The Selsor-Skaggs Family Mystery Photos

wo cabinet cards, #22 and #23, adorn the top of this page. The woman in #22 on her neckline wears an unusual jeweled sword brooch with chain. Unlike the faded markings of #02 shown on our Miniatures page, "Harry" is indisputably visible on the reverse (shown below) of #23, which, like #04, has gilt-edged borders. The original #23 suffered numerous scratches about the face to the degree that it might hinder identification, and so Capi painstakingly completed a really wonderful restoration. By the name and location of the photographer, this photo was taken during 1885-89, and, just as on #06 Mattie on the Diamonds page, the distinctive fountain pen handwriting matches that of our great-grandaunt Alice Arsulia (Brown) Williams - the elevated "H" in particular being a unique signifier. But, we then ask, what relationship is Harry to her?

We both presumed the subject of #24 to be male, but recently one of our grandaunts has posited that the subject is female. Apparently this wedge style of haircut was popular on women during the 1920s. Capi had wondered what exactly is on the subject's right shoulder and Robert had noted the strap closure of the placket, and so, if the subject is female, that would explain the fact that neither of these details looks excessively masculine.

The well-dressed young man wearing a three-piece suit in #25 appears on the front of a postcard. At the turn of the 20th century - an era in which photography was much less common than today - this was a novelty: you could have your picture taken and then mail it to your family or friends. Fortunately for us, this pristine postcard was never mailed, and so we can see on its reverse side what Robert discovered - the stamp box (shown below) indicates this postcard is of AZO paper stock manufactured by Eastman Kodak. This design - four corners showing upward triangles - was used from 1904-1918, giving us an approximate date range for this photo.

Our one confirmed success so far, William Wallace Brown, Jr., is due to perseverance. This is the only known photograph of our GG grandfather and, unlike most tintypes, this one is nearly a full plate in size - it measures about 13 cm by 18 cm. It was revealed to us only because of Robert's mother's keen eyesight which caught the glint of very faint writing on the back of this tintype - "Wal Brown" - and Capi's genealogical crystal ball that gave us three possibilities: William Wallace Brown Sr. (1805-1896), William Wallace Brown Jr. (1849-1916) or the Sr.'s brother Wallace William Brown (1816-1900). Evidence includes the age of the subject, our ancestors' life dates, and the tintype introduction year of 1856 - all of which favor Jr. But the handwriting - too faint to reproduce here when scanned - again matches that of our great-grandaunt Alice Arsulia (Brown) Williams, who was Jr.'s daughter, and it also adds the word "Father"! Robert wants to propose a law allowing the use of a given name only once within three generations....