Photograph After a Family Argument?

Do you readers enjoy your own old family photographs as much as I enjoy mine even when they're not great photographs? This very poor image came to me as an 8-by-10 black and white photocopy. Who knows how large the original photograph was, perhaps 2 x 3 or maybe 4 x 5 inches. What you see is a scan of the photocopy.

Despite the lack of clarity in the image I think it has some redeeming qualities. Foremost for me is the expressions on the faces of some of the people in the photo.

Would you say there's been a little argument in the family? The man with the moustache is my great-grandfather, Henry Meinzen. His expression seems tolerant but not at peace. The woman behind and slightly to the left of him is my great-grandmother, Elizabeth Armitage Meinzen. With her hair pulled tightly back from her face she would probably look severe even with a smile, but there's no smile and her expression is positively sour. The younger man on the left in the front also seems to have a sour expression. And now look at the pouty face of the young woman on the back row, left.

What happened just before this photo was taken? There's not a person alive now who remembers that day, and as far as I know, no memory was recorded on paper to tell the story. But I suspect there was some kind of argument between the pouty-faced young woman, the man in front of her, and Gramma Elizabeth.

I've been puzzling over the identities of the people in this photo for several years now. By looking at some other old family photographs I was finally able to determine that the man on the left is Henry and Elizabeth's oldest son, Henry, born in 1870. I can only guess at the rest.... Perhaps the young woman behind him is his wife. I suspect that the others are Henry's and Elizabeth's younger children. They had 15, born between 1870 and 1899.

I discovered the photograph to the left in my grandmother's album. My aunt identified the women, from left to right (by faces), as Edna Hendricks Pugh; Naomi Meinzen Rhome; Lula Meinzen Sticker; Emma Bickerstaff Meinzen; Beatrice or Mildred Meinzen (daughter of the younger Henry Meinzen); Mina Meinzen Harris; and (probably) Nellie Hashman. Naomi, Lula, and Mina are Henry & Elizabeth's daughters; Emma is a daughter-in-law; and the others are granddaughters.

Looking at this photo, I was struck by the similarity of Beatrice/Mildred to the pouty-faced young woman in the first photo. Are they the same person or mother and daughter?

It's possible (but probably not likely) that a descendant of Henry (the younger) will come forward and identify the woman with the pout. I can only hope.... Maybe I'll be able to determine more approximate dates of both photographs based on the clothing, which may help me guess the individuals in the first photo. Until I can do that, I'll just enjoy what I know and imagine what I don't.

This is a Sepia Saturday post. If you enjoy looking at and reading about old photographs, go visit.