I am told that this is a wedding photo taken on July 24, 1912 in or around the town of Marcelin, Saskatchewan. I was initially given only the names for people on the left side and then I discovered a more complete list of names in the book Land of Promise so I am pleased to say that the mystery on this photo is fading!
Perhaps you can fill in some of the remaining blanks for me?
If you would like to learn a little more about the traditional Romanian wedding they might have had, have a look at the article Romanian Wedding Traditions.
List of people in the photo by number:
1. Vasile Banda, husband of Maria "Mary" (#2). Read more in So There We Were, Standing On The Side of the Road.
2. Maria "Mary" Banda nee Comshoi, wife of Vasile (#1). Read more in So There We Were, Standing On The Side of the Road.
3. Moise "Moses" Colcerin, husband of Annie (#4), father of John (#9) and Nick (#13), father-in-law to Meliton Bold (#10) . He would have been about fifty-seven on this day. Sadly he passed away in the following year. I am assuming he is the father of the bride based on where he is standing. Do you know more?
4. Annie Colcerin nee Vernea, wife of Moise "Moses" (#3), mother of John Colcerin (#9) and Nick (#13), mother-in-law to Meliton Bold (#10). Do you know more?
5. Susan Popaman, the bride marrying Gheorghe "George" Pompu (#6). Was originally from Ucea de Jos. Her mother is deceased by this time, so not present. Her father is Zahiu Popaman (#12)
6. Gheorghe "George" Pompu, the groom was about twenty-five on this day. When I searched University of Calgary I found information in A Lasting Legacy on a Theodore Pampu whom I believe is #11. In the write-up for Theodore it mentions a brother George and because I am not finding lots of Pampu/Pompu in the Marcelin region I will assume that they are brothers. He would have been about twenty-seven years old in this photo. He immigrated from Romania with his parents Nicoloi and Theodora and six brothers (John, Elie, Theodore, Alex, Joe and Nick) in 1902 or 1905. I haven't found anything more other than it seems he was getting married on the day of the photo. Can you help me?
7. Marina Bold nee Popaman, wife of Nicolai P. Bold (#7). She died about 1926.
8. Nicolai P. Bold not sure of his role in the wedding. Married to Marina Bold nee Popaman (#7). He was a deaf mute and used sign language. I believe his homestead was at NE-16-45-05-W3 which is close to the farm of Meliton Bold (#10)
9. John Colcerin. Son of Moise and Annie (#3 and #4). He married Mary Franc of Lipton. They moved to Windsor ON.
10. Meliton Bold. Son-in-law of Moise and Annie (#3 and #4). Married to Elena “Lena” who is not in this photo.
11. Toader "Theodore" Pompu was the brother of the groom and would have been about twenty-two in this photo. When I searched University of Calgary I found information in A Lasting Legacy on a Theodore Pampu whom I believe is the same man. Theodore would have been about twenty-one years old in this photo. He immigrated from Romania with his parents Nicoloi and Theodora and six brothers (John, Elie, George, Alex, Joe and Nick) in 1902 or 1905. Because I am not finding a lot of Pampu in the region I am assuming that his brother George is the Groom (#6) in this photo. He was still single in this photo but during the following year he married Ontonia Yourkowski a Polish immigrant whose parents where also homesteading in the Marcelin area. Together they struggled to raise seven children as farmers. They moved several times to work better land but always remained in northern Saskatchewan. Obviously gifted with mechanical skills Theodore worked as a Blacksmith in D'Amour for years. During WWII he worked in Prince Alberta at the airport. In his twilight years he ran a repair shop. He passed away at the age of seventy-five and lies at rest in the Leask Cemetery with his wife.
12. Zahiu Popaman, father of the bride, widower. His wife drank wood alcohol as medicine and died of it. He homesteaded at Marcelin after coming from Ucea de Jos. He died at Dysart SK in 1919.
13. Nicolae "Nick" Colcerin, son of Moise (#3) and Annie (#3)
Comments
#12 - Zahiu Popaman, father of the bride, widower. His wife drank wood alcohol as medicine and died of it. He homesteaded at Marcelin after coming from Ucea de Jos. He died at Dysart SK in 1919.
#7 - Marina Bold nee Popaman, wife of Nicolai P. Bold. She died about 1926.
#8 - Nicolai P. Bold - was a deaf mute and used sign language.
#9 - John Colcerin married Mary Franc of Lipton. They moved to Windsor ON..
#5 - Susan Popaman, bride, originally from Ucea de Jos. Her mother is deceased by this time, so not present. Her father is #12.
#6 George is Theodore's brother. George and Susan had six or seven children
#4 - Annie Colcerin nee Vernea - not mother of bride; my great-grandmother
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