Here’s another “who’s who?” photo
February 9th, 2010 @ 22:45
Posted by: John
February 9th, 2010 @ 22:45
Posted by: John
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February 10th, 2010 15:01
Alright, more detective work! OK, I’ll start. I’m assuming that if there had been any clues, such as a year or location, that you would have included that info. So here goes:
Based on the clothing, particularly the girls, I’d say the photo was taken anywhere in the 1900-1925 timeframe. My guess is probably pre-WWI in the “teens”.
I’m not going to hazard a guess on most of them, but I’ll go out on a limb, and tell you right now that the two older folks in the back row (just to the right of the young woman with baby) are Orva Lester and Susan Sabra. I’ve got another photo of him, so I’m certain of that. As to Sabra, she looks the same as in the photo you’ve all seen of the John Henry Saunders family in front of their house in Wimberly, although she is obviously older here.
As to the rest of them, who knows? Probably a lot of Saunder’s, Wimberly’s, Oatman’s or Whipple’s. Lord knows there were a bunch of them. I’m hoping some of you can identify more of them.
February 10th, 2010 16:04
Like you, I can only identify Orva and Sabra. And the “teens” does look right. I wonder if it’s before or after Henry was killed.
Because they look to be of the age where they must have had had all their kids and because we don’t see those kids in the photo, I’ll make the guess that our great grandparents there were visiting relatives.
Or maybe this was in some town where they were teaching. Charlie and I kinda have the beginnings of a little understanding of the trail of tiny Texas towns they taught in. Orva, Sabra, Lester and Henry all taught in rough and tumble early Texas schools. Orva, of course, the most.
But I always assume that really good looking blond people in our family photos from this time period are Saunders or Wimberleys. The boy on the other end of the photo is wearing the kind of pants you’ve pointed out before were common to Whipple boys but I don’t recognize him. The young man and young woman next to him ain’t too good lookin’ so I hope they aren’t too closely related. Did I type that out loud?
What I always hope is that some of the Saunders or Wimberley grandkids will stumble on our site here and go “Hey, that’s my great grandmother!”
(Time capsule comment: if you arrive here ten years from now on a search and that’s your great grandmother or great grandfather, I’m just kidding – they’re beautiful.)
February 10th, 2010 18:03
I can’t be of much help, but it looks like the man in the middle may be my dad with my mother, Esther, in front of him. It looks like it might be aunt Mary in front of grandmother Sabra. The little blonde girl in front may be Dorothy Belle. If that should be the case the time period would be around 1922. The man on the right might be one of the Saunders men, maybe Doty.
February 10th, 2010 19:22
Here is my analysis of the picture. I think, like Charlie, that the picture is circa 1922. O.L. Whipple (age 65) is correctly identified. The woman to his right is not Sabra. It is her mother, Callie Saunders (age 67). I have another identified picture that shows her the same. Sabra (age 49) is the one holding the baby. One has to remember that O.L. was 16 years older than Sabra. I think Charlie identified Lester (age 28) and Esther correctly. Also Mary (age 23). I believe that the girl in the very middle is my mother, Virginia (age 13), and the boy on the right side of the picture is Raymond (age 15). The girl to Ester’s left is Mable, (age 18). I can’t identify the other persons.
February 10th, 2010 21:28
Wow Ray, that’s awesome. Thanks so much.
I’m going to print this image out on just a sheet of computer printer paper and write down those ages right on it. I learn something new each time we do one of these picture puzzles – I need to print out some examples that are marked up to use as reference material.
I completely see what you’re saying. Sabra looks like Callie BUT IN PHOTOS FROM 20 YEARS LATER. That’s a time illusion.
See… I’m telling everybody, this can’t be done without help.
February 11th, 2010 13:12
Thanks Uncle Ray! It’s amazing what we can uncover in less than 24 hours when technology allows us to access, and then comment on the photo in a matter of minutes. Can you imagine doing this via letters sent throught the post? Just what we have so far would have taken weeks or months to circulate around! It’s no wonder that geneology is experiencing a renaissance, so to speak.
As to the identities of the folks in the photo, I generally agree with you Ray. I had forgotten that Orva was 16 years older than Sabra, so that must be her mother Callie standing next to him. It’s that time illusion thing that John mentioned, because Sabra did look a lot like her mother. Since both Charlie and Uncle Ray agree, I’ll also accept that Lester and Esther are correctly identified. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a photo of Lester as a young man, or a photo of Esther at all, so I wouldn’t know. I’m pleased that Uncle Ray believes that the girl in the middle is his mother (and my grandmother) Virginia, because that was my suspicion. I just didn’t want to hazard a guess and add to the confusion. I also think Uncle Ray is right about Mabel, and probably Raymond. I also think Charlie may be right about the little girl in front being Dorothy Belle. She looks to be about 3 years old in the photo, so IF the photo was taken circa 1922, which was 88 years ago, that little girl would be about 91-92 years old now. Bingo.
So, here’s where I have questions, or doubts. Uncle Ray thinks that the woman holding the baby is Sabra. That may be so, but I’m having a hard time buying it, because the woman in the photo does not look like she’s anywhere near the age of 49! Just looking at the image, I would guess her age to be 15-20 years younger than that. I don’t know, maybe I just can’t deduce approximate age in people anymore, or maybe Sabra was able to retain her youthful appearance into middle age. I have the same problem with the girl that both Charlie and Ray identified as Aunt Mary. Again, the girl in the photo (with dark stockings) doesn’t look to be as old as 23. To my eye, she looks more like 16-17, maybe as old as 18, but not as old as 23! Remember, I’m not disagreeing with any of you; I just have doubts.
Finally, and I’m just tossing this out there for arguments sake, could the guy on the right in the black suit possibly be a young and pudgy Uncle Howard? If I look at the photo just right, I think I can see a resemblance. If we have the date of the photo pretty close, Howard would have been about 21-22 years old. Kinda looks a little like a young law student, or freshly-minted lawyer might look, doesn’t it? Just a thought.
Well, there’s my 2 cents. For today. I’m looking forward to seeing how it unfolds.
February 13th, 2010 11:38
Here are several wild guesses–the woman next to Callie is Callie’s daughter Mable Saunders Wimberley, the baby is Dot Wimberley, the little girl with her head down is Dot’s older sister, Virginia, and the person who is taking the picture is Hick Wimberley. That would only leave the zoftig girl on the right unidentified. One other possibility of a woman who could be in the picture is Aunt Madie who lived next door to 505.(I will not be offended if everyone begs to differ.)
February 13th, 2010 15:55
Regarding the girl on the right of the picture, she could possibly be Gladys, Sabra’s sister Maggie’s daughter. When they periodically came to visit at 505 from Lockhart around 1936 her son Billie was also about six years old. Backing up to 1922 that would have put Gladys about the age of the girl in the picture. Gladys was a very sweet person but if that is her she was no longer chubby.
February 13th, 2010 17:30
you really stumped us with the word zoftig here in New Braunfels. Jimmie (who has an outstanding vocabulary) and I (whom don’t) had to look it up. What a great word…. “pleasantly plump”.
If that is 505, and it does look like it, then Madie would only have been a door away and could be expected to be at a family gathering and then in a shot like this.
Aren’t group shots most often taken when people get together who usually don’t? You might be right Charlie, Maggie coming for a visit would fit that bill. Somebody’s visit is one of the things that can seed the clouds for a family group photo.
February 13th, 2010 18:54
Central to this photo is Callie. Everybody else in the photo, with the exception of O.L. and my mother, is probably one of her daughters, grand children or great grandchildren and these are just some of her descendants! – - A wonderful leap from being a Williamson girl with only one good dress to her name! Maybe that’s why we are so fascinated by this picture, we all have some of her Williamson genes.