family mystery

I inherited this antique tintype photo when my grandmother passed away in 2011. It belonged to her mother-in-law, my great-grandmother Angelina Duquette.

Unfortunately Angelina was probably the last person who knew anything about the photo, and she died in 1976. I found it among a large stack of other unlabeled family photos in my grandparents' attic, so I am guessing it depicts family members; why else would my great-grandmother have kept it?

I'm somewhat of the family historian, having done quite a bit of our genealogical research over the years. I really wanted to know who the people were in this photo! I consulted my family records and asked advice from amateur 'photo historians' online (these people can narrow down the date of a photo by style of dress, photo material, etc.).

My best theory is that this is Angelina's mother and her 2 young children. The photo would have to have been taken around 1883 or so. We will never know for sure, so this remains a family mystery.

It's motivated me to write names on the backs of all our family photos!