{"id":332,"date":"2012-08-19T23:25:48","date_gmt":"2012-08-20T06:25:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blackenedroots.com\/blog\/?p=332"},"modified":"2018-05-28T19:57:10","modified_gmt":"2018-05-29T02:57:10","slug":"mystery-photo-girl-with-tribble-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blackenedroots.com\/blog\/mystery-photo-girl-with-tribble-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Mystery Photo #1: Girl with tribble, part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>As with most family photo collections, I have some photos that are unidentified. \u00a0The following photo of the girl worried about the dead tribble at her feet is one of these. \u00a0Let’s see if we can narrow down the possibilities for who this might be. \u00a0The following are the research notes I took as I worked through this mystery.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Let’s start with the photographer to see if we can get a date for the photo. \u00a0The photographer’s name and place of business (“A. Wahlstrom, Wadena, Minn.”) are printed at the bottom center of the backing of the cabinet card.<\/p>\n

According to the wonderful\u00a0Directory of Minnesota Photographers<\/a> created by the Minnesota Historical Society, A. Wahlstrom was Amanda Wahlstrom, a Swedish-American woman who was born in Sweden, spent a brief time working as photographer in Wadena, and then returned to Sweden. \u00a0While in Wadena, she worked out of a location at 235 Third Street, Wadena. \u00a0According to the MHS, she was active from 1898-1899 and 1902.<\/p>\n

According to a May 22, 2011, article in the Wadena Pioneer Journal (“J. Tessman Studio and other Wadena County shutterbugs”):<\/p>\n

In 1896, Amanda Wahlstrom, photographer, had her photography business at two different locations \u2013 101 Bryant Ave. SW and 121 1\/2 Jefferson St. S., which was sold to C. Raven and Wahlstrom and terminated in 1908.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So it appears that Amanda Wahlstrom may have been active in Wadena from 1896 to 1908. \u00a0Stylistic details of the cabinet card and the photographer’s logo may help narrow the date range.<\/p>\n

The MHS has\u00a0a photograph<\/a>\u00a0by Amanda Wahlstrom that they date to ca. 1900. \u00a0Other photos by A. Wahlstrom can be seen\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0(undated), here<\/a> (undated), and here<\/a> (undated). \u00a0The confirmation photograph<\/a> of the two girls is the closest match of the card and the logo, but it looks to me to be more recent than the photo at the top of this post.<\/p>\n

How old is the girl? \u00a0I’m not good with estimating children’s ages, so maybe 2-5? \u00a0If anyone reading this has a better estimate, please leave it in a comment to this post!<\/p>\n

If she were 5 years old and the photo was taken in 1896, then she would have been born in 1891. \u00a0If she were 2 years old and the photo was taken in 1908, then she would have been born in 1906.<\/p>\n

So what women in my family were born in or near Wadena, MN, between 1891 and 1908? \u00a0Here’s a list (I included those born a couple of years on either side of the limits):<\/p>\n