DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

I have lots of old family photos that are undated. Here is one. The photo has one name written on the back, but no indication of which individual the name is attached to. The woman named was born in 1836 and died in 1907.

I was just estimating from the style that it was taken in the 1880-1900 range. If anyone has a good handle on photo styles from that period I would appreciate some confirmation (or contradiction) of that estimate. I should also note that the photo is mounted in a thick paper frame similar to other photos that I have from that era.

Based on that one name, and one other photo of the woman in question from around 1860, I estimate that it could be a wedding photo of her son. If that is so, I can identify (tentatively) three more of the individuals in the photo. If the style doesn't fit the 1880-1900 range all bets are off.

Family Photo

(Download)

Mounting

(Download)

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Looks like photos I have of pre 1900 with similar mounting.

Beowulf Loc: Aquidneck Island, RI

I believe that you are probably accurate in dating the photo between 1880-1900, though the styles may have persisted until 1910 or so. Assuming your guess of a wedding photo, the groom was probably someone who worked in the sun, as you can see the hat visor line on his forehead.

It is interesting that the entire group is staring at the lens except for the groom who seems distracted by what he is reading.

The photo is in decent shape but should you wish, you could eliminate the scratches and other imperfections with some good PP. Lastly, it is a great heirloom photo.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

I will be working on the photo but I wanted to get the identifications down first.

RodeoMan Loc: St Joseph, Missouri

Was there a photography studio listed on the back? If so then that should help give you a range of when the image could have been made. Since you have the name of a woman in the photograph and her birth and death dates, you could try using Findagrave. It is free and you can get to it from google. It is fairly self explanatory, just fill in the blank. You would enter the name first and last and then the birth and death dates. There is a place for location. I would suggest entering the state from where either the photography studio was located or if that is not given the state where the photograph was found. If the name on the back is (I am using an example here) Lizzie Porter, then when you enter it in Findagrave use Elizabeth Porter. I assume due to length of time the lady lived, that the name on the back of the photgraph is her married name or if she died unmarried, her birth name. Findagrave records the name that people have when they pass, thus a name of a young lady who later marries will not show up because she will be interred under her married name. If you do not get a match, then remove the name of the state. Of course common names are more difficult to work with because there are so many of them. If you are looking for an Elizabeth Smith, you will have a lot more names to examine than if you are looking for Elizabeth Clabber. Also if you have access to a genealogy program such as Ancestry, you could go to Research/ Public Trees and enter her name and birth and death dates. I wish you would have given the name of the lady, there are people on this site who perhaps could have helped you. We have all sorts of skills . If you ever do decide to do your family genealogy, these images could be attached to it along with others you may have. My family, originally settled in Connecticut but this was in the mid 1630's when they migrated from Massachsetts to the Connecticut river valley settling at Windsor before spreading across the country. I still have relatives there, but haven't visited them. I am curious about what you find out. Good luck in your search.