Facebook to the Rescue: 52 Ancestors 2022 Prompt “Social”

 

Social Media Post Helps Solve Photo Mystery

Ragnhild Olsdatter Ve Syverson: 1848-1933

 

I have been weaning myself from social media, and rarely post anything on Facebook anymore. However, I still check my Facebook feed a couple days a week, swiftly scrolling past the ads, political posts and memes in search of the few items that interest me. That’s how I found a post last week that answered questions my family had about an old photo.

Ole Syverson and Ragnhild Olsdatter Ve Syverson in front of Syverson farm house--Linden Township circa 1920s

I belong to a Facebook group that focuses on my tiny Minnesota hometown of Hanska. Often people post old family photos from the early 1900s. This past week, a gentleman posted a series of photos related to his great-grandmother Jorgine Syverson Ahlness, who was my grandaunt. The photos included Jorgine’s wedding photo—a delight because until then I had no confirmed photo of her—and a photo of Jorgine’s mother and brother, Ragnhild and Ole Syverson, in front of their farmhouse in Linden Township. This was an exciting find, as my brother has a photo that he thought might show Ragnhild’s family on their front porch. We’d never been able to verify his hunch, as the faces in the photo were tiny and indistinct. But now there was a new way to prove or disprove the identification: Were the houses in the two photos the same?

My brother's photo of Syverson family, now confirmed. Likely year 1896, after death of daughter Anne Sirine Syverson--youngest son Syver looks to be about 14 years old

The photos were taken from different angles. My brother’s photo shows the front of the house, with the front door and front porch facing the camera. Mr. Trodahl’s photo shows the side of the house—the front is visible, but at a sharp angle. However, blowing both photos up showed the placement and shape of the windows, the rails and gingerbread trim on the porch, and the roof shape were all identical. The only difference I could detect was the trim under the two peaks of the roof: the paint pattern on the shingles had been changed.

Peterson photo of Syversons--porch and window area 

Trodahl photo--porch and window area

So my brother was correct: his photo shows Ragnhild Olsdatter Ve Syverson and five of her children on the front porch of their house. And we have social media to thank for the verification!

Blow-up of family on porch. Tentative identification: Ole Syverson, Syver Syverson, Jorgine Syverson Ahlness, mother Ragnhild, daugther Ragnhild Syverson Oren, Regina Syverson Peterson.