UPDATE: My friend Cathy asked an excellent question in the comments below. She helped me resolve my concerns and decide that this must be Grandpa Duval, Francis Henry Duval. Thank you, Cathy!
I found this cool photo several years ago. When I first looked at it, instantly, I saw my great-grandfather, Francis Henry Duval, on the left. But the date is troubling.
The back of the photo reads this:
In the Summer of 1919, Great-Grandpa Duval would have been busy. His father died 31 May 1919, leaving him as the sole provider for his widowed mother and four siblings. Would he have had time to hang out with Stanley and take this photo? Or were there resources left over from when his father was alive that allowed him to have some free time?
Additionally, if the “Summer 1919” date is accurate, Great-Grandpa would be 18 years old when this photo was taken. He always looked younger than he was, but I don’t know if I can age him at 18.
I compared this photo to other photos of Great-Grandpa Duval when he was a child and the face in this photo definitely looks more like Great-Grandpa than the only other candidate – his brother Leon. Here are a few photos:
I also compared the handwriting to the only other sample I could find that I know for sure is Great-Grandpa’s handwriting. The problem is that these two notes would have been written about two decades apart.
I did find a Stanley McIntyre living in Lynn Creek Village, British Columbia in 1921. The other records for this Stanley indicate he was born about July 1904 in British Columbia. That makes him 3 years younger than Great-Grandpa Duval and 3 years old than Leon.
The collection of information I have assembled is not tipping me in either direction. However, I’m still leaning slightly toward the photo being of my Great-Grandpa Duval, simply because of my initial reaction. But that reeks of confirmation bias. Hmmm…
What do you think? Is this photo of Frank or Leon?
Heather, what do you think?
Happy Thursday, I hope you will label a photo TODAY and save your great-granddaughter a future headache. 😉 xoxo