Henry & Elizabeth (Armitage) Meinzen & family

This is another photocopy from the box from Aunt Polly's possessions. If you click on the photo you can see it larger.

The year? Based on the sleeves on the dresses it's probably at least 1894 but possibly early 1900s too. Perhaps more research on clothing styles will reveal more.

The people? Henry is sitting front right between two children. He was born in 1837 so he's probably close to or over 60 in this photo. Elizabeth is seated behind him. Except for her dress you might almost think she's a man with her hair pulled so severely back from her face.

The younger women? Henry and Elizabeth had 6 known daughters (and possible others who were either miscarriages, stillborn babies, or died soon after birth). The 6 known are:

Hannah, born 1875
Isabella Marie (or Marie Isabella), born 1880
Elizabeth Wilhelmina, born 1885
Lula Bernesa, born 1887
Bertha, born 1888
Naomi, born 1898

Could any of the young women in this photo be any of those daughters?
Hannah married in 1907 and had her first child in 1908.
Isabella married in 1901 and had her first child, a son, in 1903; another son in 1904, and a daughter in 1905.
Elizabeth Wilhelmina (Mina) married in 1910 and had her first child in 1914.
Lula Bernesa married in 1911 and had no children.
Bertha married in 1906 and had a son in 1909/1910.
And Naomi married in 1916 and had no children.

Of the women in the photograph, if (which is a big if!) the photo was taken in about 1895, Hannah would have been 20, Isabella would have been 15, Wilhelmina would have been 10, Bertha would have been 8, and Naomi wouldn't have been born yet.

The man? Is he the husband of one of the women? Or is he one of Henry and Elizabeth's sons? They had 7 sons (not counting miscarriages, stillbirths, or very young deaths). Their sons are:

Henry, born 1870
William, born 1872 (died 1888)
Edward, born 1879 (died 1911)
Walter, born 1882 (died 1907)
William Carl Robert, born 1892
Jacob, born 1893 (died 1917)
Carl Nelson, born 1896 (died 1896)

Could the man on the left be Henry (who would have been 25 in 1895). He looks too old to be any of the other sons.

And the children? I think, from left to right, they are girl, boy, boy, girl, girl. They all seem to have short hair. Could there have been an epidemic not long before this photo was taken and they lost their hair or had it cut off? The two on the right are definitely girls, maybe ages 7 to 10. The girl on the right in front sort of looks like Aunt Lulu. The girl behind could be, maybe, Aunt Belle or Aunt Mina?

I don't know who the people in the photo are other than Henry and Elizabeth, but I want to know. I hope someone who knows will eventually see this blog or the original photographs and confirm/clarify some information. I want to know who all the people in the photograph are. I want to know where this was taken and what year it was taken. I want to know why the girls have such short hair and how old Henry and Elizabeth were. I want to know what year Elizabeth's dress was made. And I have a million other questions I want to ask them....

Do you see any family resemblances, especially you who knew the aunts and uncles in person? Do you recognize anyone from other photos you've seen? I hope you'll share your thoughts, impressions, knowledge, insights, etc.