A New Photo Mystery. Are They Family or Friends? 

This falls into the category of you learn something new every day.   When Susy Hopkins submitted her mystery photo she included Family Search ID numbers along with the names.  Hmmm.  This falls into the category of you learn something new every day.   When Susy Hopkins submitted her mystery photo she included Family Search ID numbers along with the names.  Hmmm.

Turns out you can search FamilySearch.org with those numbers and see the information that’s been added.

Here’s how:

• Register for a free account on FamilySearch.com.
• Select Family Tree from the menu and click it.
• Then on the next screen use the Find feature.
• You can search by name or ID number.   Cool!

Using the number she gave me I could look at the genealogical information for the people she thought were related to the photos.

These two individual portraits belonged to her grandmother Geventa Larsen Cox .  Susy wondered if they were members of her grandmother’s family or of her husband’s, John Rathbun Cox.

Her grandmother was born in 1907 well after the date for the portraits.  The mystery deepens.

The woman with the coil of hair on her head posed for that picture circa 1899 and it’s likely the young man did as well. They actually look like graduation portraits or those taken at a formal event.

A date of 1899 suggests that this man and woman are of her great grandparent’s generation.

Are they family or friends?   Either is possible.   I’d start by comparing other family pictures to see if they match other relatives.  They could be siblings of her great grandparents.   Then again…our ancestors swapped pictures with friends too.