Unknown relatives in Québec, Canada for dating

[Ancestrologie]

Hello again,

I was recently given these two cabinet cards of unknown relatives. Both pictures were taken in Nicolet, Québec (Canada). I would really appreciate if someone could help me date the pictures to help me identify the people.

1. I have no idea who the family is. The photographer is P. A. Papillon and worked in Nicolet, Québec. There is nothing on the back of the picture (plain black).

2. I am hoping the gentleman could be either John Bergeron (1867-1937) or his brother Paul (1870-1941). John married young, had many children. His wife died in 1918. Paul never married and we don't have a picture of him so far. I am attaching a picture of John when he was older to compare with the unidentified man. There is nothing on the back of the picture except a tiny fading red stamp of the photographer's name.

Thank you so much,
Ancestrologie

[McGroger]

Can't help with the dating but these two would have to be the same bloke - unless brother Paul very closely resembled his brother. The older John's eyes appear more open, but young John is probably squinting. Cheers, Peter.

[jim1]

The 1st. 2 were taken around the same time so not the same person.
They are very typically early - mid Edwardian.

[Ancestrologie]

The 1st. 2 were taken around the same time so not the same person.
They are very typically early - mid Edwardian.

Thank you Jim, I am not sure very familiar with Edwardian era. Could you tell me what years approximatively the photos were taken?

Thank you McGroger. I am thinking it could be John or brother Paul. It appears curious to me that a married man would be photographed on his own and not with his wife and family. Any thoughts?

[McGroger]

Wouldn’t presume to answer for Jim (much) but here is Wikipedia’s definition:
“The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history covers the brief reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910, and is sometimes extended in both directions to capture long-term trends from the 1890s to the First World War.” 
So say the first half dozen years from the turn of the century for the first two photos.

Regarding a family man’s picture being taken alone, I imagine it could have been quite common, depending on his role in the community.

Cheers, Peter.

[Ancestrologie]

Thank you. It could be John after all.

[Lisa in California]

First photo:  the little girl leaning against whom could be her father - she appears to have an eye injury to one if not both eyes.  While it could have been a temporary problem, do you know of any individuals who had vision concerns?

Second photo:  the man appears to be quite tanned, comparing his fingernail against his hand colour.  It may be my computer (or more likely, me), but his face also appears to be tanned below the eyes - could he have had an outside occupation, and thus have tanned hands and worn a hat to shade part of his face?

The above may seem like odd statements, but "nitpicking" one of my unknown photographs led to me eventually figuring out most of the people.   

[Ancestrologie]

Lisa, you are absolutely right.

The man was a farmer, built his own farm, house, etc. He started from zero in a small village where there wasn't much when he arrived.

As for the little girl, I did notice her eye. I asked around in the family but no luck.

Thank you

[Lisa in California]

...1. I have no idea who the family is. The photographer is P. A. Papillon and worked in Nicolet, Québec. There is nothing on the back of the picture (plain black)...

Have you found John's family in census returns?  If so, could you compare his family's information from the 1901 or 1911 census to the photograph?  Do the ages and order of gender match up to the photograph?

I've noticed on a few census returns that medical issues have been noted.  Perhaps if the eye condition was not temporary, it may have been noted on a census return (which could help identify the little girl and her family)?