Friday, January 9, 2009

9th Edition of Smile for the Camera: Who Are You? I Really Want to Know



I have two submissions for this edition, and am equally intrigued by both, for somewhat different reasons.

First pictures: I have to give a little bit of background on this one. Anyone who has recently read either my blog or Judith Shubert's blog Genealogy Traces may have gotten a hint of a little mystery we have found. It all began when I clicked on my link for Judith's blog and the first thing I saw was the picture you will see when you click here. I had a sudden jolt of recognition. I was sure that I had seen a picture of this woman among my mother's old photograph albums that I inherited. In addition, I was aware of Judith's Texas connections, and both of my parents were from Texas. My first response was to pull the old albums out and find the picture that Judith's picture reminded of. No joy – that picture was not in there, nor was it among some of the loose pictures I had, either. But I did find a couple of small pictures that reminded me of the person in Judith's picture and those are the ones you see above. I posted them on my blog and left a comment on the relevant post on Genealogy Traces. Judith and I have been corresponding, trying to figure out who my mystery person is and whether there is a family connection. We have not been able to establish a definite connection, but there are some eerie coincidences....





Second picture: The lady in this picture appears in several of my mother's old pictures, with and without the two little boys. She also appears in one or two "line-up" pictures with my mother and her sisters and sisters-in-law. A couple of my cousins who can identify many of the people in my mother's old pictures have taken a look at these pictures and cannot identify these people. The picture appears to be dated in the early 1940s. The area was probably Bomarton or Seymour in Baylor County, Texas, although it might have been Southern California.

7 comments:

  1. Greta this is an exciting mystery, for sure! I opened both blogs in different tabs, then switched back and forth so I could compare Judith's grandmother, Edna, to the first of your photos here...that has to be the same woman, or her absolute twin!

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  2. I wouldn't say this is absolutely NOT my grandmother Edna. There is always the possibility that I'm wrong. Or maybe it is one of the 2 half-sisters whom she did not grow up with and who remained in Louisiana with her grandmother Cook when her mother, Alice, got remarried. Hmmm.

    Good post, Greta. I've enjoyed this joint venture.
    Judy

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  3. Cheryl,

    Aren't mysteries fun? The woman in Judith's photo is slightly more delicate looking, but the woman in my photo could be an older version of her (or her with makeup) or, as Judith has suggested, a half sister.

    Judy,

    Just for fun, with regard to your latest picture (William Spence Davis, Sr.), my favorite great-great grandfather's name was William Spencer Moore. Now I don't expect any relationship there, but it still piles another coincidence on. Life is stranger than fiction, that's for sure!

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  4. And my husband is a Davis...maybe we could have a triple mystery on our hands!! I love it!

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  5. How FUN! Yes, life is full of these little coincidences, isn't it?

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  6. That's a great mystery! I wish yuo and Judy luck in finding out who this is!

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  7. Thanks, Wendi. What I plan to do is upload all my orphan photos to my Facebook page where Judith can look at them at her leisure, plus I plan to keep close track of her blog, and perhaps I will see more familiar pictures!

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