Sepia Saturday Week 62 1907 Postcard

Despite the genealogy research I've done on Jerry's side, I cannot identify these people as relatives  but  here they are in this  old 1907  photo/post card which Aunt Marie had saved.  They are from this MN area, and from the era when a postcard was mailed to stay in touch with family, rather than phoning or driving the miles.  So different from today where we'd pick up the phone, drive that distance without  any thought and/or use email. 

This card was mailed to Charles Behrndt, Jerry's Grandpa, from Lottie, who was Charlie's sister.  The mystery people are identified by the writing  along side of the card as Gib (or Gil) Dolan, Anna Noel, Lena Noel, and Mary Dolan.  It looks as though they were out for a hike through the woods and/or were clearing land. Their clothes do not appear to be what one would wear to do work on the land, at least not the women's.  I see no evidence of a picnic in process, just looks like they stopped, sat on the ground and had the photo taken.  It will be a mystery to solve and learn what link is this to Charlotte (Lottie)  who married Otto Ziemann, as I have previously shared here.  When Lottie sent this card she and Otto were likely  living in Preston  where the  1910 census shows them; Preston is  about 60 miles  south west of La Crescent, where Charlie was settled. For some reason she thought her brother  would be interested, but she did not write anything on the back side.  Otto was a meat wholesaler and traveled through northern MN and was also a  butcher, so I doubt this is land that the Ziemann's had cleared for a home.  They lived in what was the town at the time and  she taught school.   It seems unusual to me to see one man and three women if this was land to be cleared to farm or to build.  What do you think?


1907 from Lottie

 This is the back of the postcard showing it was mailed from Preston but in 1907 there were no  highways and so visits and trips were not routine.  I wonder  why Lottie sent this photo to her brother with no other information.  In the funeral books of Charles and his wife, Esther many years later, there are Noel's who  sign the guest book.  There must have been some connection.  It is also amusing that it could be addressed to Charlie in La Crescent which had a population of maybe a few hundred at the time among the hills and farms and that the card would easily reach the addressee.   

Jerry laughs and says he has not a clue and if I want to spend time trying to solve this well, then he  figures it keeps me from pestering him. 

As always click on the title to this post to go to the Sepia site and see what others in the community have shared this week.