The Mystery Couple

  

     Shortly before an older cousin of mine died a few years ago, he entrusted to me a stack of old photos. His reasoning was his daughter, who had no interest in family history, would merely discard them upon his passing. Especially since a few of them were older and the persons in them unidentified.  I expect he was correct in his assumption; I fear the same for my genealogy efforts which is why I’m posting all I can to Ancestry.  An imperfect solution to be sure, but until a budding family historian appears in my clan will have to suffice.

    The photograph above has intrigued me since it first came into my keeping. The young lady on the right is my teen-aged grandmother, Mary O’Hora. The names of the couple holding the poodles are unknown to me, (as are those of the poodles). They are in one or two other pictures I have from approximately the same time, so I believe they are most likely relatives, but who they are continues to confound me. The obvious first step was to date the photograph. Grandma was born in 1912, it appears to me she looks to be about 16 years old in this picture give or take. That suggests it was taken around 1928.

     If they are indeed family members, I’ve narrowed the obvious possibilities as to their identities.  My grandmother’s father, Edward O’Hora, died in 1920 when Grandma was eight years old. Edward’s oldest sister Mary passed in 1907 as did his sister Anna; his brother James died in 1881. The next, Michael, never married, and Sarah Jane died in 1902. That left Winifred, who lived until 1939, and her husband Andrew Fitzpatrick who survived until 1928 and lastly, Edward’s brother Daniel who lived until 1951 and his possibly common-law wife who passed in 1937.  I tend to discount Daniel as there was some bad blood between him and the family and too, the gentleman in the photo seems shorter than what the O’Hora’s were from I’ve seen, but Winifred and Andrew are a real possibility. 

    On the other hand, the photo may be of relatives of Edward’s wife Ellen White. Ellen survived Edward and lived at the family farm until the mid-1930’s. Her siblings Margaret, William, and Julia were all deceased by 1923. Of those remaining, her brother Thomas never married, Cornelius disappeared, and John lived in California, leaving Mary, who lived until 1939 and her husband William Stevenson who survived until about 1937. 

    Census records show the Stevenson's living at 17 West 11th Street on Long Island in 1925, but they did visit Ellen on the farm occasionally.  In fact, the local newspaper published this line the first week in October of 1928, “Mr. and Mrs. William E. Stevenson of Long Island are visiting Mrs. Nellie O’Hora and family!” That’s quite interesting, I had forgotten the date of that short notice in the paper until I was looking at my notes for Mary while writing this blog. It certainly places her at the farm in 1928.  I don’t know if they would have brought their pets all the way from Long Island but they were childless...who can say? 

     So which couple could it be, Winifred and Andrew or Mary and William?  I dug out the other photos I had of the possible Mary and William and gasped, the lady who appeared in the photo was seated on the front steps of, get this, number 17!

     Here is "William" in front of the same house.  The two appear younger here than in the picture at the top of this blog, but I'm sure it's the same couple.  I may just have answered my question!  This is why I blog, I figured this whole thing out just now, while blogging.  It makes me focus and think things through like nothing else, I highly recommend it.