Well, who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
I really wanna know (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
Tell me, who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
‘Cause I really wanna know (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
written by Pete Townshend
I posted this picture on August 22, 2008 for Freaky Friday – 3rd Edition. It is a picture of my grandfather (older child) and another unknown child. I believe my grandfather was probably about 10 when this picture was taken and I am led to believe (due to the clothing) that the unknown child is a boy about 4-6 years old. My grandfather didn’t have any younger brothers. His foster sister was 12 years younger than my grandfather so it couldn’t possibly be her – dressed in pants.
So I ask – who are you little boy? Could you possibly be a relative?
Possibilities include: Floyd Tyler b. June 13, 1906. He was my grandfather’s first cousin, son of his paternal aunt, Olive Belle (Johnson) Tyler. That would mean (since my grandfather was born in Nov. 1898) that Floyd would have been 8 years younger than my grandfather. I haven’t determined if Floyd was born in Indiana but I do know he spent most of his life in and around Calhoun County, Michigan and was buried there. However, some of his older siblings were born in Howard County, Indiana.
Could this child be Earl Goul, born June 15, 1904 and six years younger than my grandfather? Earl was the second cousin of his as his grandfather, John Wesley Goul, was brother to my grandfather’s grandmother, Malissa Goul. Earl was born in Delaware County, Indiana but spent time and died in Madison County, Indiana (where my grandfather was born and raised).
A very good possibility – looking at the following photos – is that this child is my grandfather’s half-uncle’s son, Guy Leston Johnson. However, I would have to be off on the ages of both boys as Guy was 10 years younger than my grandfather. Here are the photos – the black and white was the earlier of the two photos.
Whomever he is, this unknown little boy will continue to be a mystery to me until I determine his name and relationship. Have you seen him before? Perhaps in that stack of photos your great-grandparents left you? Or in a framed photo hanging on a friend’s wall?
This is why it is very important to not only label photographs – but to list the relationship of those in the photo. Even if I had a name – would I be able to connect the dots back to my grandfather?
This post was written for the 9th Edition Smile for the Camera – Who Are You.