Julia Ann Johnson Peck – Bindon

Family Photo mounted on cardboard. Circa 1880’s.

Price:  $20.00               Size including matting:  About 7 and 7/8 x 5 and 3/4″

Note:  There is some “foxing” (the dark marks most noticeable on the right-hand side matting – an indication of mold/mildew from prior storage). This photo can always be used digitally or be reproduced by a photography studio. If purchasing, please store appropriately.

A lovely family…….but a mystery for identity

From the description on the back one assumes Johnson is Julia Ann’s maiden name, she married a Peck, and they lived in Bindon. However, the only Bindon for location shows up in Somerset, England, and no records were found there. So, other than Bindon being a street name or some type of remote possibility like the family called the home the Bindon house, or something like that, the next logical scenario is that Bindon was Julia’s second marriage.

So, we found a Julia Ann Johnson, born May 2, 1837 in Michigan, who married John T. Peck. He died in May 1872, and she married John N. Bindon, September 5, 1877. Julia Ann died September December 29, 1893. But, looking at the ages and genders and number of children on the 1870 and 1880 census records – they don’t seem to fit the photo, though of course, we’ve not been told which one of the group is Julia. Well then, it’s always possible that this is a different family, flying under the radar on records.

As for the date of the photo, fashion experts can, no doubt, narrow down the year this was taken, but we’ll settle for circa 1880’s – just to avoid the hours of searching to try to pinpoint then when-in-vogue dates for details like the striped and plaid accents, braid, and pleats on the dresses, the fit of the sack suits for the gentlemen, the older man’s beard without mustache.

Sources:  Year: 1880; Census Place: Groveland, Oakland, Michigan; Roll: 598; Page: 108C; Enumeration District: 253. (Ancestry.com).

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/100739570/julia-ann-peck: accessed 26 November 2023), memorial page for Julia Ann Johnson Peck (2 May 1837–29 Dec 1893), Find a Grave Memorial ID 100739570, citing Hadley Cemetery, Groveland Township, Oakland County, Michigan, USA; Maintained by Destiny (contributor 47071650).

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/100739516/john-t-peck: accessed 27 November 2023), memorial page for John T Peck (unknown–11 May 1872), Find a Grave Memorial ID 100739516, citing Hadley Cemetery, Groveland Township, Oakland County, Michigan, USA; Maintained by Destiny (contributor 47071650).

Michigan Department of Community Health, Division of Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867-1952; Film: 15; Film Description: 1877 Mason-1878 Gratiot.

“Sac suit.” historyinthemaking.org. (Accessed November 27, 2023).

“Vintage Style Sack Coats.” historicalemporium.com. (Accessed November 27, 2023).

Kristofa and Baby

Real Photo Postcard, unused. Circa 1910’s.

Price:  $12.00

The sender wrote:

“Mrs. Hanna[?] & Hubby. Dear friends, hope you feel better today. [?] yourself for going home & see your mother before [?]. I vish I had a change, I vould like to come over next veek sometimes if the veather permits, hope you Hubby is working now. I send you a card vith the House & the old vomen on. Vhat do you think of it. I can not see[?] a day but hope to see you soon. Vith best regards to yourself , Hubby & Baby from us all. Kristofa.”

This house is really interesting with its entrance on the second floor – after some online searching I’ll admit I’m still lost on the style. My field guide to houses got water-damaged and I had to toss it (the answer probably was in there, rolling eyes) and I’m sure I’ll order another, but meanwhile I posted a query at an architectural site – hopefully they get back to me.

Another great aspect of this card is that it invites us, in a way, to share part of Kristofa’s Scandinavian-American life – just in hearing the accent that so nicely prevails in her note. But there she is, posing herself and her young son, he standing atop the wooden railing, safe and secure in her arms (note the tight grip on the trousers!). Note also the beautiful lace curtains in all the windows. If we were invited in, there would undoubtedly be coffee (Scandinavians love their coffee) and most likely an accompanying cake…..

Belgrade Boy, Circa 1910’s

Old photo, white border. Circa 1910’s. Belgrade,Yugoslavia.

Price:  $5.00          Size:  About 2 and 1/2 x 3 and 3/8″

Blonde tousled hair, a boy of about ten years old, has a nice smile for the camera on a sunny day…..The alternate name for this post is “Belgrade Boy With Balloon, Minus the Balloon.” 🙂

On the reverse is written,  “Mediterranean Belgarde.”  Not finding anything under Belgarde, we have to presume it’s a misspelling of Belgrade, now in Serbia, though at that time it would have been Yugoslavia. What was meant by “Mediterranean” is utterly unknown, as this city is nowhere near that body of water. Was it a section of Belgrade or a street name? We can’t find any reference.

As always, it’s nice to pick out details:  the pocket handkerchief in the boy’s sweater; we see that he carried a watch – there’s the chain (wonder what he carried in his other hand); the building across the street, probably a store, with only the last two letters (or so) of the company name showing – so, not really enough to get that tantalized feeling when you can almost read something; the automobile, we’ll skip the potential i.d. on this one – the image is a little blurry. And, of course, not a “detail” but that massive hunk of metal that was fashioned into a beautiful streetcar – imagine the weight of that thing….and our proximity to it – five or six steps and you can feel yourself grabbing the handrail and climbing aboard….

Vinita Belle Lowry

Real Photo Postcard, 1919. Unused. ARTURA stamp box. 

Price:  $15.00

Such a cute baby and how excellent that the family member gave us the description on the reverse:

“Vinita Belle Lowry at the age of 13 months.”

Vinita Belle’s date of birth was February 22, 1918, so this photo then was taken in March of 1919. Her parents were Claud Lowry and Effie (Dickerson) Lowry. Find A Grave has a lot of information for the family including a long obit for Vinita. See link below:

Source:  Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/38993488/vinita-kollmeyer: accessed 10 July 2023), memorial page for Vinita Lowry Kollmeyer (22 Feb 1918–25 Mar 2007), Find a Grave Memorial ID 38993488, citing Hazelwood Cemetery, Springfield, Greene County, Missouri, USA; Maintained by Judy Young (contributor 46792475).

Mazie

Old photo, white border. Circa 1899 – 1905

Price:  $15.00                 Size:  About 2 and 5/8 x 4 and 1/4″

Mazie, a gorgeous girl wearing a large, dark-hued bow which is blending with her hair. Love that smile!

Only Mazie’s given name appears on the reverse, and no location. But by chance, something with the printing, “Indian Head Mills” had been laid face down on top of the photo and this wording transferred onto the image (appearing sideways on the wall to our right). Here’s a crop right side up, along with its mirror image via Photoshop. The much lighter printing is the same lettering reversed, so some family member at some point flipped the item over, the print being dark enough to still make a faint impression.

The Nashua Manufacturing Company of Nashua, New Hampshire had two Indian Head Mill locations, the original in Nashua and a second added in Cordova, Alabama, in 1898. (See link in sources.) Of course, the Mazie in this photograph doesn’t have to have been connected with either area, but we did find a Mazie Louise Jones, born 1889, who married Monroe Wesley Akins. He was born in Cordova, and his WWI Draft Registration in 1918 shows he and Mazie were there, farming.

Below, a couple of articles from Alabama newspapers in January 1898:

Sources:  “A Walk Through Time – Indian Head Mill, Cordova.” 78mag.com. (Accessed July 4, 2023.)

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/34014225/mazie-louise-akins: accessed 02 July 2023), memorial page for Mazie Louise Jones Akins (21 Sep 1889–Oct 1956), Find a Grave Memorial ID 34014225, citing Union Chapel Cemetery, Union Chapel, Walker County, Alabama, USA; Maintained by Ed Stallings (contributor 46921758).

Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Registration State: Alabama; Registration County: Walker County.

“Indian Head Mills.” The Vernon Courier, January 27, 1898. Thursday, p. 1. (Newspapers.com).

“Making Cloth For China – The Cloth’s Name.” The Birmingham News, January 25, 1898. Tuesday, p. 5. (Newspapers.com).

Little Campers, Rio Grande Canyon, 1930

Old photo, white border, 1930.

Price:  $10.00            Size:  2 and 11/16 x 2 and 11/16″

“Billy Welsh and Lora Lou Mead at 6 a.m. by Campfire in Rio Grande Canyon near Taos N. Mex in 1930.”

Ha, Billy’s got that, “I need to adjust this campfire” look. Smoke’s probably getting to him a little. Lora Lou with that bonnet definitely has the old-time pioneer look. Pretty cute picture, for sure.

We’re not coming up with an exact match for Lora Lou in online records. (She was the hopeful.) And predictably, there are too many possibilities for Billy.

Ready For Breakfast

Old photo, white border. April 1914.

Price:  $3.00           Size:  About 2 and 1/2 x 3 and 7/8″

“Vera & Geo just coming home from store. April 1914.”

No surnames or location for this one but perhaps someone will get a kick out a few old memories resurfacing, as I did. My own childhood definitely included going into stores barefoot. (Haven’t thought about that for years. In the summer, it was just about everywhere barefoot, wasn’t it?) And I remember being sent on a cigarette run (Newports in the green package) out of the vending machine mostly…. Anyway back to our photo, Vera’s got the tin of Quaker Puffed Rice and George has the milk – they just need bowls and spoons and they’re all set!

Siblings Argalus and Elizabeth Gray, Circa 1909

Old photo. North Dakota, circa 1909.

Price:  $12.00             Size:  About 4 x 5″

More adorable kids:  Siblings, Argalus Walter and Elizabeth Lulu Gray. Their parents are Argalus Wilson Gray and Martha Lulu (Carr) Gray. Argalus was born in 1905 and Elizabeth in 1908, both natives of North Dakota. But it’s so sad to find early death dates, especially for children and that is case for Elizabeth, who died in 1918. Hopefully, this will be a meaningful photo for family members to find. Argalus, who died in Minneapolis in 1969, married Frances Steffen and they had a son Robert Steffen Gray.

As for the unusual given name of Argalus, the 1910 Federal Census records nationwide, show about thirty-eight entries for that exact spelling or a corrected spelling. Of course, there are likely some more that were spelled slightly differently on the census, but yes, as you’d think, it’s definitely an uncommon name.

Source:  Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/126419038/argalus-walter-gray: accessed 22 June 2023), memorial page for Argalus Walter Gray (3 Aug 1905–7 Feb 1969), Find a Grave Memorial ID 126419038, citing Acacia Park Cemetery, Mendota Heights, Dakota County, Minnesota, USA; Maintained by Mookie (contributor 47515129).

Clara Matilda Boyce, Albion, Michigan

Carte-de-Visite. 1872 or 1873. Photographer:  L. J. Trumbull, Albion, Michigan.

Price:  $15.00            Size:  About 2 and 1/2 x 4 and 1/8″

A cutie in an 1870’s-style plaid dress, reclining (well, posed of course, but with that kicked back look 😉 ). Check out the animal-design on that very cool blanket with the face of what is probably a bear, at the bottom-right.

Clara Matilda Boyce was born November 22, 1871 in Albion, Calhoun County, Michigan, and is the daughter of C.W. Boyce and Mary (Holloway) Boyce. Clara married Frank Thomas Tindle in June 1893 in Buffalo, New York. They had four children, Harriet, Mildred, Clara and Frank. Clara (Boyce) Tindle died in 1911, at about age forty.

Photographer, L. J. Trumbull is Lyman J. Trumbull. He married Amy Austin in 1866 and they had two daughters, Rose May and Grace. His occupation on the 1870 Federal Census for Albion, Michigan is listed as “Dagguerian,” meaning he was taking images using the daguerreotype process. Of course, our image of Clara is an actual photo, of the carte-de-visite variety.

By the 1880 census, taken in Middleville, Barry County, Michigan, Lyman’s occupation is minister. From this, and lack of records for him as a photographer, we infer he may not have been in the photo business for very long. He died in 1913 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Sources:  Ancestry.com. Michigan, U.S., Births and Christenings Index, 1867-1911.

Year: 1880; Census Place: Buffalo, Erie, New York; Roll: 831; Page: 149D; Enumeration District: 163. (Ancestry.com).

“Boyce-Tindle.” The Buffalo Enquirer, June 29, 1893. Thursday, p. 4. (Newspapers.com).

Year: 1910; Census Place: Buffalo Ward 20, Erie, New York; Roll: T624_947; Page: 12a; Enumeration District: 0197; FHL microfilm: 1374960. (Ancestry.com).

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/111579767/clara-tindle: accessed 22 June 2023), memorial page for Clara Boyce Tindle (1871–1911), Find a Grave Memorial ID 111579767, citing Forest Lawn, Buffalo, Erie County, New York, USA; Maintained by Jay Boone (contributor 46889203).

“United States Census, 1870”, database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHH6-LPQ : 29 May 2021), Lyman Trumbull, 1870.

Year: 1880; Census Place: Middleville, Barry, Michigan; Roll: 570; Page: 68A; Enumeration District: 036. (Ancestry.com).

Daguerreotype. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daguerreotype (accessed June 10, 2023).

Carte de visite. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carte_de_visite (accessed June 22, 2023)

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/12060275/lyman-j-trumbull: accessed 22 June 2023), memorial page for Rev Lyman J. Trumbull (1841–28 Mar 1913), Find a Grave Memorial ID 12060275, citing Tempe Double Butte Cemetery, Tempe, Maricopa County, Arizona, USA; Maintained by PhoenixAz (contributor 46628483).

Happy Kid in 1950 Buick

Old photo, white border. February 1951.

Price:  $7.00             Size:  About 4 and 5/8 x 3 and 1/4″

Written on the back,  “Feb. 1951.”

A great shot of a young boy (we’re already thinking 1950’s with that striped shirt, right?) in the driver’s seat of this beastly-looking vehicle 😉 ……a 1950 Buick Special, and he’s looking back at the camera with a big grin. On the driver’s side quarter panel we can just about make out the lettering Dynaflow, which was Buick terminology for an automatic transmission.

Regarding the exact model, for comparison see:  Hometown Buick’s 1950 Buick Special Jetback Coupe – Model 46, and 1950 Buick Special Jetback Sedanet – Model 46S. I think it’s either of these. It’s a little hard to tell because of the angle in our photo and the back end being cut off.

Sources:  Dynaflow. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynaflow#:~:text=The%20Dynaflow%20was%20an%20

automatic,two%20forward%20speeds%20plus%20reverse. (accessed March 13, 2023).

“1950 Buick Special Jetback Coupe – Model 46” and “1950 Buick Special Jetback Sedanet – Model 46S.” hometownbuick.com. (accessed March 13, 2023).