What a great photo!
Candid photographs are common now, but finding candid photos of our distant ancestors is certainly not common for genealogists. Joseph Skeen is my 2nd great-grandfather. This is the first candid photo of him that I have found. AND I LOVE IT!!
Joseph was a farmer. His wet boots, overalls, and mussed hair suggest he had been working prior to the photo being taken. On the horse is my Grandpa, Ronald Skeen Peterson, Joseph’s grandson. Standing beside the horse is Joseph’s youngest child, Evan Folkman Skeen. And let’s not forget the photographer. We can’t see who took the photo but we can sure see their shadow! I wonder if it was Joseph’s son-in-law, Ronald’s father and my great-grandfather, Rulon Powell Peterson?
Joseph’s face appears to be very pale on the forehead and quite a bit darker from the eyes down. I bet he usually wore a good hat.
My Grandpa’s young face looks so much like my Dad at this same age! ❤️
The back of the photo names the subjects but not the date or location. It seems likely that the photo was taken on Joseph’s farm in Warren, Utah. My Grandpa, Ronald, was born in 1926 so it seems likely that this photo was taken in the very early 1930s.
Happy Thursday, do you have any candid ancestor photos beyond your grandparents? If so, what is the date of your earliest candid photo? [A question I hope to be able to answer for myself at some point . . . ] xoxo
I bet the hat that caused the light dark tan is in his hand!!! so we can see his face…..
I think you are right! It looks like it’s peeking out past the horse’s face a bit. 😉 ❤️
What a treasure! And that shadow definitely looks like a man.
Thank you, Amy! I think so too. It seems logical that it would be my great-grandfather since my Grandpa is in the photo, but who knows?
Great photo!
Thank you, Ellen! I love it!!! ❤️