A few years ago my Grandma gave me all of her ‘stuff’.
Four boxes – FOUR WHOLE BOXES! – of photos, albums, research, notes and various family treasures. I have looked through everything several times and I have slowly been scanning photos and documents and processing the information over the last few years.
If you just thought something like this, ‘Years? Why is it taking her years?’ I totally understand that thought. And this is what happened. I got the ‘stuff’, started working with it, then had a couple of big life events slow down the process. We moved, then after years of infertility had our third baby who is about to turn two. Hence the ‘last few years’ statement.
Well, in preparation for my trip, I have been scanning like crazy to make sure I have everything with me in digital form.
Last night I scanned the above picture. The first few times I saw this picture I didn’t know what I was looking at. I couldn’t identify any of the people and it has nothing written on the back. But this time – THIS TIME – I spotted my 2nd great grandparents right away! They are standing in the front just to the left of the structure on the right side of the photo. He has both hands in his pockets and she has a black dog standing next to her.
This time – I instantly thought these things: First, I know who that is!; Second, they look younger than the photo I have of them from 1903; Third, WAS THIS PHOTO TAKEN IN DAWSON, ALASKA?!!
{If you don’t know why I’m getting so excited you may want to read this post.}
So, first things first, do you agree that this photo contains my 2nd great grandparents? Here they are in 1903:
Here is an enhanced version of the top photo:
And here is a crop of the couple I think are my 2nd great grandparents:
What do you think? Same people?
Okay, second question. If you concur that this is the same couple, do you think they look younger in the unlabeled group photo than they do in the 1903 photo? I’m honestly not sure why I think they look younger. It’s such a bad photo but as I said, it was my second thought when I looked at the picture.
And the last, most interesting question of all – Could this photo have been taken in Dawson, Alaska during the Gold Rush?
That one is going to be the trickiest to answer.
I think it is. Here are my reasons:
- They were married in Dawson, Alaska in 1897.
- They had their first child Vera in Oakland, California in 1899.
- They had their second child Frank in Oakland, California in 1901.
- The photo is certainly consistent with what I know about Dawson, Alaska during the Gold Rush.
- They have no children with them in this photo.
- They left Alaska before 1899 and didn’t return for a handful of years. By the time they did return they had two very young children. If this photo was taken after the Gold Rush I would think we would see children with them.
- And, my gut is just telling me that I am right.
I would love to figure out how to prove or disprove my opinion about the date and place of this photo. I’m going to try.
No matter what – I was SO EXCITED when I pulled it out of the box last night! Suddenly this photo that I was familiar with had new meaning because I have been researching this family extensively this past year. I know them better now than I did the first several times I looked at this photo.
Such a happy discovery!