OK, I may have to go searching through my family tree to figure out who he really was. I love that my grandmother wrote right on the picture, she was Ada S Rogers. At least she said she was asking. And the answer seems to be No, his great uncle...then there's a signature that might be Zulie...but it's really a stretch. It is Ada S. Rogers' handwriting at the top however. saying Zulie G. Swasey uncle.
Let's see. Ada. Swasey Rogers was daughter of Zulieka Granger Phillips Swasey, whose mother was Mary Hull Granger Phillips, who had a brother George W. Granger, and their father was George Tyler Granger. I found the picture on Ancestry.com for George W. Granger, who would have been Zuleika G.P. Swasey's uncle. However the notations take it back further, to being a brother of George Tyler's...in order to be her great uncle. However, I haven't found out any more about George Tyler Granger's family tree yet.
So I'll leave this delightfully sober photograph attached to the person where I found it, though the notations sure sound like it should go back another generation. But one thing I've sure learned in doing research is that researchers make mistakes, even my grandmother and perhaps her mother Zulieka might have made unclear notations. It's only when I get to read the hand-written census reports, or pictures from family Bibles that I can verify things...and many times whoever transcribed them originally has made errors.
I am loving doing this kind of research though!
Welllll...there are 3 generations with a Joseph Granger. Can we tell about when this gentleman posed by his clothes? The youngest Joseph Granger was born in 1835. His Uncle Joseph Granger was born 25 Sept 1797. And his father Joseph Granger was born 1765 and lived to 1847. The last one was a great grandfather of some level, so probably not in the running for Great Uncle Joseph status. Boy they did like the same name over and over again didn't they?
ReplyDeleteBarb - your link on the SS page did not work, I had to find this from the sidebar.
ReplyDeleteInteresting to see how much detective work is necessary with a photo such as this. Wish we had some to follow.
It is not just fun doing the research, it is also fun (and enlightening) reading about the research in posts like this. You get such an insight into different times in different places - living history.
ReplyDeleteI spend many hours researching on Ancestry.com. I have found many errors in the hand written census documents, so I am leary, most often the names are misspelled and sometimes completely changing the name of the Polish ancestors. I had to reread your opening introduction about the man in the photo, it surely helps to have some family reference....
ReplyDeleteI agree about the Ancestry.com resources...but whenever I get to the hand written sheets, it's much better than the transcriptions. Of course spelling of names is a hoot! Wonder why volunteers who couldn't write well were accepted to do census reports. Yes, Bob, I re-posted to SS, don't know why I must have been asleep when I did the link before.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is that this was taken in the late 1860s or early 1870s, if that's of any use to you.
ReplyDeleteThanks Brett, that would make it not Great Uncle Joseph, but just Uncle Joseph, because this gentleman seems to not be over 50. I'm so happy to know that, and will leave photo attached to George W. Granger! By the way, what made you deduce such info?
ReplyDeleteHi Barb - This is a carte de visite format and the style of sitting i.e. a three-quarter length seated portrait, together with studio setting, clothing and hair styles, all point to that period. The simple text printed on the back of the card mount in a single font would be more typical of the 1860s than the 1870s. I'd say this man looks to be at least in his 40s, and perhaps 50s.
ReplyDeleteGreat thoughts! But the younger Uncle would have been 30 in 1865, where the elder would have been 50 by 1857. So baldness may make him look older, but... And, I know the younger Uncle Joseph moved to Texas before the Civil War, so the picture might have been taken before 1861 because of that! In which case, mmm, he does look older than 30. Isn't this fun! I'll see if I can locate a census for 1850 or 1860 to determine if he was still in Newburyport, MA.
ReplyDeleteOK, my conclusions from looking at census of Tolland MA, for 1880, that Uncle George W. Granger is indeed the man in the picture. (at least today's conclusion.) He gave his age as 59 in that census, where he actually wrote the whole page as the enumerator, and his penmanship is fabulous. So for some reason he was older than the birth date of 1830 which would have made him only 50 for the 1880 census. Who knows why he changed his own age, but it sure makes things hard to chase down!
ReplyDeleteIt's a great photo, and a fun puzzle to figure out.
ReplyDeleteI don't recall ever coming across the name Zulieka...so I took a look at what modern day Zuliekas look like: http://goo.gl/xKvhf
ReplyDeleteHa! Nigel, they look just like Susan's and Barbara's to me!
ReplyDeleteThe puzzle continues for generations! I hope you find the proof you seek about the handsome gentleman in the photo.
ReplyDeleteWhat fun to unravel these puzzles. I too have found numerous errors in the various records.
ReplyDeleteResearching is so much fun, and all the unexpected and interesting things we often find along the way! One of my dear grandmothers was named Ada! Ada Harriet, and her middle name of course was from her mother's name.
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