Who the heck are these folks?

Group of random folks in old car

I’d love to know who these people are.  I think that the boy sitting on the running board is my grandfather, Michael Dominic Gaffaney (known as Dom, born 1910¹).   And if so, his mother Margaret (O’Rourke)  is probably the one sitting at the back of the back seat of the car.  So, is this taken down south, in South Canterbury, where my grandfather grew up near his father’s family, or is it taken up north, in Napier, where my grandfather’s mother is from?  Are the people with him (if it is indeed my grandfather), Gaffaneys or O’Rourkes?

Here’s another photo:

Another group of random folk

Now, it looks to me like the older woman is the same as the older woman in the previous photo.  And the girl is the same as well.  And, there is my (possible) grandfather again, too.

Taking a closer look at the younger boy in the photos, and comparing them to a known photo of my grandfather:

Michael Dominic Gaffaney

Boy, sitting on running board

Young boy

Are these all the same boy?
Yesterday I posted a photo of three children sitting outside Belper House c.1915. Taking a closer look…

Three children at “Belper”, Arowhenua, South Canterbury, NZ

I think these three children are the same children photographed with the older woman above. And so it definitely places them in South Canterbury. From the Temuka gathering, the names given to this group photo were: Tom Gaffaney, Peggy Barron and Albert Halley [sic].

I wonder if Tom was confused with Dom?

The only Tom Gaffaney that fits is Thomas John Francis Gaffaney, who was born in 1906 to Michael Francis Gaffaney and Julia Coughlan.²)

Peggy Barron is likely to be Margaret Christina Ogsten Barron, born in 1907 to Andrew Barron and Mary Teresa Frances Gaffaney.³)

Albert Halley [sic] is likely to be Daniel Albert Hally, born in 1902 to William Hally and Margaret Gaffaney.⁴)

They would all be first cousins. But, the “Tom” in the photos looks much younger than “Peggy”, who was born a year later. Other possiblities could be Thomas’s siblings Arthur (born 1908⁵) or George (born 1910⁶).

However, I’m still thinking (hoping?) that the boy is in fact my grandfather, Dom. What do you think?

1. NZ Dept of Internal Affairs, “Birth Search,” database, Births, Deaths & Marriages Historical Records (https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/search/ : accessed 2011), entry for Michael Dominic Gaffaney, 1910/25894.
2. NZ Dept of Internal Affairs, “Birth Search,” database, Births, Deaths & Marriages Historical Records (https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/search/ : accessed Jan 2012), entry for Thomas John Francis Gaffaney, 1906/2249.
3. NZ Dept of Internal Affairs, “Death Search,” database, Births, Deaths & Marriages Historical Records (https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/search/ : accessed 2011), entry for Margaret Christina Ogston Barron, 2006/16023.
4. NZ Dept of Internal Affairs, “Birth Search,” database, Births, Deaths & Marriages Historical Records (https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/search/ : accessed Jan 2012), entry for Daniel Albert Hally, 1902/6784.
5. NZ Dept of Internal Affairs, “Birth Search,” database, Births, Deaths & Marriages Historical Records (https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/search/ : accessed Jan 2012), entry for Arthur Marcus Gaffaney, 1908/25001.
6. NZ Dept of Internal Affairs, “Birth Search,” database, Births, Deaths & Marriages Historical Records (https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/search/ : accessed Jan 2012), entry for George Joseph Gaffaney, 1910/15483.