all 21 years of my blog archives, I would find a post with these three people shown and me pontificating on who they might be. I came across the originals again this past weekend as I was sorting through the stack of boxes of these sorts of things I have stored in my office waiting for me to sort through. They remain in the keep pile but I still don't know who they are and sadly the backs of these photographs are blank. Also, they are in a box that contains old photos of many branches of my family tree and so any context has been lost as well. I will most likely never know the identity of these three people. Yet I would like to keep their photos out there on the internet and searchbots on the very slim chance somebody someday might recognize them and assign a name to them. It has happened before with other genealogy things I have blogged about.
They're both fascinating photographs, I hope you find out more Ed. Friday night I was watching a video on YouTube of 1880 tintype photos right before I went to sleep, and wound up having a really weird 19th century dream. I'm not kidding!
ReplyDeleteI've had many a genealogy related dream over the years after some long hours of research. Usually I think of some smoking clue that for some reason I never investigated that is sure to solve everything only to find out when I wake up in the morning that it doesn't exist.
DeleteWe have the same situation Ed. I have boxes of pictures that my mother kept getting from her Great Aunts as they slowly passed on. At this rate I am the last one in my branch of the family that likely has that kind of level of engagement, so likely I will end up doing the same at some point.
ReplyDeleteI have been writing down names, approximate vintage, locations and other pertinent information as I sort through them this time around. So hopefully a future generation will have a leg up when they find them.
DeleteTwenty-one years. That is even longer then me. Very few have blogged that long. You were a very early adopter.
ReplyDeleteI was. It just suited me I guess.
DeleteYou are even ahead of me at 18 years! I hope you can figure out who they are. I like old photos anyway but wish that people would have written information on the back.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is Enron my grandparents didn’t know who they were.
DeleteGood luck!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteWhat kind of instrument is that he's holding? I can't tell for sure how many strings it has (four?) or if the back is rounded. It doesn't appear to be a banjo. Maybe some sort of lute or domra?
ReplyDeleteI just assumed banjo but honestly have no idea.
DeleteI guess in tracing family, you sometimes hit a dead end. But overall, I would say you have done pretty well.
ReplyDeleteI’ve done very well when compared to my very humble start.
DeleteThat's a damned big banjo that happy fellow was playing or maybe he was very small.
ReplyDeleteI have seen some big homemade banjos. Perhaps that might explain the size.
DeleteWe have pictures like this, too -- family members whose identities have been lost to the mists of time.
ReplyDelete