Peter P farm 4

Before we go back to eighteenth-century West Prussia (Poland), one more photo from the farm of Peter P and Margaretha Epp Buller.

We have already highlighted Grandpa Chris and his brother Klaas (see here) and their parents Peter P and Margaretha (here); now we turn our gaze toward the buggies in the background.

Looking closely, one can make out three horse and buggies in the background. One can also see two people each in the middle and right buggies. It is impossible, of course, to know exactly who is in the buggies, but we can offer a reasonable guess.

Assuming that the picture was taken circa 1913, it is plausible to think that one of the buggies holds Grandpa’s older sister Margaretha P, who married Klaas Friesen in 1912. Presumably they rode in the buggy to visit her parents’ home. The next-oldest daughter, Katharina, did not marry until 1915, so it is less likely that she and her future husband (Dietrich Quiring) are one of the other couples.

In the lower right of the picture one can see two girls standing on the driveway. The girl on the right is head and shoulders taller than the girl on the left. The girls are no doubt some combination of Sara (born 1899), Elizabeth (1904), and Maria (1908).

Further examination of this detail reveals that there may be one more person previously unnoticed. Look carefully at Peter P and Margaretha at the left of the photograph. It appears that Margaretha is holding a young child in her arms. Peter E was born in 1911, so it is probably not him. Anna was born in October 1913, so it might be her.

If Margaretha is indeed holding a child, this would imply that the picture was taken in 1914, before Anna’s first birthday. Notice that the trees seem to have all their leaves, so it is not later in the year. This almost-overlooked detail may well hold the key to the date of this photo. Certainty will continue to elude us, but for the time being we should probably date this photo circa 1914.

One final item: the two-story house in the background. The photograph below shows that Peter P and Margaretha’s house still stands today in excellent shape, but notice how much the trees have grown in the intervening century!