Here is an unidentified photo from a family album. The album is from the Remine/Paak branch. Because the subject is a toddler, it is almost impossible to identify the photo. But let’s see what we can figure out.
The most important clue comes from the photographer.
According to the well-researched list of photographers found HERE, I can calculate that this photo must have been taken between 1882 and 1899. See the screenshot below to see how I figured that. Abbey was at the East Main location during those years.
So the fact that the baby looks a little bit like Grandpa is irrelevant because it isn’t him as he was born in 1908. In fact, the child would be at least 11 or 12 years older than Grandpa.
Are we sure it’s a boy? I’m going to say it is a boy, based on the outfit. But if you disagree, let me know!
Could it be Harold Remine? He was born in 1897.
This is Harold:
I don’t see the resemblance. To me the baby pic and the young man pic look alike, but the baby/toddler unidentified pic looks more like Grandpa or even my mother. Does anybody else think the pic does look like Harold?
If it could be a girl, we have Therese Remine, born 1895, and Alice Leeuwenhoek, born 1897, but that baby is not Alice who had a very distinctive look as a baby and child. Here is Therese:
Therese Remine
Another possibility is that the child could belong to one of George Paake’s children. I don’t really think so, but their ages are all within the right time frame except the only boy was born in 1898 and would be too young. And the children would be photographed together, so it could only be the oldest, Cora, and I do not see a resemblance.
Front row: Theresa and Cora
Back row: Frances, George Jr., Jennie (Jane)
The only other child of the right age range from the Paak family (which is the broader branch associated with the photo album this image comes from) would be Joseph DeKorn, son of Richard and Alice, Grandpa’s Uncle.
If the child isn’t Joseph, then I’d have to look a little further afield. Keeping in mind that the Remines were related to Grandpa twice over–through both his maternal grandmother and maternal grandfather–I could look at some other families. However, I have two roadblocks to doing so. I cannot see that Ancestry, which is where my tree is located, has the ability to search by birth dates, for instance. Does My Heritage? i do have my tree loaded there as well. I’d like to be able to search through categories like that. Does anybody know a program that sorts like that?
The second roadblock is that farther out, my tree is still a little too sketchy or spotty to do a good job, especially when I would have to do it individual by individual.
What I can hope for is that one day I can make a good guess as to the identity of this baby. As you probably have experienced yourself, looking like Grandpa or mom is meaningless. My mother and her next door neighbor/good friend are often mistaken for sisters and they do look so much alike, much more than my mother does with her own sister. Mom and her friend just explain to people that they’re both “Dutch” hah. The reality is that we can compare unidentified photos with other photos to search for exact features, but when a child grows and becomes an adult some of those features can change remarkably. We can’t even begin to compare unidentified photos with family branches by examining features.
BUT WAIT.
Belatedly I see something that I didn’t notice before. In the same album there is a portrait of another child which has the exact same advertising from the photographer on the backside. The “setting” looks the same with the same chair. I suspect these are photos of siblings that were taken at the same time.
With the two photos, here side by side, it becomes important to narrow in on the genders and the ages because with the answer to those questions, I might be able to figure it out.
At this point, I really need help figuring out if these are boys or girls or one of each. My feeling is that the older child is a girl and the younger a boy, but that is a guess. And what age would you say each one is? I suspect that if they were considered babies they would be wearing white dresses, no matter what the gender, but the littler one certainly looks young enough for the white dress treatment, so that’s a little confusing. In a word, help!
The Family Kalamazoo 
I would say uncle Joe and aunt Jen?
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There were actually 8 years between Joe and Jen and 6 between Joe and Cora, so that won’t work; however, after reading some of these responses and thinking back to an earlier photo I’ve posted on here, I have a new theory that it could be Harold Remine and Alice Leeuwenhoek.See this pic: https://thefamilykalamazoo.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/could-be-alice-l-1.jpg At the time that I posted it it was pretty much determined that this was Alice and Harold. Although they were not first cousin, but maybe first cousins once removed or something like that, they were only a few months apart in age and Alice of course was an only child and Harold younger than his sisters so I can see the families wanting them to spend time together.
I’ve always heard that center-parted hair means a girl and side part means a boy. So I believe your suspicions are correct.
This is very helpful because I know you are knowledgeable about this stuff! Thank you for letting me know.
I didn’t know that! Good to know, as I have some unidentified family photos of children the same age as these from the same era.
Whoops! Hit enter before I was done with my earlier comment. I’d estimate 4-5 years for the girl and 2 years for the boy as far as age.
Thank you!
What a delicious puzzle!
Yes, it is!!!
Hi, I studied the photos very carefully. I believe the toddler is a boy, and it is definitely Harold Remine, in my opinion. I downloaded the photo and did some alterations, and looked carefully at the hairline, ears, mouth, and eye set. Ears are supposed to be like fingerprints. The hairline is exactly the same, in my opinion, as well. The eye color also matches, as well as the eyebrow/eye line. Hope it helps! I am also on Ancestry a lot, would like to share my tree, and see yours, as a visitor, of course! Let me know!
Wowsa, this is amazingly helpful. After reading all these comments, especially yours and Nancy’s, I have a theory it could be Harold Remine and Alice Leeuwenhoek who were only a few months apart in age. Can you run your detective skills on Alice, too, please please? hahaha. I’ll put a link here of Alice:
Thank you so much, Mary Ann!!!!
Notice the picture of he girl – she is sitting up on a blanket covered lift, raising her up and making her look bigger, where the boy is on the chair seat. To me these two don’t resemble one another as siblings might. Is it possible they are cousins taken to the same local studio? I think the two are very close in age.
Nancy, this helps me so much. I see what you mean about their size. I also read your comment about cousins and something clicked. I now have a theory who they are and need to keep researching. I couldn’t have gotten to this point without your comment!!!! Thank you!!!!!!
I’m on it! I downloaded some of Alice’s photos, will compare and respond
Well, in my opinion, the unknown photo of the girl is Alice L. Her hairline, her rosebud mouth, her ear shape; and, most of all, her eyelid curvature, makes me convinced, hope it helps! Let me know about swapping Ancestry tree views
Thank you!!!!! Yes definitely re Ancestry. How do we do that?
I just emailed you a link. You can go to your tree, click on the name in the upper left corner, drop down menu, ‘sharing,’ you can use email to send me a link to yours
To my untrained eye, I would say that the to photos are of Alice L. as well.
Wonderful photos.
Thank you!!!
That was a great discovery of the 2 children, by same photographer, in same chair. A great clue but afraid I am no help. Although I thought the little girls eyes resembled the woman Theresa, Coral, Frances and Jennie.
I have nothing helpful to offer to solve the mystery, but I really enjoyed reading abuot it!!
Even before I read therescuedphoto’s comments I had thought the same sexes as she had, for the same reasons. I certainly don’t think it is Harold. Your research is so thorough.
I have little to add after reading all the comments except that I agree it’s likely a 3-4 year old girl and a 2 year old boy.
Have you tried looking at other photos from the same time period? You might find clues based on clothing, hairstyles, and backgrounds
I love this kind of mystery! Family history is such a puzzle, often requiring diligent detective work! I agree that the first child is a boy and the second is a girl. I have read that the boys would have a bow at the collar and girls would have a bow in their hair, to distinguish when the boys wore “dresses”. But since neither has a bow, I’m just going by the hair styles and my “gut feeling”. Hope you figure out who it is. So fun to see your old family photos too!
I read the comments about siblings/vs cousins. The odds of cousins getting their photographs taken in the exact same setting, at about the same time, is extremely unlikely. The setting looks expensive, and photography was not cheap in those days, from what I gather. I could be wrong about that. Just because children do not look alike, doesn’t mean they are not siblings. I hope it helps!