Category Archives: Photos With Names

Fred Demmel In About 1912

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Fred Demmel About 1912 pc1Fred Demmel About 1912 pc2

Divided back, unused with writing, Real Photo Postcard. CYKO stamp box. Circa 1912.

Availability Status:  SOLD

This postcard was addressed to,  “Mr. Albert Beardsley, 100 Empire St., Freeport, Ill.”  and the sender wrote:

“Hello Albert. How are you. we are all well. Hope you the same. I promised you a picture long ago. I did not have any taken until now. I go to school. I like it out here. write to me. My address is now, with love Fred Demmel. Humphrey Nebr. R.R. No. 1.”

An Albert Beardsley was found at the address given on the 1912 city directory, and listed as,  “Beardsley Albert, paint I C, rms 100 Empire st.”  I. C. stands for the Illinois Central Railroad. Now, whether this is Fred’s friend Albert or Albert’s father perhaps, is unknown.

Fred was then found on the 1900 Federal Census for Ridott Township, which is about ten miles east of Freeport, Illinois. He appears there at about age three, with his parents Phillip and Maggie Demmel; boarder Archie Hockman; and Maggie’s father, Alexander Pierce. The WWI Draft Registration card shows Frederick Edward Demmel, born February 20, 1897, Ridott, Illinois. So, if this postcard was written in 1912, Fred would have been about 15 in this photo.

Sources:  Freeport Journal Printing Co., The Annual Directory of the City of Freeport, 1912. p. 44.

Year: 1900; Census Place: Ridott, Stephenson, Illinois; Roll: 346; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 0104; FHL microfilm: 1240346. (Ancestry.com)

Registration State: Iowa; Registration County: Pottawattamie; Roll: 1642992. (Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918)

Bill, Freda And Anna

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Hmmm, well do most people identify people going from left to right? Is it possible that the original image was reversed? (Yes.) But the long and short of it is we don’t know which lady is Freda and which is Anna. How wonderful though, that we do have the first and last names for this snazzy trio. They are identified on the back as:  Bill Hartwick, Freda Smith, and Anna Frank. The young lady in the front, Freda or Anna, dressed in a long skirt and matching jacket with wide plunging v-neck collar, wears a small animal fur (poor guy) fastened around her shoulders. Her hat is very elegant with a large brim that’s turned up on one side and with a feather (poor bird) jaunting out from the other. The lady behind her (Anna or Freda) looks to be a little older, and is also very chic, wearing a double-breasted coat with large buttons, and a high collar, possibly of fur. And her brimless hat (not a cloche) is the perfect compliment. Bill appears in a suit with double-breasted jacket, tie and derby hat, and carrying a small box-like object. (Whatever this is, it seems a might too narrow, too plain, and maybe too small to be any type of box camera.)

It would be doable – to narrow down and maybe identify where this photo was taken, and who exactly these people are. But, it would be extremely time-consuming to compare census records in various cities with the names, and estimated birth dates, so we won’t (alas) go there…but maybe someone working on their family tree will be able to recognize any or all of these three people.

Divided back, Real Photo Postcard. AZO stamp box. Circa late 1910s – early 1920s.

Price:  $15.00

Anton Plotěný

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“Anton Plotěný – 2nd oldest. Served in, and was a prisoner of war in Italy at the last stages of it. In some kind of uniform but I cannot remember what. Blacksmith of trade. Please send back as I have no duplicate.”

This photo was a “must have” – for one, because of the identifying information given (which is so often missing) and secondly so we could help this young man’s image continue to survive, especially after the care expressed by the writer above, and especially in the hopes that his descendents might find this post and recognize him. It was found at an antique paper fair in California, and probably had been originally obtained from an estate sale. The Plotěný surname is probably of Czech origin. And since WWI was 1914 – 1918, this photo was likely either taken during this time or before the war. He does appear to have been quite young here, probably in his late teens or very early twenties.

Real Photo Postcard, possibly of Czech origin. Circa 1910 – 1918.

Price:  $15.00

Aunt Mollie

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Aunt Mollie p1Aunt Mollie p2

Dates:  Circa 1880 – early 1900s.

Top photo scanned on blue background:  Oval photo size about 4 x 5 and 1/4″

Bottom photo including mat size:  About 3 and 1/4 x 4 and 1/2″

Price for the pair:  $15.00 or for one $8.00

Here’s an interesting photo of a lovely young woman named Mollie, and she was somebody’s “Aunt Mollie” per the writing on the back. The photo was found without the frame it was once in. Her outfit reminds me of something one might wear on stage. The collar is very unusual with it’s heavy notches, and if you look closely it doesn’t appear to go all the way around. Was it something the photographer used for some reason – maybe he decided her outfit needed something extra at the neckline? Her coat or jacket also is unusual. It looks like it might have been leather; we can see that the back was in a lighter shade. To the just off-the-shoulder sleeves were sewn…hmmm…a soft crinkly fabric, or was that yarn or some type of long haired animal fur? I’m imagining she played a “lady Robin Hood” in a theater production, a benevolent highway woman. (Wonder how hilariously far off this thought is!) But there’s a kind of a medieval look to her clothing style.

Possibly a relative

This next photo was found in the same bin (somewhere on the Central Coast in California, Salinas or Gilroy perhaps, now I forget and I should have written it down.) For some reason I first thought they could be the same person, but looking at the photos later, I wonder why I even thought that (!). However, the two could be related. No name or photographer name on this one, but whoever she is, she’s very beautiful and in a much more traditional high-collared white lace blouse.

Mollie p1

Vera Mildred Mills

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Divided back, unused with writing, Real Photo Postcard. Date:  October 17, 1914. AZO stamp box.

Price:  $15.00

The photo for this Real Photo Postcard was taken on Vera’s birthday, October 17th. As the back of the postcard states she is two years old here. And this would appear to be her momma with her, due to the strong resemblance. The 1920 Federal Census for Compton Township, Los Angeles County, California shows Vera, age seven, born in California; her parents Samuel C. Mills, an iron worker, born in Kansas, about 1881 and Frances R. Mills, born in Utah, about 1893; and Vera’s brothers, Clifford C., age 3 and 4/12, and Victor L., not yet one month old. (This census was taken January 12th.) Both the boys were also born in California. The parents owned the residence on Euclid Avenue. By 1930, there was another addition to the family, Jack A. Mills, born in California, about 1927.

Vera married Robert James McCarty on September 2, 1932. The marriage record (which lists Vera as Mildred Vera Mills) gives her mother’s name as Ruth F. Heninger. Robert McCarty, native to Illinois is age 22, and his parents are Benjamin E. McCarty and Mabel A. Voigt. The marriage took place in Los Angeles. The death record for Vera (April 26, 1990) does also list her as Mildred V. so it seems she preferred Mildred as her first name. This was not uncommon for the first and middle names to get switched around at some point. And Vera’s mother may have done the same, since she’s on the 1920 as Frances R. Mills.

Anyway, this is a beautiful photo, I think we’re safe to say of mother and daughter, both of course in hats (!) for the occasion of Vera’s second birthday. It’s an indoor photo, as you can see, with Frances seated at a window seat, holding Vera who stands just next to her. I like Frances’ plaid trimmed jacket.

Sources:  Date: 1990-04-26. Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014.

Year: 1920; Census Place: Compton, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T625_103; Page: 11A; Enumeration District: 40; Image: 81. (Ancestry.com)

Year: 1930; Census Place: Compton, Los Angeles, California; Roll: 125; Page: 10A; Enumeration District: 0878; Image: 831.0; FHL microfilm: 2339860. (Ancestry.com)

“California, County Marriages, 1850-1952,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K8JH-9SB : accessed 17 February 2015), Robert James Mc Carty and Mildred Vera Mills, 02 Sep 1932; citing Los Angeles, California, United States, county courthouses, California; FHL microfilm 2,074,990.

Doris Louisa Diefendorf

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Divided back, unused with writing, Real Photo Postcard. AZO stamp box. Circa 1915.

Price:  $15.00

“Doris Louisa Diefendorf   I year old   Lubec, Maine”

How nice to have both a name and a location (!) for this Real Photo Postcard.

Everything about this photo takes us back to (what we think of now as) a more romantic time:  of course, there is the beautiful Doris Louisa in her white cotton or linen gown, wearing a little necklace for the photo, but also the wood and wicker chair (possibly a rocker) with beautiful scroll work and design that she’s seated upon; the flowered wallpaper behind her, showing large blooms of the type that’s so back in style today for that vintage look; and the gorgeous lace window curtain to her left.

Lubec, Maine has the distinction of being the easternmost town in the United States, and is located on a peninsula on Passamaquoddy Bay. It was settled in 1785 and incorporated in 1811. The population was recorded as 1,359 for the 2010 Federal Census.

Maine Map

The 1920 census for Portland, Maine shows George A. Diefendorf, born about 1886 in New York; Lillian E. his wife, born about 1889 in New York; and their daughter, Dorris L., about 5 years old, born in Illinois about 1915. George’s occupation is factory superintendent. A combination of two separate index’s for Cook County births, gives us the confirmation for Doris’ parents being George Adelbert Diefendorf and Lillian Elizabeth Froschauer, and give Doris’ date and place of birth as July 15, 1914, Chicago. In 1930 the family is living in Rotterdam, New York. George is a superintendent for a steel construction company at this time. Just in adding all the info together it’s seems likely that Lubec, Maine was a vacation spot for the Diefendorfs in the summer of 1915….and it must have been heavenly.

Sources:  Lubec, Maine. n.d. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lubec,_Maine (Accessed January 29, 2015).

Year: 1920; Census Place: Portland Ward 9, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: T625_640; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 60; Image: 946 (Ancestry.com)

“Illinois, Cook County Birth Certificates, 1878–1922.” Index. FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2009. Illinois. Cook County Birth Certificates, 1878–1922. Illinois Department of Public Health. Division of Vital Records, Springfield. (Ancestry.com)

Ancestry.com. Cook County, Illinois Marriage Index, 1930-1960. Cook County Clerk, comp. Cook County Clerk Genealogy Records. Cook County Clerk’s Office, Chicago, IL: Cook County Clerk, 2008.

Year: 1930; Census Place: Rotterdam, Schenectady, New York; Roll: 1644; Page: 11A; Enumeration District: 0014; Image: 389.0; FHL microfilm: 2341378. (Ancestry.com)

George Terrel

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Unused, Real Photo Postcard. Circa late 1910s – mid 1920s. AZO stamp box.

Price:  $10.00

A great photo of a smiling young man, about fourteen maybe, posing for the camera. He wears a belted suit jacket, knickers, shirt, necktie, and leather “cat paw” boots. The name on the back says  “Geo. Terrel.”  At first glance you might think (I did) that he is standing in a house or church. A church vestibule came to mind for some reason. But not so, upon closer inspection we can see that he’s posed in front of a painted photographer’s backdrop. Whoever the artist was did a good job!

As far as i.d. – one might have a sneaking suspicion that there would be lots of possibilities under this name showing up in records in the early 1900s, and this turns out to be the case. The writing above the name doesn’t seem like a city, maybe “P.C.” stands for postcard, so that doesn’t seem to be of any help to date the photo. The AZO stamp box with two triangles up and two down is estimated at 1910 – 1930 per Playles.com. And that’s a pretty broad range. So, probably his suit style is the most helpful for dating the photo, as similarly styled Knickerbocker suits were found on Pinterest in a Sears & Roebuck catalog for 1917. But maybe someone will be able to identify this particular George Terrel; a handsome young guy with a great smile.

Sources:  Knickerbockers (clothing). n.d. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knickerbockers_%28clothing%29. (Accessed January 24, 2015).

“bloomers”  Pinterest. https://www.pinterest.com/LauraRicketts1/bloomers/ (Accessed January 25, 2015).

Holiday Wishes From The Holtorfs

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Here’s a personalized holiday greeting card, with two deckled edge sides, the printed message,  “With the best of Holiday Wishes”  and a small design of probably a poinsettia. It’s signed,  “The Holtorfs”  and shows an older couple with their two grown sons, (note the strong family resemblance) posing in front of their home.  If you look closely at the street address on what appears to be a Corinthian style porch column, you’ll see the street number 77 with a mark just to the left. So, it looks like the address might have been 177 or 477, or even 777, but searching the U.S. City Directories under these numbers and the family last name, did not bring up any possible records (without doing an extremely extensive search.) Though we see a basement window, it’s still possible that this is a California home (the card was found in that state) as there were some Californian homes built with basements, even though most were not, due to the ground not freezing; builders therefor not needing to dig below the frost line. I’m guessing that this style might be a Craftsman; we don’t see the whole house so that makes it a little more difficult to determine. As far as the clothing worn by the four individuals in this photo, I think the most striking style detail we see is the double-breasted suit of the man on our right. The other two men are possibly in the same style, though it’s harder to tell. I would estimate this photo to have been taken in the 1930s.

Personalized holiday greeting card with black and white photo and two deckled edge sides. Circa 1930s.  Full size of card:  About 5 and 1/2 x 3 and 1/2.”

Price:  $5.00

Frederick Russell Pope

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Cabinet Card, circa 1896. Photographer:  Duryea, Brooklyn, New York.

Price:  $20.00

Cabinet Card showing a beautiful photo of young Frederick Russell Pope, estimated age about four years old, taken by the Duryea photography studio, Brooklyn, New York. Russell was born May 25, 1892, in Brooklyn, according to his passport application made twenty-three years later. He is dressed and with hairstyle in the mode of the day, when it was common for young boys to be outfitted in what we today would just think of as girls’ clothing, and with longer haircut, shoulder length in this photo. The outfit is a plaid, pleated skirt; white blouse with scalloped lace edging, a ruffled collar and cuffs that turn up as far as the elbow; and a large light-colored plaid ruffled bow at the neck.

Here is Russell’s photo from his passport application:  a handsome young man at age 25. The passport shows his residence as 412 Avenue C, Brooklyn; that he was applying for the passport to travel to Germany and Switzerland, to reside abroad temporarily for about a year; and that his occupation was “Student & Teacher.”

Frederick R Pope Passport App Photo

Russell’s parents are William Pope and Annie Long, both born in England. He married M. Irene Decker, and he died July 16, 1940 in Greensboro, North Carolina, at age 48 (always sad to see the death certificates of people we feel we just got to know slightly through their photos, especially when the person dies young or relatively young.) The death cert shows he was a teacher, and residing at Guilford College, NC.

The 1930 Federal Census for White Plains, NY shows Russell, wife Irene and their three daughters, Ethel, Virginia and Joyce. Russell’s occupation on this census is Professor at “New York University” which may not have been the actual university name.

As to the photographer, there is more than one possibility for this last name in Brooklyn. We’ll do more research and update here asap.

Sources:  National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington D.C.; NARA Series: Passport Applications, January 2, 1906 – March 31, 1925; Roll #: 277; Volume #: Roll 0277 – Certificates: 11501-11900, 20 Nov 1915-30 Nov 1915 (Ancestry.com)

North Carolina State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics. North Carolina Death Certificates. Microfilm S.123. Rolls 19-242, 280, 313-682, 1040-1297. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, North Carolina. (Ancestry.com)

Year: 1930; Census Place: White Plains, Westchester, New York; Roll: 1666; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 0370; Image: 408.0; FHL microfilm: 2341400

Ethel O. (Shore) Cockey

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Ethel Shore Cockey p1

 

A beautiful photo of a beautiful lady, Ethel Olive (Shore) Cockey:

According to the obituary information posted on Find A Grave, Ethel O. Shore was born March 5, 1905 in Arlington, Kansas, and died June 8, 1969 in Dodge City, Kansas. She married William Powell Cockey, Jr. on June 6, 1928. She worked as a nurse’s aid, was a member of the First Christian Church in Dodge City, the American Legion Auxiliary, and the Ford County Heart Association Council, and she worked with the Red Cross.

Ethel would have been 23 when she married, and this photo could have been taken either before or after her marriage,  and it’s probably from the late 1920s or early ’30s. The background is interesting. It looks like she was posed before a piece of artwork that was drawn to have the viewer looking out a paned window to an outdoor scene, but is that a tree on the left or is it water at a shoreline? If you look closely at the photo you’ll notice that Ethel’s eyelashes were enhanced by, it would seem, the same person that wrote her name at the top. Perhaps this was the photo artist but whoever it was did a good job.

Ethel Olive Shore is on the 1910 Federal Census taken in Arlington, Kansas with her parents Victor H. and Ella M. Shore. Victor’s occupation shows here as Foreman for a “Section Gang” and this is likely referring to railroad work, as his WWI draft registration card shows Victor Hugo Shore, Section Foreman for the A.T. & S.F. Railway Co. (Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe) in St. John, KS. The 1920 census taken in St. John shows this family with an additional member, Myrtle, age 9, and a boarder, Jessie Smiley.

Size:  About 3 and 1/4 x 5″

Old photo, circa late 1920s or early 1930s.

Price:  $20.00

Sources:  Find A Grave memorial 107614561. Web accessed October 27, 2014. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=107614561&ref=acom. (Findagrave.com)

“United States Census, 1910,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M2ZW-TGX : accessed 27 Oct 2014), Ethel Olive Shore in household of Victor H Shore, Arlington, Reno, Kansas, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 146, sheet 11B, family 77, NARA microfilm publication T624, FHL microfilm 1374466.

“United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918”, index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K66V-YHD : accessed 27 Oct 2014), Victor Hugo Shore, 1917-1918.

“United States Census, 1920,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MFXG-W25 : accessed 27 Oct 2014), Victor H Shore, St John, Stafford, Kansas, United States; citing sheet 7A, family 62, NARA microfilm publication T625, FHL microfilm 1820552.