![\"\"](\"https://test.bruemmer.me/media/posts/8/schnaidtkidssm-2.png\")
\n \n A scan of this image was the first direct encounter that I had with AI. I had asked ChatGPT to date the image (it guessed 1887) based on some additional data that I was able to supply. After a bit more information, it declared:\n
\n\n\n \n With three identified photographs now available, here's how I would rank my confidence.
Position\tIdentification\tConfidence
Back right\tMary Burckhardt\t98%
Front center\tHenry Edward\t85–90%
Back center\tProbably Dorothea\t70–75%
\n
\n Remaining three women\tMary, Mathilda, Caroline\tNot enough evidence yet
Why the remaining sisters are difficult
The sisters were born:
Mary — 1860
Dorothea — 1862
Mathilda — 1863
Caroline — 1866
Only six years separate the oldest from the youngest. They almost certainly shared many facial features inherited from their parents. Without identified portraits of at least one or two more sisters, distinguishing them confidently from a single group image would be speculative.
\n
\n My overall conclusion
At this point, I think we've established two identifications in the tintype with high confidence:
Mary Burckhardt Schnaidt (back right) — essentially certain.
Henry Edward Schnaidt (front center) — very likely.
Dorothea remains the leading candidate for the woman in the back center, but I would like one more identified portrait before calling that settled.\n
\n Orsamus Hodgkins was born in Reading, VT in 1798 and married Eunice Shattuck in 1818 in Belvidere, VT, a small town in the northern part of the state. Thus began a lineage of three more Orsamuses (Orsami?) ending with my grandfather, who went by O. Lee Hodgkins. My mother reported that her father attributed the first name to the bible, but the closest biblical forename is Erasmus, not Orsamus. If it was not made up, the provenance of the name has been lost to history. The name appears in some sites as a combination or \"oros\" and \"amos,\" supposedly Greek for \"pure mountain.\" The only famous Orsamus that I could predating Orsamus Hodgkins was Orsamus Willard, \"universally known as “Willard of the City Hotel,” was the most famous bartender in America and the second most famous one in New York City.\" He was born six years earlier than Hodgkins and \"was a pioneer in mixing individual drinks to order using ice—and thus of the American school of mixology and the modern bar in general.\"\n
", "author": { "name": "Bruce Bruemmer" }, "tags": [ "Heritage" ], "date_published": "2026-08-09T19:36:11-05:00", "date_modified": "2026-08-09T19:36:11-05:00" }, { "id": "https://test.bruemmer.me/heritage-notes.html", "url": "https://test.bruemmer.me/heritage-notes.html", "title": "Heritage Notes", "summary": "This section collects family history, old photographs, genealogical research, and stories connected with the people and places in my family tree. Some entries will be straightforward records; others will be attempts to identify photographs, resolve uncertain relationships, or document family stories before they are lost.", "content_html": "\n\n This section collects family history, old photographs, genealogical research, and stories connected with the people and places in my family tree. Some entries will be straightforward records; others will be attempts to identify photographs, resolve uncertain relationships, or document family stories before they are lost.\n
", "image": "https://test.bruemmer.me/media/posts/6/BCBPomfret4.jpg", "author": { "name": "Bruce Bruemmer" }, "tags": [ "Heritage" ], "date_published": "2026-08-09T16:52:07-05:00", "date_modified": "2026-08-09T17:08:31-05:00" }, { "id": "https://test.bruemmer.me/ic-7300-clock-battery.html", "url": "https://test.bruemmer.me/ic-7300-clock-battery.html", "title": "IC-7300 Clock Battery", "summary": "The rechargeable clock battery in my Icom IC-7300 eventually stopped holding enough charge between uses. Because the original cell is surface-mounted and the charging circuit complicates replacement with an ordinary coin cell, I explored a few practical ways to preserve the radio’s clock without making…", "content_html": "\n\n The rechargeable clock battery in my Icom IC-7300 eventually stopped holding enough charge between uses. Because the original cell is surface-mounted and the charging circuit complicates replacement with an ordinary coin cell, I explored a few practical ways to preserve the radio’s clock without making a risky modification.\n
", "author": { "name": "Bruce Bruemmer" }, "tags": [ "Electronics" ], "date_published": "2026-08-09T16:41:05-05:00", "date_modified": "2026-08-09T16:41:05-05:00" }, { "id": "https://test.bruemmer.me/electronics-notes.html", "url": "https://test.bruemmer.me/electronics-notes.html", "title": "Electronics Notes", "summary": "Included here are projects related to radio, 3D printing, and computers. I am a licensed amateur radio operator (KØBHB), although I tend to keep that fact limited to those who need to know.", "content_html": "\n\n Included here are projects related to radio, 3D printing, and computers. I am a licensed amateur radio operator (KØBHB), although I tend to keep that fact limited to those who need to know.\n
", "image": "https://test.bruemmer.me/media/posts/4/BB92723B-AE78-44B8-9FC7-73AD9DCF9ED1_1_105_c.jpeg", "author": { "name": "Bruce Bruemmer" }, "tags": [ "Electronics" ], "date_published": "2026-08-09T16:33:01-05:00", "date_modified": "2026-08-09T16:37:29-05:00" }, { "id": "https://test.bruemmer.me/flightaware-tracking.html", "url": "https://test.bruemmer.me/flightaware-tracking.html", "title": "FlightAware Tracking", "summary": "I use a Raspberry Pi 4 running PiAware to receive ADS-B transmissions from aircraft in the area and feed that data to FlightAware. It provides an interesting real-time view of traffic approaching and departing Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport, especially from my location beneath the Runway…", "content_html": "\n\n I use a Raspberry Pi 4 running PiAware to receive ADS-B transmissions from aircraft in the area and feed that data to FlightAware. It provides an interesting real-time view of traffic approaching and departing Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport, especially from my location beneath the Runway 12R approach, or 30L on takeoff (usually when the wind comes from the Northwest).\n
", "image": "https://test.bruemmer.me/media/posts/3/Screenshot-2026-08-09-at-16.05.17.png", "author": { "name": "Bruce Bruemmer" }, "tags": [ "Airport" ], "date_published": "2026-08-09T16:07:34-05:00", "date_modified": "2026-08-09T16:10:57-05:00" }, { "id": "https://test.bruemmer.me/airport-1970.html", "url": "https://test.bruemmer.me/airport-1970.html", "title": "Airport (1970)", "summary": "Airport was released in 1970 and was filmed in part at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (MSP). Because of that local connection—and because the film helped define the 1970s disaster-movie genre—it has always been an interesting part of the airport’s history. I wrote a more detailed…", "content_html": "\n\n Airport was released in 1970 and was filmed in part at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (MSP). Because of that local connection—and because the film helped define the 1970s disaster-movie genre—it has always been an interesting part of the airport’s history.\n
\n\n\n I wrote a more detailed article about the movie and its connection to MSP. Read the article.\n
", "author": { "name": "Bruce Bruemmer" }, "tags": [ "Airport" ], "date_published": "2026-08-09T16:01:32-05:00", "date_modified": "2026-08-09T16:01:32-05:00" }, { "id": "https://test.bruemmer.me/test-post.html", "url": "https://test.bruemmer.me/test-post.html", "title": "Airport Notes", "summary": "This section contains material related to the MSP Airport, aviation, the movie, Airport (1970), Flight Aware tracking, and noise. I live under 12R on approach, so I have a lot to share.", "content_html": "\n\n This section contains material related to the MSP Airport, aviation, the movie, Airport (1970), Flight Aware tracking, and noise. I live under 12R on approach, so I have a lot to share.\n
\n\n\n \n
", "author": { "name": "Bruce Bruemmer" }, "tags": [ "Airport" ], "date_published": "2026-08-09T14:19:28-05:00", "date_modified": "2026-08-09T16:21:13-05:00" } ] }