Emily, age 14
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What it is:
Photo (approx. 3.75 x 5.5 inches) mounted to a cardboard frame/backing (6.75 x 7,5 inches).
What I know about it:
Written on the back in pencil is Emily age 14 and near it E.J. Written elsewhere on the back in a different handwriting is Amalia Jackson age 14.
Comments:
This is another one of the photos my mother gave me for my birthday. I’m startled that, even though the notes on the back don’t quite agree on her name, they agree that she is 14. I see it now, but she initially struck me as at least a decade older. Maybe that just proves my contention that I’m terrible at guessing ages, but her face and posture have rather wise and weary qualities to them. If she’s 14, does that tell us what the scroll is that she’s holding in her lap?
Pics of Then 
Starting school at age six plus eight years – this could be her 8th grade graduation photo and explain the scroll/diploma.
Yes, that could be.
No way. I think your mom wrote those notes just to mess with you. 24 is mug more believable.
Or someone thought, “hey, wouldn’t it be funny, say, 100 years from now? Let’s say Em is 19. No…14!”
Way.
No. Way.
(*much* not mug. Ugh.)
Back then, it was very common for a person to go by their middle name (Emily?). I have a whole set of older relatives and none of them go by their first name. It’s a bit confusing and I’m not sure why they did that, but that’s how it was in many areas. Also, “Emily” looks quite a bit like someone I know who is now 21. They could be twins, actually! Strange, but very true! 🙂
Thanks for the tip on the names. It seems that many of the names written on the backs of my photos were written by people much later doing genealogical work, and it makes sense that one person might have written the name Emily was commonly known by, while another might have written her full, formal name.