How I Identified the Men in My Father’s 1939 Wedding Photograph
Part 1 of a 3-Part Research Series
Sometimes genealogy doesn’t move in straight lines.
I was searching on Ancestry.com for military information on my father, Roy, when I stumbled across something I wasn’t looking for at all, a newspaper article announcing my parents’ marriage.
The headline read:
It described the ceremony, what my mother wore, who was her bridesmaid, and most importantly, who stood with my father at the wedding.
According to the article:
Ernest Chagnon was best man. The ushers were Edward P. Bessary and Marshall Roberge.
As soon as I read that, I remembered a photograph I had seen years earlier of my father standing outside with three men, two beside him and one kneeling in front.
Could that be the wedding party?
I went looking for the photograph.
The Problem: No Names on the Back
When I found the photo, it was exactly as I remembered:
- Roy in the center.
- Two men standing beside him.
- One man kneeling in front.
But no one had written their names on the back. So now I knew who should be in the picture, but I didn’t know which man was which. So I decided to approach it like a case study.
Step 1: Gather Physical Descriptions
I had just been looking for Military draft cards which has a lot of information on them including a description of the draftee.
I located the military draft registration records for:
- Ernest (age 20 in 1939)
- Edward (age 29)
- Marshall (age 26)
The records provided their height, weight, eye color, hair color, and complexion.
Ernest
- 5’7½”
- 156 lbs
- Hazel eyes
- Brown hair
- Light complexion
Edward
- 5’2″
- 128 lbs
- Black eyes
- Brown hair
- Dark complexion
Marshall
- 5’6″
- 154 lbs
- Brown eyes
- Black hair
- Light complexion
At first glance, these descriptions were helpful, but not decisive. Black-and-white photographs don’t show eye color, and “light” or “dark” complexion can be subjective. I needed help thinking it through logically.
Step 2: Using AI as a Reasoning Partner
I turned to ChatGPT, not to identify the people for me, but to help me analyze the information more clearly.
Together, we broke the problem down into measurable elements:
- Relative height
- Apparent age
- Facial maturity
- Wedding traditions
- Boutonniere differences
- Comparison with another known photograph of Ernest
It wasn’t about letting AI “decide.” It was about using it as a thinking partner, asking better questions.
Step 3: The Height Comparison
My father Roy was 5’7″. In the photograph:
- One standing man appears at least 4–5 inches shorter than Roy.
- One standing man appears nearly Roy’s height.
- One man is kneeling.
Since Edward was 5’2″, the noticeably shorter standing man aligns strongly with Edward.
Marshall, at 5’6″, would appear close in height to Roy, which matches what I observed.
Step 4: The Age Clue
At the time of the wedding:
- Ernest was only 20.
- Marshall was 26.
- Edward was 29.
The kneeling man appears distinctly younger than the two standing men. His face is smoother and more youthful.
That strongly supports the kneeling figure being Ernest.
Step 5: The Boutonniere Detail
This detail was the turning point. Roy is wearing a carnation.
The kneeling man is wearing the same carnation.
The two standing men are wearing different lapel flowers.
In 1930s wedding, some custom has the groom and best man often wore matching boutonnieres, while ushers wore slightly different flowers.
That makes the kneeling man very likely to be Ernest, the Best Man.
Step 6: Facial Comparison
I also had an earlier photograph that I found that was identified as Ernest at age 16.
When comparing that image to the kneeling man in the wedding photo, the facial structure, jawline, nose shape, and overall appearance strongly resembled him.
While no single feature proves identity, the cumulative evidence builds confidence.
The Most Likely Identification
So based on:
- The newspaper announcement
- Military draft records
- Height comparison
- Age differences
- Complexion observations
- Boutonniere tradition
- Facial resemblance
I came up with my most logical conclusion is:
- Roy – Center (Groom)
- Kneeling man – Ernest (Best Man)
- Shorter standing man – Edward Bessery
- Other standing man – Marshall Roberge
How This Connects to the TIME Capsule Method™
This small mystery reminded me why I created the TIME Capsule Method™ in the first place.
The “I” in TIME stands for Identify:
Identify the people.
Identify the stories.
Identify the context.
Identify the evidence before it disappears.
If I had not paused to analyze this photograph, future generations might simply see “four men in suits.” The names, and the relationships, could easily have been lost.
But by taking time to:
- Gather documentation
- Compare physical descriptions
- Consider cultural context
- Record my reasoning
I turned a photo into preserved history.
That is the heart of legacy work. We are not just saving pictures. We are preserving meaning.
And that is how we build a true digital time capsule for the generations who follow.
But this discovery didn’t end with the photograph. The real turning point came when I compared what I saw in the image to something unexpected — a military draft card. In Part 2, we’ll take a closer look at what draft cards can truly tell us… and just as importantly, what they cannot.