Help me to date some photos?

[Kraellin]

well, the main part of the sign says 'GIRVIN', as best i can read it. there is a girvin texas...or was. it's now a ghost town, sort of. maybe a few residents yet.

from a web site:

Ranchers and stock raisers came to the area in the 1890s, later to be called Girvin after the name of one of the ranchers. It was the railroad that built through in 1911 that started Girvin on its way to becoming a town of some importance. The railroad built a passenger and freight station and soon other businesses were established including a general store, a hotel, a saloon and a lumberyard. Girvin also was a shipping point for thousands of cattle for a number of years. The economy of Girvin was steadily growing when in 1933 a new highway was built to connect Fort Stockton with McCamey that passed one mile south of Girvin. Some residents had already departed the town to seek employment elsewhere. The new highway provided additional business opportunities, which negatively affected the Girvin economy. The 1940 census showed only seventy-five residents left in the town. The Santa Fe Railway closed the freight depot in 1944 and the passenger station in 1955. Girvin is now a town of abandoned buildings. The brick schoolhouse is maintained as a community center and polling place for the several residents that remain. SUBMITTED BY: Henry Chenoweth

There are 3 registered residents.One is the love of all mildred helmers.she has ran the social club since 1956.the helmers family started living in girvin since 1956. with their 4 childred mildred ran the post office and store and gas station. the social club still has it doors open was opened in 1957. you ask any one do they know where girvin is .the reply is yes and where is mildred . REMAINS: the pringle :mildred helmers SHORT BIOGRAPHY: there have been many people come through and stop. from all over the world and there marks are left on the raffler. girvin was put in the national geographic. Submitted by: John helmers

you also might want to check the site i got this quote from.... there is an original building of Girvin, Tx. still standing there that gave me a start when i first saw it. i've also found a link between some scottish girvins and australian girvins.

it was common for small towns to have the town name on any old building, particularly a common one like a general store.

ok, i dont know why i'm going on about girvins here. does this ring any bells in the family tree?

oh, and here are those sites: http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/tx/girvin.html
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/4081/gircorr.html

it's prolly just a wild goose chase, the girvin thing, but a small chance something could come of it.

oh, there is also a Girvin, Scotland... Girvin
South Ayrshire, Scotland
United Kingdom

Craig

edit:

What does the Girvin name mean?
Last Name: Girvin
Scottish and northern Irish: variant spelling of Girvan.

[MaryLynn]

Caitlin,

What wonderful photos! I've looked for some examples of the women's clothing and can only make guesses at this point because most of my reference sources don't go beyond 1900.

I am guessing that the card of the man & woman may be around 1930 based on the woman's hairstyle and the more modern flair of the collar and buttons on her dress. Someone with more knowledge of furniture and decorating may be able to date the table and vase.

The card of the woman in the middle I am guessing to be 1915-1920. Her hair is "larger" than the sleeker styles of the earlier decades and not as stylish as the 1920s. Her dress does not have the high collar of 1900-1910 but a round neckline which became more prevelant toward 1920. The pleating on the front of her dress and the beaded trim are also typical.

The young men in the boat may be from the early 1920s. I have a few pictures of young men in that era and some have the fuller hair. Of course, the young men could have just needed a trip to the barber shop, too.

Since you have photographers and addresses for the two postcards, may I suggest you go to this site http://www.antrimhistory.net/forum/index.php and see if you can get further information on either or both of them. Some one at that forum may have access to business records or city directories and be able to give you a date range.

Thank you for posting these photos and Jaime, thank you for the links to the postcard history. I've been looking for more information such as that.

MaryLynn

[Caitlin]

Great researching Craig! I can say with a fair degree of certainty that there were no American immigrants in my family tree - so it sounds like the Irish or Scottish Girvan might be the go. Which is a little disappointing, as it again seems to point to this also being a photo on my grandmother's side. It seems like my grandfather really did leave every trace of his previous life behind him.

[Caitlin]

MaryLynn, we cross posted! Thanks for that link.... It looks like I have a lot of reading to do!

[Kraellin]

you're welcome.

bear in mind that just because the sign says 'Girvin' doesnt mean that anyone in the photo has that name. i just wanted to see what i could find on the name on the sign to see if that would locate the area this photo was taken in.

Craig

[pjanak]

I'd guess:
1. 1920's
2. pre 1900
3 1920's

[ogee]

Originally Posted by Caitlin

I was hoping the men's floppy hair cuts could be a hint of the age of the boat photo, but to be honest even if I work out when I still probably won't know who! Though if it turns out to be 1910-15 (Which is what I am hoping) it could be my grandfather with his brothers, or friends.

So the photos printed as postcards are called cabinet cards?

I googles cabinet cards and here is the first link...I'm sure there are a lot more...
http://www.city-gallery.com/learning...card/index.php

[ogee]

Originally Posted by Kraellin

caitlin,

ok.

i think it's time for the history/geneaology buffs to take over

Craig

You maybe able to find a list of Photographer's Studios for Ireland (Belfast etc.) if you are sure that is where the photos came from or from whatever place your relative lived. I'd start with google...and also check local photographic societies for possible sources of such info...if you can establish where they were taken it is even more important than exactly when...and where may give you a better idea of when.
Just thought of another possible source of info...old business directories...some are on-line on various genealogical/history sites...try rootsweb.com and go to Ireland...or google it...once you find one source others should show up.

[Janet Petty]

This may or may not help you date the photos but this site: http://www.familysearch.org/ has the largest genealogy database in the world. If you know names, you can often find links that will help you identify others in the family tree. If it were up to me, I'd begin with your grandfather's name, date of birth, etc. You might find a real treasure trove of answers.

Janet

[Steve Conway]

Not an expert, but I do genealogy of my family as a hobby.

I agree with Craig that they are probably between 1900 and 1930. The last one being the newest. Notice none of the men in that pic have facial hair which was very popular at the turn of the century and some years after.

The postcard may be a good source to get some dates. There is a name of a company on it. If you can find out when that company was in business, it should help a good bit with dates.

This is fascinating stuff.

Steve

Originally Posted by Caitlin

Well, in case you have any more luck than me here is a close up of the shopfront - I think it is just a business name so not much help. Also I've attached a scan of the back of one of the 'postcards'. They are both quite similar looking, though the single lady does have a rough white edge. They are on relatively thin cardboard - basically just like postcards.