Mystery Photos

We all have those mystery photos in our collections. Sometimes they come with family stories and sometimes they come with no information at all.

Mystery photo: Durupt family collection.

The photo here is one of the mystery photos in my husband's family.

A lot of stock has been put into this picture to unlocking some family mysteries so it would be wonderful if we could determine more information.

After some photo research we think it is White Rock, BC. 

We need to do some more research into the uniform to determine if it is WW2 or Korean War. The family story says it is WW2 but other evidence suggests other possibilities.

The woman may be Elsie Durupt or Yvonne Gwendoline Marie Durupt, later Yvonne Mixon.

The men are unknown though we have wondered if the one without the shirt is Hubert James Durupt.

We only have pictures of the people in question later in life so nothing for comparison purposes.

So how do we figure it out?

Update, November 7, 2014

I enlisted the help of Paul Ferguson, Historical Researcher, Writer, Collections Advisor. He noted that the soldier on the left "his end sleeve are a series of chevrons as there is no white chevron, indicating he joined in 1939, it would suggest that the image is from the later 1940s. The cap badge appears to be a flaming grenade which may mean either infantry or armoured. I think the sailor is from the US Navy."

So we have now narrowed down the picture to WW2 and Canadian on one side, US on the other.



I have also posted the picture to a family Facebook page and someone else in the family thinks they might have the same picture with names written on the back so I am waiting impatiently to hear back.

Celebrate Canada Day in Fort Langley!

Join me at the Fort Langley Festival of the Book to be held on July 1, 2014 at the Fort Langley Community Hall in beautiful downtown Fort Langley.

This free family event runs from 11:00 am - 3:00 pm.

The feature image, left, shows the wonderful work by artist Richard Cole.

Book fair featuring independent authors

Workshops and displays featuring reading and the history of the book at the Fort Langley Library, the Langley Centennial Museum and the British Columbia Farm Machinery Museum

Hands-on activities for children of all ages

The Alcuin Society Book Design award-winners: the best designed Canadian books of 2013. Categories include children’s, limited editions, pictorial, poetry, fiction, non-fiction and reference 

Julius Caesar performed by Bard in the Valley

Click for more details.

Changing Vancouver - Map Your Ancestors

I was doing some research for my upcoming Seafaring Ancestors: When a Merchant is Ship-Owner,Maker or Supplier presentation and happened across Changing Vancouver then and now images, a blog that features before and after photographs, mostly from the Vancouver Archives, BC Archives and Vancouver Public Library collections. 

City of Vancouver Archives, CVA 99-4836, photographer Stuart Thompson

I realized when looking at the post for Robson and Burrard – sw corner (1) that while I have the 1892 Williams Illustrated Official BC Directory entry for my ancestor, John Rounsefell, I had never located 800 Burrard on a map. I have walked past the location of his former residence countless times without realizing my own connection.

Changing Vancouver is an interesting way of looking at Vancouver with the historical images next to the current images. I love sites like this and HistoryPin as they provide a current context for your research. It is hard to imagine parts of the city as residential or to place them in your mind.

By 1894, John Rounsefell moved down the street to 1126 Robson, with his real estate office in the Hollandblock, 413 Cordova – a rather iconic part of Gastown.

A good reminder for family historians to map their ancestors. Next time I am in downtown Vancouver I will be looking at it from a different perspective.