I went to the original. I knew there is an inscription on the back, but it is difficult to read. I was hoping a scan might help. It did, to an extent. I can now see that it says ‘John Janko’, and an alternate spelling for ‘Janco’. There also appears to be an address, which I can’t quite read, but says 1700 Alb….something. If you can read that, please share! John was my grandma’s older brother. I’m wondering if the photo was originally sent to him, and he gave it to my grandma.
Mara Janco Silney 16 years old Grannie’s sisters
Zuza Petrash Chezek 18 years old Grannie’s cousins
Mara Petrash Chezek 15 years old
I’m also unsure of the date of the photo. It appears to be a cabinet card; a thin paper photo layered on thicker cardboard. However, I am unsure because I know the use of cabinet cards faded out in the 1900s-1910s, and there is no photography studio indicated, which was pretty standard. But this was made in Europe, and the guidelines may be different for that area.
Based on Mara Janco Silney’s age of 16, the photo could not have been taken before 1916. Mara was my grandmother’s older sister. Grandma would have been 15 in 1916. I believe Mara was the oldest of the siblings, but I’m not sure. The oldest son, Paul, was born in 1890, meaning Mara would have been born in 1889 or earlier and she would have turned 16 by 1905, but she could have been born a few years earlier, or later is she was not the oldest. I also know that Mara was married when the family immigrated to the United Stated in 1911, and that is the reason she remained in Europe. If she was 18 when she married, this would have put the date of the picture around 1909, though of course, she could have been younger or older when she married. (Use of the married name in the photo does not indicate she was married. It was just used to help identify her family.) That means the picture could have been taken any time between 1900 and 1916. My best guess is 1905 to 1909.
Examine this photo closely has given me new leads to research!