Since last week, I have continued to go through some more of my paternal grandfather's notes from his own research into his family history. I've also been looking at some of the old photo albums (again). There are very few photos from before the early/mid 1920s. Two of my grandmother's old albums have no notes in them at all. All the original photos are very small. Some later albums have notes, but the photos are not in chronological order, and the notes are more often to do with "where" than with "who" or "when". (To my grandparents, the "who" was probably usually considered obvious... To me, not so much!)
In last week's Sepia post I showed photos of the farmhouse where my grandmother grew up vs the small cottage where my grandfather grew up (with his grandparents). They both lived in the same neighbourhood / village. My grandmother Sally was born in 1900 and my grandfather Gustaf in 1904. In childhood, four years age difference is rather a lot. (When they got engaged, in 1929, she was 29 and he 25. They got married a year later.) However, my grandmother's younger brother Nils was born in 1902, and my guess is that he and Gustaf were friends even from childhood/school. (Back in those days and in a countryside village, school is likely to have been a small one of the kind with children of different ages taught together.)
Please tell me what you think: Is the boy/young man on the left (or in the middle in the third photo) the same person in all three? I recognize the one on the right as my grandmother's brother. I also know that it is my grandfather as a young man to the left in the middle photo; but I'm less sure whether it is also him in the two childhood photos.
The photo on the left is from my grandmother Sally's album, and under it, she has just written "Two friends". The middle photo is from Gustaf's album, a note says it's from around 1922. The third one is also from Gustaf's album, below is the full picture:
The album text under this one is just "In the [village] football team". No names. Comparing it to the middle photo in the collage, can you see why I'm picking out this particular boy from the team as probably being my grandfather? ;)
As for the first photo, I'm wondering about the occasion, as it seems to be a professional photo. To do with school, perhaps? They're wearing very similar outfits.
Linking to Sepia Saturday 560
Their prompt picture:
I think you are likely right, that the three photos show the same person. The hair in photo 2 and 3 is distinctive and similar, and the nose and eyes similar in photo 1 and 2. It is frustrating when names are not written on the backs of photos; even when our sons were young I wrote names and dates on backs of photos.
ReplyDeleteThanks Terra. Always good to get a "second opinion" (or more)! :)
DeleteI enlarged the photos, and think it is the same boy! Considering the shape of the face, forehead, etc.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ginny. Glad you agree! :)
DeleteIt does look very much like the same boy. I think you are correct.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kathy. Identifying people in old childhood photos can be very tricky when one has only met them in their old age oneself. So I appreciate some "neutral" opinions!
DeleteYou are probably right. I also think the boy on the right in the three photos looks like the same boy - your grandmother's brother?
ReplyDeleteThanks Liz. Yes, the boy on the right is my grandmother's brother. No doubt at all in the middle and right photos; and even in the first photo I can see obvious family traits in him (+ that photo is in my grandmother's album). That the other boy in that photo might be my grandfather was very far from being a given in my mind though, as I can't recall ever having heard about them being friends as far back as that.
DeleteHard to tell, but possible. The professional first photo is intriguing as to the occasion; could be a school thing, or maybe a national holiday or something like the King‘s birthday (thinking of the crown symbol on the pedestal to the left).
ReplyDeleteMeike, the occasion for that photo puzzles me as well. (And the coat of arms on the pedestal too, but I doubt it's to do with the royal family.) I'm thinking more along the lines of starting or finishing a school year. And getting those hats, perhaps? In my grandfather's album there is also a summer (outdoors) group photo from Sunday School 1912 where most of the boys are also wearing those hats. But this photo of just the two of them I think must be one or two years earlier.
DeleteThe hairline alone makes me think they are the same person.
ReplyDeleteYou've got a point, Wendy. In my own memories, his hairline was even higher, i.e. in his 50s he did not have very much hair left at all...
DeleteAn intriguing set of photographs and I found it difficult to make any judgement. But a timely reminder of the value of writing details on the back of each and every photograph.
ReplyDeleteScotSue, good advice, although I suspect that with our digital photography nowadays, most of us are not really any better at it...
DeleteThe likeness between the first & second photos is pretty strong. It's hard to tell, using his face, about the third picture. But his stance with right leg out as in the second photo tells me it's probably your grandfather. :)
ReplyDeleteLaN, yes!! I was SO wondering if anyone else would notice his pose in those two photos! I never thought of it before myself, until now when I put both of these photos side by side in the collage... (In the photo album, they are on different pages.)
DeleteI'm not sure but you can tell the person on the right of him and on the right of all the photos is the same person.
ReplyDeleteYes Amy, I have no doubts about the one on the right being my grandmother's brother. (No DNA test needed to recognize some typical features also shared by others in the family.)
DeleteI agree, they could be the same boy. I wonder if there is some free facial recognition software online somewhere that might help with a more definitive match-up.
ReplyDeleteMolly, there might well be, I suppose. On the whole, so far, I've found it more fun to try and figure it out myself (and "with a little help from my friends"!)
DeleteI'll join my thoughts to other peoples' here about the boy and say that I do think it is the same boy. Don't you wish people would label their photos? I do try to now, although I don't have many prints these days.
ReplyDeleteSame here, Jenny. It's been ten years now since I stopped ordering prints to put in physical photo albums. And as for my digital photos I'm afraid most of them are not labeled or sorted except by date... I guess it's my blog and Facebook that serve as photo albums nowadays.
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