Poznan Zdrojewskis: From the Old Country, Part I

A cache of photos fell out of a manila envelope onto the work table upstairs.  These had been mailed over the years to May Street by Zdrojewskis in or near Poznan.

Enough of them had names or dates noted on the back that it was possible to sort them by decade and by event.

The first two photos may show the link between Buffalo and Poznan Zdrojewskis.  Are the couple in the left photo pair related to the people in the right photo?  If so, how?

The two portraits below are unlike any other in the envelope.  They are older; I would say turn of the century, or end of the 19th. Note the Germanic name of the photographic studio; this is late C19 partition time, perhaps, or at least it is prior to the exodus of German-speakers from Poland in 1939.  Is the man Ludwig at a young age? Looks like him. Or is he a brother who stayed in Poland? Is the lady Victoria?  Or a sister? - they look so similar.

The two photos had been pasted into a photo album, then torn out.  Did "Alina" or "Sabina," ladies in the later Poznan pictures, mail photos to JPZ of JPZ's parents who went to America?  Or of his aunt or uncle in Poland?

The poses look like identity-paper mug shots, don't they?

 Below is the household roster from partition times.  If you click to enlarge, you can see that there was a household member named "Franciszek" who was born in 1900.

The family portrait below is the one of the earliest in the set, being dated 1947.  Is the gentleman with the eyeglasses Franciszek?  He looks like he could be 47 years old in the photo.

Is he a nephew of Ludwig?  If so, he is first cousin to the six sons of Ludwig and Victoria, and his descendants are cousins to their descendants.

The reverse shows that the photo was printed on postcard stock.  Someone noted the place and date: Poznan´ dnia (day, date) 30th July 1947.  

These individuals, plus others, will feature in subsequent posts on Poznan´ Zdrojewskis.