To Mrs. Johanna Johnson of Stillman Valley

Posted on August 21, 2016 by Annieoakley

Divided back, Real Photo Postcard. Postmarked from Stillman Valley, Illinois, circa 1910 – 1919.

Price: $15.00

“Skulle jerna skrifva ett brev men då blir min sida ond så vill ej fõrsõka. Hullo Mor Hur ãr det med er vi ãr alla friska hãr hoppas vi ãr det samma.”

Well, shouldn’t the ã and õ be spelled ä and ö?

This postcard is from about 1910 (You can’t quite read the postmarked year but it looks like it’s the 1910s for sure.) Maybe it’s a historical difference in the letters with accent marks? I will find out shortly and update this post.

“Skulle jerna skrifva ett brev men då blir min sida ond så vill ej försöka. Hullo Mor Hur är det med er vi är alla friska här hoppas vi är det samma.”

The note in Swedish appears to translate roughly as:

“I would write a letter, but then my side starts to hurt so I didn’t try. Hello Mother How are you, we are all healthy here, we hope it is the same with you”
The sender goes on to write in English…

“We have canned 75 quarts of sauce, 9 of sweet pickle, 10 of fruit Butter, 60 glasses of Jell, 29 glasses of Jam. Elin went to lottas yesterday. with love Anna.”

Most likely Anna is either of the lovely young women in the postcard photo. They both wear rings on the left hand; perhaps they are sisters. We searched for possible married names with maiden name Johnson but this is one of those that would require more time; nothing jumps out at us as an “ah-ha!” type of thing. They are hardworking, that we know, according to all those pickles and jellies, etc. that got “put by.”

The addressee, Johanna…

“Mrs. Johanna Johnson, Stillman Valley, Ill. % Chas. H. Johnson”

According to a couple of census records, Anna’s mother, Mrs. Johanna Johnson was born in Sweden in July, about 1840. The 1900 Federal Census for Rockvale, Ogle County, Illinois shows she is with her husband, Gust (Gustav?) L. Johnson, who is born in Sweden, September, about 1832. Their son, Charley H., was born July, about 1877. Johanna and Charley emigrated to the U.S. about 1884, and Gustav the year before. The family is farming, and Johanna is listed as the mother of eight children, five of whom are living in 1900. By the 1910 census, Charles is married (Sophia) and they go under the spelling of Johnston. Johanna is widowed but living with her son and daughter-in-law. Also in the household by this time, is Swedish born, John Levin, hired farm labor.

Another clue about the family appears as the little note written sideways on the back of the note, and in pencil: “Anna sent this to me thinking you would be here.”

Sources: Year: 1900; Census Place: Rockvale, Ogle, Illinois; Roll: 333; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 0090; FHL microfilm: 1240333. (Ancestry.com).

Year: 1910; Census Place: Marion, Ogle, Illinois; Roll: T624_314; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 0077; FHL microfilm: 1374327. (Ancestry.com).

Dague Siblings With Model T

Posted on July 3, 2016 by Annieoakley

Old photo, some of the Dague siblings, circa 1925

Price: $10.00 Size: About 3 and 7/8 x 2 and 1/2″

It’s always heaven to find names on the backs of photos! The three girls from left to right are Isabelle, Lucille, and Virginia. (At least, that is definitely Lucille sitting higher up on the hood, and guessing the dark-haired girl is Isabelle who is about two years older than Virginia.) That is probably younger brother Robert on the left and whoops, he got left off by whoever wrote on the back. But he is kind of blending with the background in this photo. As for the car, it looks to be a Ford, Model T, four-door sedan, probably 1924 (help courtesy of AACA, and we have them listed under helpful websites now). You’ll notice the license plate has the year 1925, and the state appears to start with the letter “O”. Ohio fits perfectly, for one, the wording on the plate looks too short to be Oregon, and for another, the Dague Family that is matching up, lived in Ohio.

About five years prior to the photo being taken, the 1920 Federal Census for Harrisville Township, Medina County, Ohio shows: Harvey and Bessie Dague, with children Edna (Lucille Edna in family trees online), Vernon, Willard, Isabel, Lowell, Virginia and Robert, along with Harvey’s brothers-in-law William and James Parks[?]. The Dagues and Parks are all native Ohioans.

Source: Year: 1920; Census Place: Lodi, Medina, Ohio; Roll: T625_1417; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 68; Image: 128. (Ancestry.com).

Roberta In Cap And Gown

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Annieoakley

Cropped old photo, circa 1920s – 1930s.

Price: $3.00 Size: About 2 x 3″

Still in school dayz for one more post….This is a cropped portrait of a beautiful African American woman in her graduation cap and gown, holding her diploma. The time-frame is maybe 1920s – 1930s. The reverse shows her writing, too bad it’s so cut off. Guessing from the signature that her name is Roberta, and we do know another thing about her: she had a good sense of humor. She jokes that (likely this photo) is, “something to frighten the mosquitos away. smile.”

Lupe Patton, Phoenix 1923

Posted on May 19, 2016 by Annieoakley

Lupe Patton wasn’t identified in online records, as there could be several possibilities, and the same for her aunt and uncle Antonio and Lupe Rodriguez. But it’s a great photo, made into this Real Photo Postcard, of a beautiful girl in 1923, with a bobbed haircut, wearing a drop-waist dress with a beaded design on the bodice. I like the partial glimpse of the rocking chair behind her. She writes:

“Phoenix, Ariz. Nov. 30, 1923. Recuerdo a mis tios Antonio y Lupe Rodriguez y familia. Su Sobrina, Lupe Patton.”

Divided back, Real Photo Postcard, unused with writing. Dated November 30, 1923. AZO stamp box.

Price: $12.00

Marsiana Michîl, December 1923

Posted on May 6, 2016 by Annieoakley

A Real Photo Postcard of a pretty young woman who looks to be in her early twenties, in a photo of the same era, early 1920s that is, wearing the unmistakable drop-waist dress – too bad we can’t know the color, and note the beautiful bead work or sequins at the cuffs, neckline and at the vertical overlay flap (there must be a term for this part but I’ll be darned if I could find it) and and wearing double-strap shoes with button closures. The message on the back is:

“Este serbia [servia?] de un recuerdo de una amiga y mucho la estima, Marsiana Michîl 15 de Disiembre de 1923.”

Translated as: “This serves as a memory of a friend, with much esteem, Marsiana Michîl, December 15, 1923.”

Addressed to: “Fra Gadalupe de Rodrigues Nogales Sonora.”

The above is most likely: “Francisca Guadalupe de Rodrigues” and the city of Nogales is located in the Mexican state of Sonora, and is on the border of Arizona.

Divided back, Real Photo Postcard, unused with writing. Dated December 15, 1923. AZO stamp box.

Price: $4.00

Rosa Arce, Ensenada, August 28, 1916

Posted on May 1, 2016 by Annieoakley

Divided back, Real Photo Postcard, unused with writing. Dated August 28, 1916. AZO stamp box.

Availability status: SOLD

This Real Photo Postcard from 1916 shows a graceful young woman, standing on a porch, her hand resting on the back of a wooden chair. The composition is wonderful: the door slightly ajar, the arbor effect of the vines, the roses in the right-hand corner, the glimpse to the street in the background. The woman has a narrow, oval-shaped face, is dressed in a long dark skirt, white blouse with lace collar, and if you look closely you’ll notice she’s wearing long gloves of a very thin material. She writes:

“Dedico este Recuerdo mi querida hermani tu como una prueba de cariño que le tiene su nita, Rosa Arce Encenada Agosto 28 de 1916.”

It seems “hermani” should be hermana (sister) and possibly “nita” should be nieta (granddaughter). “Encenada” is Ensenada, so the photo was probably taken in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, however there is a small town in New Mexico by this name and also a neighborhood in Guánica, Puerto Rico called Ensenada. I’m not understanding the full context with the reference at the end to su nieta (his/her granddaughter) however I believe the first part translates as:

“This memory is dedicated to you my dear sister as proof of my affection…”

Addressed to: “Señorita Eloisa Moreno.” (The word appearing underneath the name is a mystery at the moment.)

Halbert Kids, July 1918

Posted on April 6, 2016 by Annieoakley

Old photo, dated July 1918.

Availability status: SOLD Size: 6 and 7/8 x 4 and 1/2″

On the back, it looks like the location was written as “Greenhorn Mts” and there is an Ed Halbert reference showing up in a Google eBook snippet view that also has an entry for Greenhorn Mountain (A Modern History of Tulare County by Annie Rosalind Mitchell). This is the best guess so far for the photo’s location. (There are towns named Greenhorn in Grant and Baker Counties, Oregon, and also one Plumas County, California, but the writing on the back of the photo does not look like either of these two states.)

The photo, found at an antique store in Monterey, California, shows five children, ages from about three thru ten or twelve, posed in a buggy pulled by two donkeys. They’re on a dirt trail out in the country; it may be farm country, and we see that the terrain is a little hilly.

We’ll look a little further for Ed Halbert and Tulare County in the next couple of days.

Update: The most promising Halbert – Greenhorn Mountains connection is the above-mentioned possibility, Edward D. Halbert (1846 – 1885) who owned a sheep ranch on Deer Creek, six miles south of Portersville, Tulare County, California. He married Ellen Rhodes and they had four children: Lois (married L. N. Sperry), Edward Fay, Roy Dent and Ernest Sherrill. The children in the photo, if the connection is correct, would likely be grandchildren of E. D. Halbert, and possibly cousins rather than siblings.

UPDATE and CORRECTION: This is the WILSON HALBERT family. See the comments from Carrie. The oldest boy in the hat is her grandfather, born 1905. But we’ll leave the other Halbert family info in this post. Just in case anyone is searching for them, as well.

Sources: Mitchell, Annie Rosalind. A Modern History of Tulare County. 1974. p. 190. Google Books snippet view. (Web Accessed April 10, 2016).

Guinn, J. M. History of the State of California and Biographical Record of the San Joaquin Valley, California. Chicago: The Chapman Publishing Co., 1905. p. 561. Google eBooks. (Web Accessed April 10, 2016).

Deer Creek (Tulare County, California). n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deer_Creek_%28Tulare_County,_California%29. (accessed April 10, 2016).

Brigit O’Quinn, Banada, County Sligo

Posted on March 17, 2016 by Annieoakley

Divided back, unused postcard. “Carta Puist.” Circa 1911. Printed by Malcolm & Hayes, New York. Publisher: The Gaelic League. Photo by Anna Frances Levins. Number or series 30249.

Availability status: SOLD (High resolution digital image sold and to be included in book soon to be published).

“Brigit O’Quinn, Banada, Co. Sligo. 15th Century Irish Costume.”

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

Cardcow has this postcard showing a postmark year 1911. Ha, this is crazy (great) as the sender on the Cardcow card has written, “This is one of the three colleens that have been staying with us…” (For some reason I was thinking that maybe Brigit O’Quinn was a figure in Irish history and the photo represented her, so to speak. Must of been the beautiful traditional outfit or maybe the hairstyle.) And, normally, we’re researching photos of people that were born elsewhere and emigrated to the U.S., so this one is like a flip, sort of, born and lives elsewhere, visiting the States. Nice! Anyway, Cardcow’s card was postmarked from Butte, Montana. And so, we find a newspaper article online that appeared in the Anaconda Standard, (Anaconda, Montana) July 12, 1911: “Miss Brigit O’Quinn, accompanied by Miss Noone, gave an Irish jig in a manner that kept the audience applauding for several minutes at its completion.”

More to follow shortly on this post, as I’m out of time this morning…..

The next day….Here’s the clipping mentioned above and several more, showing that the three colleens, the Misses Bridie MacLoughlin, Eileen Noone and Brigit O’Quinn were on tour, visiting, among other places, Montana, Yellowstone National Park, Oregon and Kansas.

The trio, in the company of the Reverend Michael O’Flanagan and Fionian MacColum (The Gaelic League’s American envoys mentioned in the second clip above) returned home via Liverpool, England, on the passenger ship Adriatic, leaving New York and arriving in Liverpool August 2, 1912. The ladies’ estimated ages per the ship list are: Bridie, age 30; Bridget, age 35 and Eileen, age 27. Below, a crop from the passenger list.

Sources: “Miss Noone, Pianist.” The Anaconda Standard. (Anaconda, Montana) 12 Jul 1911, Wed, p. 5. (Newspapers.com)

“Exhibit of Irish Industries Opens Tomorrow Morning.” The Oregon Daily Journal (Portland, Oregon). 21 Aug 1911, Mon. p. 16. (Newspapers.com)

“Gaelic League’s Exhibit Irish Industries.” (photo of Eileen Noone) The Oregon Daily Journal (Portland, Oregon). 21 Aug 1911, Mon. p. 16. (Newspapers.com)

“The Irish Industries Exhibit.” (photo of Brigit McQuinn). The Wichita Beacon (Wichita, Kansas) 26 Jun 1912, Wed. p. 3. (Newspapers.com)

The National Archives of the UK; Kew, Surrey, England; Board of Trade: Commercial and Statistical Department and successors: Inwards Passenger Lists.; Class: BT26; Piece: 528; Item: 12. (Ancestry.com)

A Nice Gentleman, Chicago 1891

Posted on March 6, 2016 by Annieoakley

Cabinet Card photo. 1891. Photo studio: Hartley, 309 W. Madison St., Chicago, Illinois.

Price: $10.00 Size: 4 and 1/4 x 6 and 1/2″

Sometimes we get lucky with names, sometimes not: Here’s a beautiful Cabinet Card portrait of a kind-looking older gentleman, maybe in his seventies or eighties. The writing on the bottom says (insert your best guess here on the name) “D. A. Tibbles. 1891.” So, Ancestry, Find A Grave and city directories were searched but we couldn’t find anyone under the possible last name of Tibbles or variations to fit his initials (and alternates) and time-frame.

The photo was taken by a photographer at the Hartley Studio, located at 309 W. Madison St. in Chicago. See the next post.

Ruth E. Dimond, Stamford CT, 1905

Posted on March 5, 2016 by Annieoakley

“This is not a little boy but your friend. Ruth E. Dimond. March 29/05.”

An oval photo of Ruth, on the porch steps, in double-breasted caped coat with belt and cap. Just behind her to her left you can see her doll. (Awww!)

Addressed to: “Miss Nellie Irene Hexamer, 48 Grove Street, Stamford, Conn.”

Well, the sender believed in being detailed! (What with the name, and assuming that Ruth was probably her daughter, and then the addressee’s first, middle and last name.) And that’s good for us.

Though Ruth’s last name is a little hard to read on the postcard, she was easily found in the 1910 Federal Census for Norwalk, CT, along with her family. This census shows: Charles J. Dimond, age 43, born in CT about 1867, occupation Superintendent at a Corset Factory; his wife, Nora J[?]. Dimond, same age, also born in CT; Ruth E., age 7, born about 1903 in CT; Harriet C., age 4, born about 1906 in CT; and Annie Kovac, “Servant” age 35, born about 1875 in Hungary.

As for Nellie Irene Hexamer, she is the daughter of Adolf C. and Nellie Hexamer, and found on the 1920 Federal Census for Stamford at the address given on the postcard, along with Nellie Irene’s younger brother Adolf. Nellie Irene is listed as Irene on this census, born about 1901 in CT, so Ruth and Nellie Irene must have been playmates.

Price: $15.00

Sources: Year: 1910; Census Place: Norwalk, Fairfield, Connecticut; Roll: T624_130; Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 0100; FHL microfilm: 1374143. (Ancestry.com)

Year: 1920; Census Place: Stamford Ward 4, Fairfield, Connecticut; Roll: T625_179; Page: 17B; Enumeration District: 174; Image: 577. (Ancestry.com)

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