Dapper Young Gents: 52 Ancestors 2022 Prompt “Favorite Photo”

Siver Syverson and Friends Strike a Dashing Pose

Siver Syverson: 1882-1953
 

I don’t know much about my granduncle Siver Syverson. He was my paternal grandmother Regina Syverson Peterson’s youngest brother, ten years younger than Regina. He never married or had children, and seems to have been a bit of a rolling stone, moving from job to job, and from southern to northern Minnesota and back again. He was a bit of a mystery—I even had trouble finding his death record and place of burial. So I was delighted when my brother showed me this delightful photo of Siver and two friends. Until then, I didn’t know what Siver looked like. Now I can see a family resemblance to my father, and I can see that Siver had a sense of humor.

Siver was born January 21, 1882 to Ragnhild and Ove Syverson in Linden Township, a farming area in Brown County, Minnesota. He was the last of their eight children; two of their children had already died before Siver’s birth. Siver never had a chance to know his father; Ove died in a farming accident when Siver was just six months old.

Siver—also spelled at times as Sever and Syver, with the surname also showing variations on various records—worked as a farm hand on several different farms over the years. He even worked for his sister Regina following her husband’s death.

Siver's draft registration showing 3 different spellings of his name on a single document!

I’m not sure when this photograph was taken. Sever doesn’t look that old—probably out of his teens, but still in his early twenties. The man in the center of the photo looks like he was the oldest of the three men, but even he probably isn’t over thirty, and the man on the left looks very youthful.  I wish I knew who the other two men were—did they also live in Linden Township? Were they related or just friends?  

I love the photo’s details—all three men were obviously dressed in their best clothes: suits, white shirts and ties. Siver’s tie is so pale that it nearly blends in with his shirt—what color was it? A silvery grey or a pale blue? Yellow? His shoes are carefully shined; they aren’t as fancy as those of his seated friend—are those spats?—but are more polished and cared for than the third young man’s.

And look at those hats! I love the jaunty angle of Siver’s hat—it seems to suit the mood of the mens’ poses. They look proud, a little cocky and a little self-mocking. I get the feeling that the photo was a bit of a lark, and was meant to be amusing. Where did they get those amazing pipes? The bowl of the left-most gent’s pipe bowl appears to feature a carved rooster. Siver’s pipe reminds me of the mouthpiece of a set of bagpipes. Were the pipes props the photographer used? They were certainly functional, as we can see from the smoke wreathing from them.

Siver was born in 1882, so if the photo was taken when he was in his early twenties, that would be around 1902-1907. The clothing seems fairly appropriate for that era, based on wedding photos from that time period.

As I already mentioned, there is a definite family resemblance between Siver and his nephew, my father Juhl. The shape of the eyes and their light color, the shape of the jawline, and the nose are all similar. My father’s eyes were bright, light blue. According to Siver’s draft card, his were grey, and his hair brown, while my dad’s was darker, nearly black.

Siver at left, my dad in late teens in center, my dad in his thirties at right, with a heavier face and bad angle...

This photo was made into a postcard. The back reads, “From Oliver and Alfred” and the address portion  just includes Siver’s name—in this case spelled Siver Siverson. I am assuming Oliver and Alfred are the other two gents in the photo. The names suggest several possibilities for their identities that I will have to explore in the future.

I am so glad that my brother brought this marvelous, funny photo to my attention.