Date and Ages? (largish image files)

DrDBW · Post by **DrDBW** » 23 Mar 2009 23:03

Just wondering if I can get people's opinions on the date for this photo and an age of those in it.

I have some ideas, will post in a day or so, as want to get what people thing without any indicators from me.

ID:3538

KSS · Post by **KSS** » 24 Mar 2009 20:16

This site might give some clues.
http://www.cartes.freeuk.com/

davidb · Post by **davidb** » 24 Mar 2009 20:17

I would guess between 1900 and 1915. Mum and Dad are probably early to mid-30s, Grandma is early- to mid-50s and the boy is about 3. It does seem that people in those days looked older than their modern counterparts of the same age. Dressing boy toddlers in what we might regard as girls' clothes seems to have been widespread until at least the second decade of the 20th century.

Post by **NickWalker** » 24 Mar 2009 22:02

David's suggestions pretty much fit exactly what I would have said. I'd go for early 1900s (e.g. 1905, early 30s for parents, 50s for 'gran', 3 for the boy.

jstark · Post by **jstark** » 25 Mar 2009 08:52

Another idea:
Could it perhaps be a photo of 4 generations?
The lady in the middle looks rather older to me than the man seated.

DrDBW · Post by **DrDBW** » 25 Mar 2009 10:01

The names written on the back are (left to right):

Richard Hughes WARREN (1883-1933) - father
John McKenzie WARREN (1910-1990) - son
Mary Helen MCKENZIE (1861-1945) - grandmother
Charlotte Elizabeth HUGHES (1828-1893) - great grandmother

So the person that wrote it was thinking that as well. But the writing is recent, I would say within the last 10-20 years. But as you can tell by the dates above, that cannot be the case.

I think it is 4 generations and the only correct one is the grandmother. Here is who I think it is (which means that it would be dated around 1885-86):

William WARREN (1853-1939) - father 32 yrs
Richard Hughes WARREN (1883-1933) - son 2 yrs
Mary Helen MCKENZIE (1861-1945) - mother 24 yrs
Charlotte Elizabeth HUGHES (1828-1893) - grandmother 57 yrs

I have some photos of some of them later in life that will post in a minute, to get some other opinions if you think they are the same people or not.

This is probably the more challenging part I think.

DrDBW · Post by **DrDBW** » 25 Mar 2009 10:42

This is William and Mary for sure, at a later date:

And finally Charlotte:

Post by **NickWalker** » 25 Mar 2009 11:04

I find this kind of thing very difficult, but aren't William's ear and nose quite different to those in the first photo?

Nick

DrDBW · Post by **DrDBW** » 25 Mar 2009 21:04

Nick, they do seem to have a similar shape to me. So may be it is a brother of his? I am pretty sure it is Mary and Charlotte, they have pretty distinctive looks, though Mary being 24 in the photo may be does not fit that well.

Anyway, thank you everyone for your input, it is good to get some independent, unbiased opinions, much appreciated. [cool]

Post by **NickWalker** » 25 Mar 2009 22:49

Its difficult to tell I guess because on the first picture its a side view of the nose and on the other a front view.

davidb · Post by **davidb** » 25 Mar 2009 23:03

I am quite prepared to accept that the older William in the second photo is the same man as the William in the first. The older man's nose seems to have been broken at some time and its somewhat pendulous appearance is not necessarily inconsistent with that of the younger man's. Old men's ears often do seem to be larger than when they were younger.

I am finding it hard to equate the two Charlottes; the lips, in particular, do not seem to belong to one and the same woman.

I am also very surprised that the first photo is possibly as early as 1885. But if it really is the Charlotte who died in 1893, Nick and I are clearly at least 10 years wide of the mark.. However, the man's dress does seem to be more turn-of-the-century (before which wing collars were the more usual in such photos) and the background of the earlier studio portrait photos was more usually scenic or staged interiors than plain, as it is in this picture.

I do find dating old photos is an intriguing but difficult task. For those who may be interested, have a look at

http://www.cartes.freeuk.com/

where there is a real feast of Victorian and Edwardian portraiture.

jmurphy · Post by **jmurphy** » 27 Mar 2009 16:54

Just found this link this morning -- thought it might be of interest:

http://www.forensicgenealogy.info/

Colleen Fitzpatrick, Ph.D., hosts a weekly photo quiz and has written cover articles for Internet Genealogy (June 2006), Family Tree Magazine (April 2006) and Family Chronicle (October 2005). She writes a regular column for Ancestry magazine.

Jan

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