Of all my photos of unidentified people, this is probably
my favorite. It came to me in a box of photos belonging to my grandaunt Helen
Killeen Parker. Since many of the other photos were of her mother and her
mother’s sisters and their families, I assume this one is as well. But who is
it?
Here is what I know: Helen’s mother, my great grandmother
Mary Theresa Sheehan Killeen Walsh, immigrated to New York from Ireland in the
late 1880s. Her sisters did as well. I know for sure that a brother Denis
remained in Ireland. One brother, John Sheehan, might have immigrated to New
York but I am not sure.
There are many photos of women who resemble Mary Theresa,
but the few photos that are labeled are of children who would be Helen’s
cousins. Photos of adults are not labeled, so I cannot tell for sure who is
who.
As a result, I can identify NO ONE in this photo.
One problem I am having is determining age in the photo.
Is this a set of parents with a son and daughter? Parents with a son and
granddaughter? Could it even be a
4-generation photo? The woman resembles Mary Theresa somewhat in body type, but
if the photo is from the 19-teens, Mary Theresa and sisters would have been
younger looking and probably thinner.
Another problem is determining the place the photo was
taken. Since I have seen none of these people in other photos, I considered
maybe this was the family left behind in Ireland. However, the architecture of
the house does not fit with what homes looked like in Ireland, or at least in
photos I have seen. Could this house
have been in New York? Massachusetts? Maybe it was taken in Portsmouth,
Virginia where Mary Theresa moved following the death in 1905 of her first
husband, John Joseph Killeen.
The soldier’s uniform might answer that question, in
part, at least. The coat resembles this one identified online as a US army
enlisted man’s tunic from 1912. Later uniforms also had buttons on the collar.
I looked at World War I uniforms for other countries and am satisfied that this
is an American soldier. I can rule out Mary Theresa’s brother and family in
Ireland as candidates.
But who should be ruled IN? That is the million dollar question!
Amy Johnson Crow continues to challenge genealogy
bloggers and non-bloggers alike to think about our ancestors and share a story
or photo about them. The challenge is “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.”
Wendy
© 2019, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.
This would be a bit frustrating to me, yet I think you are intrigued by then. I know people don't think about doing it because they think they'll live forever, but I think more people should mark their photos. I have with the old ones we have. The newer ones the present people would know who is in them. Those are digital ones, so I'll have to figure out a way to name/number them. I know you'll keep searching though for something with these pictures as you have the time to do so.
ReplyDeletebetty
Wonderful attempt at figuring out who these people are. And if you put it on the "back burner" maybe more information will click. On the other hand, I did that when I saw an ancestor had been a Reverend of a Baptist congregation on an old census report, and didn't add it to my ancestor's own data, and now I can't figure out who he was and have had to look through everyone I've recently been adding things to, all without finding him again! Have been following too many leads these days!
ReplyDeleteOh, the frustration of unknown people in old family photos! I hope somehow, somewhere you can find more information, or other photos, to identify these people.
ReplyDeleteI posted a photo of a grand-uncle who served in WWI. His uniform looks like the one you posted here except his buttons right to left (which in recent years has always been the way women's clothing is buttoned).
The uniform looks just like my grandfather's WWI uniform. I'm a big help, aren't I? ;-)
ReplyDelete