This picture was taken in 1934. On the border of the picture, it states, "Mr. Mellem and children, 1934." 
We had decided this picture was taken about 1905, we based our date on Mabel, the child standing between her parents at seven years old. L to R back row: Ella, Nina, Emil, Carl, Peter, Theo, and Tina
L to R front row: Carrie, Thorinus, Mabel, Pauline, and Thea.
Some of you may be able to say, "OH, that has to be Nina, they haven't changed a bit!" Some of us aren't so gifted. How does one decide who is who? What do you use to make a decision on a picture of people taken 29 years apart?
We know there were three boys in 1905. In the 1905 picture, they are standing in the back from L to R as Emil, Carl, and Peter. In the second picture, we know Emil is in the center because he had a big nose and we can see it. We know that Peter was short. We have a later picture of Carl.
As for the daughters, we know that Thea died in 1926. We know that Nina is L to R in the back wearing the print dress.
That leaves four, although we have identified Nina. Who, out of the following, are left? The picture was cut out of a black paper photo album. To pull the picture away from the backing would mean ruining the original picture. We have to have a better plan.
Let's try to think about it as ages and where they lived.
57 Carrie, (Nick) Bergvall, Texas
39 Ella , (Henning) Backlund, Stratcona, MN and later Roseau, MN
49 Theo, (SS) Norgaard, Viking, MN
41 Tina, (John) Carlson, New York City, NY
36 Mabel, (John) Bergland, Bemidji, MN
43 Nina, (Carl) Bloom, Rosewood, MN
Do any of the ladies look like they are wearing traveling clothes suitable to New York or Texas? Or, to you do they all look like they are in house dresses? Their dresses are all have sit wrinkles, that probably means the dresses were all cotton. There is some breeze based on the collar of the daughter standing next to Thorninus.
In the first picture, Ella looks like she has lighter hair, in the second picture there are two with light hair. Are they blond or are they greyed out?
The lady standing next to Nina in the white dress looks the youngest. Or is she just well preserved? She doesn't have the pear shape of the others and her ankles aren't as thick.
If you were trying to figure out which is which, what would you do next?
In this era of pictures, someone was taking the picture. Is there another picture with another daughter? If so, who? I am going to email Enid and see if she can tell me.
Can you? Will you compare and tell me what you think?
Stumped in Fargo.
