On This Day in Family History - June 8

 The mystery of the man in the white hat...

There is nothing written on the back of this photograph. I know it is the Thomas family -- my great-grandparents Charles and Nancy Ford Thomas (on the far right and left). The old guy is William Ford -- I recognize him from other pictures. The woman with dark hair is Renue Thomas -- I recognize her from other pictures. She is Charles and Nancy's daughter. The two boys in front I'm relatively certain are Mel and Bill Thomas (my grandfather), sons of Charles and Nancy. The little girl is probably Georganna, whom I have in other photos. Georganna is the daughter of Charles and Nancy's oldest son Roy Thomas. So.... I have surmised that the man in the white hat is Roy. I have some pictures of him when he was older, and this guy doesn't really look just like him, so I'm not sure.

Now I have discovered that this picture of the Miller family seems to feature the SAME man, in the same hat and suit -- so probably taken on the same day. The old man, again, is William Ford. He is the father of Alice Ford (on the far right) -- sister of Nancy Ford in the photo above. The woman on the left is Giulielma, wife of John Cleveland Ford (Alice's son). So... I surmised that the man in the white hat was John Cleveland Miller, since Giulielma and their two sons are in this photo. But I have other pictures of John Cleveland Miller, and this guy doesn't look like him...

I found a letter to my dad from Jim Miller. Jim is the grandson of Giulielma and John Cleveland Miller. His father was their third child, Allan Miller. Allan was born several years after this picture was taken. Here is what Jim Miller says about this picture:

Okay, so I am inclined to take Jim's word for it, since this is, in fact, his family - his grandparents and two uncles. And it appears the two photos above were taken on the same day. The man in the white hat is wearing exactly the same suit. And if he was visiting 'from Buffalo' it makes sense they would have been taking pictures of him with various family members.

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NOW... Here is another picture that looks to me like some of the same people, in the same clothing, as the other two pictures. (Notice the big black bow on the little girl's hair. There are two other pictures of her on this same haystack, on the same day, with the same bow. They are both clearly labeled Georganna.) The man in the white hat appears to be the same man in the other two photos above, same hat, same vest, without the coat...   

I have two copies of this photo. One of them has two different descriptions, in two different handwritings written on the back. The other copy has yet another description, in a yet another handwriting...

Top: "Renue, Thomas, Father Ford, Rosa's little girl, Elmer W, Nancy, Charlie, Bill Thomas. 1914" (apparently naming them in order from right to left). Bottom: "On a haystack, Bangor, Mich. Bill Thomas, Charlie Thomas, Nancy Thomas, Elmer W, Father Ford and Renew Thomas with little girl."

Here's the note taped to the back of the other copy of the same photo. "L to R Bill Thomas, Charles Thomas, Nancy Thomas, ? , William Ford, ? , Renue Thomas"

ELMER W???  Okay, I gotta go now. I have a headache...