Merrithew 1923/Dollar 1947 Looking for opinions on these.

[Elle7111]

Hi all! I'm just looking for opinions on whether these are the same person. The older picture is a mugshot of a man who disappeared in 1926 after escaping from an asylum. He was transferred to the asylum after serving about three years of a five year burglary sentence. The newer picture is a picture of my maternal grandfather from a newspaper article in 1947 (sorry for the potato quality). Anyway, my grandfather always said that he had changed his name because he killed a man and we just dismissed it as weird nonsense. But with my DNA results showing no relationship to anyone with his last name, I believe the name change part and the running from the law part were true. DNA matches on Ancestry led me to the Merrithew family and the individual in the mugshot in particular as he has the same birth year as my grandfather and did his disappearing act before my grandfather shows up in any records. So, long story short, with these two pictures, is there any indication these aren't the same man?

[hepburn]

I would say they're the same man..same nose and same ears..

[aus*jen]

Hi Elle7111,  Welcome to RootsChat.    Looking at the ears in both photos, the man in the mug shot
                    has different ear shape to the man in the newspaper photo.  His right ear is quite close
                    to his head whereas the man in the newspaper photo has quite prominent ears.

Jen.

[McGroger]

Welcome from me, too, Elle.

I agree with aus*jen, not the same man.

Some of the differences can perhaps be shoved under the carpet. The thinner jaw/chin/cheeks of the older man could be due to his age. And the younger man’s right ear may be pressed against the mirror thus flattening it (I’ve cleaned it up a little to show it more clearly). And they do have similar creases in their cheeks.

But I don’t think age or the angle/lighting of the photos explains the longer looking nose and left ear of the older man.

The biggest difference to me, however, is the shape of their skulls. One is shaped like an egg, the other like an inverted pyramid. Notice in particular the top third of the older man’s head: it is MUCH broader than the younger man’s.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Peter

[jim1]

There are similarities around the mouth & chin & the age difference looks about right.
The shape of his forehead may be down to him having a fatter face in the 1st.
The differences are that his eyes appear deeper set in the 1st. & the bridge of his nose looks narrower.
These may be explained by the poor quality of the 2nd.
However taking them at face value (sorry about that) I would say different men.

[Treetotal]

Hi Elle and welcome to Rootschat...I think they could be the same person...the thinner face and intense shadow have made the ears more pronounced in the second photo, ears and noses continue to grow throughout life...the crease below the the bottom lip is the same too.
Carol

[DrDude45]

I'd say it's possible, but unlikely that these are the same person.

The gentleman in the photo on the right (from newsprint) looks like he may have a severely cauliflowered right ear. Usually this happens to boxers and long-time street fighters, so it's possible the years of crime/fighting (implied by what looks like a prisoner number, no offense) did a Mickey Rourke on him and damaged his face severely. Hard to say for sure.

Perhaps these slightly cleaned up images may help.

[Creasegirl]

I think they are same person.  In older photo hairline has receded so forehead looks bigger.  If he had been a smoker you would also expect his skin to be more sunken and lined like in the photo.  Even a life of outdoor work could age skin

[Treetotal]

I'd say it's possible, but unlikely that these are the same person.

The gentleman in the photo on the right (from newsprint) looks like he may have a severely cauliflowered right ear. Usually this happens to boxers and long-time street fighters, so it's possible the years of crime/fighting (implied by what looks like a prisoner number, no offense) did a Mickey Rourke on him and damaged his face severely. Hard to say for sure.

Perhaps these slightly cleaned up images may help.

Do you not think that the merging of the photos could be altering the appearance of his ear?
Carol