UNIDENTIFIED PHOTOS

WACASTER LINE

Probably for as long as people have been taking photographs, they've been consistently making one major mistake.  Namely, not bothering to identify who's in the photos.  At first thought, you reach the conclusion that photos aren't identified because people just don't care...but that's not true.  The real reason is far simpler.  Nothing's identified because the one who took the photos knows the identify of the photo's subject.

Nowhere is this more pervasive than family photos.  The problem becomes worse when the photographer dies, because now you have all kinds of family photos that are missing a key piece...the family member who took the shot.  In most instances, other members of the family can compare notes and eventually figure out who's in the picture.  This usually comes about when someone in the family develops an interest in genealogy.

However, the worst case scenario occurs when the person researching family genealogy winds up as the sole survivor with no immediate family members available for questioning.  Then photos have to be analysed and identified based on facial comparisons, other individuals in the photos, background, clothing styles, educated guesses, even the stamp on the back that identifies the photo processor, etc.   It's an imperfect process, with lots of potential for false identifications and inaccurate dates.  And the number of unidentified photos rises exponentially.   This approach also frequently raises more questions than it answers, leading to considerable frustration.

As the result of my mother's death on June 25, 2002 (and my father's on December 29, 1983), this is the precise situation I find myself in.  Ergo, this page...and probably many pages...of unidentified photos is being included on the off chance that someone who views them might be able to provide an identification of either an entire photo, one of the individuals or information on the background, location or date.

I may be reached at 416 Chicago, Ft. Worth, Texas 76103 or by email at tennexican@mindspring.com

Any and all information provided will be appreciated and properly credited.

Sincerely,

Richard Carlson Marmo

PLEASE CLICK ON THE DESIRED PHOTO TO SEE A FULL SCREEN IMAGE THAT WILL OPEN IN A NEW WINDOW.  SIMPLY CLOSE THAT WINDOW TO RETURN TO THIS PAGE

IMAGE 002 These buildings appear to be some kind of residential/boarding houses. Clothing style dates the photo to somewhere between the late 1880s and 1915.  The bare ground seems to indicate minimal wheeled traffic. Location is unknown, but could possibly be either Tupelo or Amory, Mississippi.	IMAGE 019 Nothing is known about this photo.  It's quite possible that this could be the Wacaster farm in Amory, but then you have the question of who the people are. Also, the print was processed at Lollar's in Birmingham, Alabama, leaving a question as to the actual location. .	IMAGE 020 Same comments apply here as in Image 019.  The only difference is that the subjects are cows instead of people.  Ruby talked longingly about their cows, which makes me think this and 019 were taken on the Wacaster farm in Amory. But there's still the question of why it was processed at Lollar's in Birmingham.