A cousin just sent it to me--a scan of a tintype of my great-grandfather, Albert Murray.
But I have no idea what year this is from. Albert was born in 1856. He was a farmworker and laborer in New York and around 1880-1882 settled in Emporium, PA where he married, was a constable, and at one point, worked at a dynamite factory. I have trouble imagining someone who was a laborer being this finely styled for anything other than his wedding in 1882 when he was 26.
What a cool photo! I would argue, though, that there are lots of men that enjoyed getting dressed up so it could be any time. I think he looks younger than 26...especially if he was a laborer. Maybe he just liked getting gussied up? Maybe this was a photo taken to give to a girl?
ReplyDeleteI thought he looked younger than 26 also, but I just couldn't imagine that with his history (orphan, bound out at age 7, poor treatment by the family he worked for), that he had the money for the clothing, etc. Could be borrowed I guess. And I'd say he definitely liked getting gussied up--nobody does this by accident! Maybe he did do it for a girl. Maybe he did it to celebrate leaving indentured service. It's fun to think about the possibilities.
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