Saturday, March 6, 2021

Could a Langer in my Family Ancestors have visited Yosemite National Park in California sometime in the early 1920s?: A Study of an Unidentified Photograph

When my maternal grandfather Irma passed down to me some of her father’s photographs in the mid-1990s, one of the photographs depicts 3 men and 1 young woman standing on a high rock ledge overlooking a barely visible foggy valley. You can tell it is a tourist attraction because of the metal railing in the lower left, with three horizontal rails.

One of the men and the woman are wearing knickers and knee socks, with the woman wearing a woman’s tie and possibly high boots. The man in front is holding a walking stick. They appear dressed for a hike for that time. The man with the walking stick appears the eldest in the group.

The distance between the photographer and these 4 people is enough to have blurred their faces. The type of camera used and the weather conditions likely contributed to the image quality.

The photographic print measures 9½ inches tall and 7½ inches wide; a good size.

There are no markings on the front or back; completely unidentified.

Given my Langer family's presence in Aalborg, Denmark during the early 1900s, I have assumed that the image was taken somewhere in Denmark or Europe. And, never really researched it online.

I could not have been more wrong.

. . .

Overhanging Rock at Glacier Point,
Yosemite National Park, California, undated


No comments:

Post a Comment

About Me

Massachusetts, United States
As an archivist, historian, and genealogist I share a love of history & family stories, travel, the ocean beach, architecture, & old movies with my wife Anne. I am originally from Reading, PA. My entire family heritage in the U.S. is in 3 Pennsylvania counties: Berks, Lancaster, & Philadelphia (city). When I moved to Boston to attend graduate school, I fell in love with Boston, my wife, & New England, pretty much in that order. Professionally, I am an archivist & historian, work which never ceases to excite me throughout the day. I have been an archivist for 28 years. I enjoy watching documentaries, & old movies, reading the print edition of the Boston Globe every morning, & listening to music. Stories in Archives, History, and Life will both look back as I share insights from my life experiences; & will look forward as I talk about what I am trying to accomplish in life & as an archivist/historian. Some stories will be short, sometimes very short, while others will be longer pieces.