Ronnie O’Rourke’s great aunt Mary (Mamie) Smith (b. 1892) can be seen here wearing an elaborate hat in this family portrait. While Ronnie identified her, his family wants to know who else stands with her in this photo.

Her stylish hat and dress make an impression at any outdoor event, while the presence of the mandolin indicates that this group was likely singing along to music played by one of their own family musicians.

Ronnie wants to know if the man standing next to Mamie is John Smith (b. 1865). Her family knows he died somewhere between 1905 and 1920 but cannot locate a death record for him; thus making his identity hard to ascertain. So far she’s tried narrowing down who among all of these John Smiths is her relative.

Mamie wonders if Mamie’s cousins, Frank (b. 1887), Catherine (b. 1888), Thomas (b. 1892) and Louise (b. 1897) from Nevins family might also be included.

Each photograph raises many questions, so I would love to know:

Mamie seems to be visiting her cousins, yet is not sure whether all are cousins or whether she had siblings? Where was this picture taken and who took it? Since it appears to be a snapshot, someone likely owns an amateur camera; moreover there may have been other candid shots taken that day that capture similar moments.
Ronnie speculates about whether or not the man in the picture might be their father; Louise had once been a milliner, so perhaps she made that beautiful hat herself!

The hat can give us some indication as to when this image was captured.

Large turban style hats became fashionable around 1910. French fashion magazines like Journal Des Demoiselles often published illustrations of these fashionable hats; click here to see one from 1909. If you look closely you may recognize some similarities with those worn by Mamie.

Fashionable Americans were aware of what was fashionable overseas. Here is an example from 1909 Spring Sears Catalog showing similar turban shaped hats.