Category Archives: Photos With Names

Peter Hendrickson, Waukon, Iowa

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A Real Photo Postcard showing a lovely studio photo of an elderly, bearded gentleman with the name and location identified on the back as  “Peter Hendreckson, 2 miles from Ingeberg Place Waukon, Iowa.”  This one has the photographer’s stamp embossed on the front showing  “E. A. Hirth, Waukon, IA.”

The 1915 Iowa State Census shows Peter Hendrickson,  age 66, born about 1849 in Norway of Norwegian-born parents; residence Waukon, Allamakee County; religious affiliation Lutheran; married; naturalized U.S. citizen; retired; owns own home or farm worth valued at $2200.00; able to read and write; years in the United States appears to be 38, years in Iowa 37.

Looking further back, on the 1880 Federal Census for Waukon, we find Peter Hendrickson, his wife Carrie, and their young son Henry, three months old, born March 1880, in Iowa. Carrie is approximately the same age as her husband, and also Norwegian born, of Norwegian parents.

The 1900 census for Waukon shows Peter and wife Karen, and two sons, Albert O., age 14 and Peter C., age 6. A daughter, Annie Mary Hendrickson was born about 1881, according to her marriage record to to Ole Severson in 1904. This record shows her mother’s name as Karen Annunson, but is spelled Amunson on son Peter Cornelius Hendrickson’s marriage record to Grace Kvamme (sp?) in 1925. Son Albert O. Hendrickson married Ida B. Vangen in 1915, and on this record mother Karen’s maiden name is spelled Amundson.

Though this particular type of AZO stamp box (two triangles up and two down) is estimated as being used between 1910 – 1930, Peter Hendrickson looks to be at least in his seventies in this photo, but possibly eighties or even early nineties. A Find A Grave entry was found for him which states he was born December 25, 1848 in Gran, Oppland Fylke, Norway, and died 1941 in Winneshiek County, Iowa. I would estimate this photo then between about 1925 – 1941, as it’s possible that the photographer’s studio was using old card stock past the 1930 estimated date for the stamp box.

As for the photographer (nice to have him identified on the card) he is Edgar A. Hirth, born Iowa, about 1876, per the Iowa State Census for Waukon taken in 1915.

Real Photo Postcard, unused with writing. Condition:  card has a couple of creases. AZO stamp box. Circa 1925 – 1941.

Price:  $15.00

Sources:  Ancestry.com. Iowa, State Census Collection, 1836-1925. Original data: Microfilm of Iowa State Censuses, 1856, 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915, 1925 as well various special censuses from 1836-1897 obtained from the State Historical Society of Iowa via Heritage Quest.

Year: 1880; Census Place: Makee, Allamakee, Iowa; Roll: 325; Family History Film: 1254325; Page: 414D; Enumeration District: 013; Image: 0833.

“Iowa, Marriages, 1809-1992,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XJPL-RKG : accessed 12 Oct 2014), Peder Hendrickson in entry for Ole E. Severson and Annie Mary Hendrickson, 11 Feb 1904; citing Waukon, Allamakee Co., Ia., reference 2:3R852JT; FHL microfilm 1479486.

“Iowa, Marriages, 1809-1992,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XJP1-HKF : accessed 12 Oct 2014), Peter Hendrickson in entry for Peter Cornelius Hendrickson and Grace Cornelia Kvamme, 23 Sep 1925; citing Waukon, Allamakee Co., Iowa, reference 2:3WP7ND1; FHL microfilm 1479486.

“Iowa, Marriages, 1809-1992,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XJPZ-3QJ : accessed 12 Oct 2014), Peder Hendrickson in entry for Albert O. Hendrickson and Ida B. Vangen, 05 Jul 1915; citing Waukon, Allamakee, Iowa, reference 2:3JJQBRC; FHL microfilm 1479485.

Peter Hendrickson. Find A Grave Memorial# 100916903. Web accessed October 13, 2014. (Findagrave.com)

The William S. Cox Family, Otselic NY

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This gallery contains 12 photos.

Set of six Real Photo Postcards, unused with writing. 1904 – 1910. Availability status:  SOLD Here’s a wonderful set of six Real Photo Postcards, taken from 1904 to 1910, showing William S. Cox, his son Frank E. Cox, Frank’s daughter … Continue reading →

Ethel In Mitchell, South Dakota, 1909

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From North Dakota on the prior post, we go south (well for the addressees, anyway) for a postcard written by a beautiful young woman with a sense of humor. On the front she writes:

“To keep the rats away you should put this in the cellar but be sure not to get frightened yourself.”

Ha, I love this one. A girl after my own heart. On the back she writes:

“Dear Ma: – Hello! how are you feeling now? Suppose you were awful glad to get home once more weren’t you? Am sorry I could not get out to see you more often but Papa used the horse so much I could not have her. He sold Jennie last week so now we haven’t any horse. Guess he’s going to get another but we won’t be able to drive it I don’t suppose. Come to see us soon as you’re able. Love, Ethel.”

The card is addressed to:   “Mrs. Gerald Wilson, Mitchell, So. Dak. R.R. #3.”

This is one of those pesky, hard to find ones. It sounds like Ethel is married and living with her husband and father-in-law. She does wear a ring on her left hand. Not knowing Ethel’s married name, and her mother’s first name, makes it difficult. We get lucky on these types pretty often, but (in keeping with Ethel’s theme – rats!) not this time. There is a Gerald Wilson in Mitchell, SD but he would be much too young to fit our scenario here. Further searching could be done, but that would be quite time-consuming, so we’ll leave this for now. Still, what a great postcard!

Divided back, used Real Photo Postcard. Postmarked July 26, 1909 from Mitchell, South Dakota.

Price:  $15.00

Emma Beinhup

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Divided back, unused Real Photo Postcard. AZO stamp box. Circa 1907 – 1918.

Price:  $6.00

Real Photo Postcard of an oval photo of an adorable little girl. She looks to be about three or four years old, is seated at a table or desk with a reflective surface (a nice effect.) She has dark hair, wears a white or light colored short sleeved dress with a frilly lace collar, and also wears a pendant of some type. What a face and expression! The pose is cheek resting on hand, with an “I’m unimpressed” look. Her name appears handwritten on the back of the postcard, but surprisingly, is not showing up in Ancestry.com or Find A Grave or online in general. It appears to be Emma Beinhup, but Bienhup, Beirhup, Bierhup were tried. Beinhoff is a possibility if the name was changed at some point or the person that wrote it had an incorrect spelling.

Helma Greiner

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Here’s an old Real Photo Postcard of a beautiful German woman that was found at a recent San Francisco Vintage Paper Fair. (You can barely see the dotted lines on the back of the card, noting the stamp box which seems to confirm that this is an RPPC.) I bought this one for two reasons:  I love the composition of this photo, the woman’s lovely profile, the gorgeous bit of ironwork just to her left, and secondly because she immediately reminded me of my grandmother – of course also beautiful – who was Felicitas Emma Maria (Voss) Oliver. My grandmother was of full German descent, from Cincinnati; both sets of her grandparents were born in Germany, so I was tickled but not really surprised to learn that Helma was German. Thanks so much to Sharon, who sold the photo to me, who kindly looked up all the information she had on Helma, which I’ve included below in her email to me:

“This woman was named Helma Greiner. I don’t know her parents’ names (possibly the mother was named Mathilde or Hilda) but Helma was one of 6 children from a well-to-do German family that for a short-time lived in Bologna, Italy (around 1880). Helma had a twin named Tilla who died at the age of 5. They were both born in Germany approximately 1878. Helma had another sister, Adelheid (Ada) and 3 brothers, Otto, Ernst and Adolf. Leaving Italy,  the family went to live in Moscow for a while – perhaps 10 years, and lived there until the very early 1900s and then the family moved to Dresden, then Jena, Germany. This photo was taken, I think, sometime between 1905 and 1915. I can’t say for certain WHERE this photo was taken (Dresden or Jena). Ernst was killed in Belgium 1914 during WWI. Otto was also a WWI soldier but faked being goofy to avoid being sent into conflict.

 They were a very lovely and attractive family (and all were blonde). Their descendant is an 80+ year old German lady with whom I met several times about buying the family photo albums – and she had many nice stories. A lovely lady. I think all the good photos of the family are already sold, but believe there are still a few of Helma during the “wandervogel” in Germany. Should I come across them in my “credenza”, I’ll let you know!”

Check out Sharon Karam’s website at www.darosieplanet.com with a link to her eBay store that has tons of way cool antique and vintage ephemera for sale.

Just on a last note, at least for now, I did do a quick search for Helma Greiner and family (nothing time-consuming, you understand.) Nothing jumped out at me in online records or family trees, but wouldn’t it be something if there was a relation to Helma and my grandmother, Felicitas. Maybe I’ll get around to searching later (for now – so much other stuff to put up – waiting in acid-free containers, of course.)

 Real Photo Postcard in shades of brown and white, circa 1905 – 1915.  Publisher unknown. Series or number:  C44.  Size:  About 4 and 1/4 x 3 and 1/2.”

Price:  $15.00

John Arquero, Tourguide, Hilo, Hawaii

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Divided back, Real Photo Postcard, unused with writing. Circa early 1950’s.

Price:  $10.00

Real Photo Postcard in black and white, signed by Hawaii tour guide, John Arquero. He is shown wearing an example of a traditional costume worn by Hawaiian male royalty. He wrote,  “Your Guide, King Aloha John Arquero Tour, Hilo Hawaii”  and is majestically posed holding an upright spear, wearing a long cape, and the type of headgear called mahiole.

According to The British Museum website,  “Helmets, known as mahiole, were constructed of the aerial roots of the ‘ie’ie vine, woven into a basketry frame. They were perfectly fitted to an individual, and protected the most sacred part of the body, the head. All of a chief’s garments were considered tapu, having a divine or sacred power, and would not be worn by anyone else.”

The helmet and cape were traditionally covered in feathers:  red-orange from the ‘i’iwi bird, a species of Hawaiian honeycreeper, and black and yellow from the oo’s and the kioea. The two latter being the common Hawaiian names for two (sadly now distinct) species, that were once previously misclassified as honeyeaters.

Sources:  The British Museum. “Hawaiian feather helmut.” Web accessed 17 Jul 2014. [http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/aoa/f/hawaiian_feathered_helmet.aspx]

Wikipedia. ʻIʻiwi. Web accessed Jul 17 2014. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CA%BBI%CA%BBiwi]

Smithsonian. “Hawaii’s Bird Family Tree Rearranged.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 16 December 2008. Web accessed 18 Jul 2014 [www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081211121827.htm]

From A Sister Of Yours

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Divided back, unused, embossed postcard. Publisher unknown. Circa 1908

Price:  $20.00

Here’s a wonderfully unusual one:  A postcard with a cropped photo attached to it! The card shows a likeness of a pink rose and bud with the stems holding an unfurled piece of birch bark which bears the inscription  “With Best Thoughts.”  Underneath these well wishes, the sender has glued a charming photo of herself, and written,  “from A Sister of Yours.”  At the top corners she wrote,  “Oakland, Calif.”  and  “September 1, – ’08.”

The card is addressed to:  “Mrs. L. L. Collins, Iola, Kansas”  and signed,  “With Love.” 

Thankfully, for research purposes, the date and place of the card were given, if not the sender’s name. The addressee turns out to be Lydia Loretta (Pember) Collins, born Michigan, July 19, 1867, died Alameda (county or city) California, February 19, 1946; parents John Wesley Pember and Sarah Elizabeth Christie. The Iola, Kansas city directory for 1908, shows Lydia married to Louis L. Collins, occupation travel agent, with their residence at that time being 414 S. First St., Iola, KS. Later, on the 1910 census, Lydia and daughter Lucille are shown living with Lydia’s parents and some of the siblings in Oakland, CA.

The identity of the woman in the photo has to be either Goldie, Edith or Alice Pember. The 1910 Federal Census for Oakland, California shows the girls living with their parents and a brother James Lewis Pember. Goldie, Edith and Alice were all born in Kansas, and at the time the 1910 census was taken, Goldie was about 23, Edith about 22, and Alice about 19. The photo would have been from at least a couple of years earlier, so it could be more likely that it is of one of the older two girls. (Doesn’t she look like she might be in her early twenties rather than seventeen?)

Were we doing a family tree for the Pember and Collins families, we would have plenty to work with, and would be including records from locations in Ohio, Michigan, Kansas, California and Canada. (Interesting to note some moving back and forth between Kansas and California and to take note of Louis Collins’ seemingly unusual occupation, for that day and age, of travel agent – but this likely meant traveling salesman, as we see the term come up in pretty often in census records.) And per the census records, the full list of Pember children appears to be:  Lydia, Valentine, Charles, Miles, Mary, John, James Lewis, Goldie, Edith and Alice. The 1880 Federal Census for Jamestown, Michigan shows Mary, age three, and she could be the woman in this photo but this seems highly unlikely, as no other records were found on her. So, we’ll venture to go out on a little bit of a limb and state that here is either Goldie, Edith or Alice Pember! We hope the answer to which Pember sister this is will come to us at some future date.

Sources:  Year: 1880; Census Place: Jamestown, Ottawa, Michigan; Roll: 601; Family History Film: 1254601; Page: 559A; Enumeration District: 247; Image: 0319. (Ancestry.com)

R. L. Polk & Co.’s Iola City Directory including Gas And LaHarpe, 1908. p. 60. (Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989)

Year: 1910; Census Place: Oakland Ward 1, Alameda, California; Roll: T624_69; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 0077; FHL microfilm: 1374082. (Ancestry.com)

California, Death Index, 1940-1997. Place: Alameda; Date: 19 Feb 1946. (Ancestry.com.)

Stein 4th Of July Float

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Undivided back, Real Photo Postcard. Circa 1902 – 1906.

Price:  $20.00

“Dear Uncle Walter, Your postals I received. Many thanks for same but sorry to say I lost the postal card Saturday of you. send me one again. be so kind and send Saturday again. This is our float for the 4 of July. I am the one with the head …?… turned …you[?] …with love to you …?…I [?] …?…I will go to stay with Grandpa next month. Myrtle Stein”

Card addressed to:  “Mr. Walter Stein, New York City, N. Y., #104 West 100th Str.”

RPPC gem

This is a gem of a postcard from probably 1902 – 1906:   A Real Photo Postcard, from the undivided back era, showing a photo, taken during a Fourth of July parade, of the Stein family’s horse or mule-drawn float. There are lots of details to try to pick out here. We can see the Stein name on the side of the float, though the word after Stein is hard to read. You’ll notice what appear to be street signs just behind the tropical looking plant. The signs seem off-kilter so maybe they were put up for the parade. And is the plant part of the float? It’s hard to tell. One of the signs looks like it says “First National.”  Here is a cropped but not resized photo. You should be able to click twice on the image to get the best view.

Stein Float Photo

Man or bear?

Continuing on with some of the other details, there’s a lady wearing a large hat, and a gentleman with a white goatee. There are several different hat styles the men are wearing. And that looks like part of a windmill behind the wooden utility pole. There’s the star-spangled banner and oh that beautiful iron railing that the banner hangs from! On the float the man in the front wears a funny hat, and there are three girls at the back, one of whom is Myrtle, probably the one on our right, based upon what she says in her note. And what are we looking at just to the right of the man? To me it looks like a fake bear standing up, with his head looking upward and his left arm reaching up or holding onto the vertical support, and a chain or rope around his waist. My husband thinks it’s a guy in a fur coat with a belt and wearing a hat. (This is always so amusing, to wonder if what you think you see is really what you see, and if not how far off were you? You can picture yourself doing that quick heel of the hand to the forehead gesture, saying, “Ahhhh, of course, I see it now, it’s….” as you are cracking up laughing.) Come to think of it, this would be hot weather so it seems doubtful someone would be wearing a fur coat…

Railway Mail Service

Although the card is postally used, the postmark did not get fully stamped, unfortunately. What we can read of the postmark is “.& El Paso. R”  and just below that  “Tr. 9.”  (Train 9? Trolley 9?) To the right of that is a mark that should have read “RMS” which stands for Railway Mail Service and means that this postcard was processed in a mobile post office, such as a railway, or streetcar. The postal workers would have worked in a separate mail car attached to the train or on a trolley where half of the car would be for passengers and half for mail. The railway postal clerk job was dangerous, involving the possibility of train wrecks, falls, fires, robberies and derailments.

A Mystery

The addressee, Walter Stein, was not found at this address on the 1905 New York State Census or the 1900 and 1910 Federal Census for Manhattan. There are multiple entries for Myrtle Stein in various locations but no confirmation was found for this postcard. As for railway companies or lines there are at least seven that end in “& El Paso” that I’m finding in a quick search so this avenue of research is also proving to be difficult…Okay, so we have another for the Mystery category, but still, this is a great postcard. And one more note:  At first glance the photo for this postcard looks like it was glued on to the card, as there’s sort of an optical illusion effect happening on the right. But it would have been cropped and taken somewhere to have it made into a postcard, so it’s actually all one flat surface.

Source:  Smithsonian, National Postal Museum. Web. 4 Jul 2014. [http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibits/2c1_railwaymail.html]

Father, Mother And Dewey In Omaha

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Divided back, Real Photo Postcard. AZO stamp box. Circa 1917 – 1919.

Price:  $10.00  Size:  3 x 5 and 1/4″

Real Photo Postcard from the WWI era of an older couple, and a young man in U. S. Navy uniform who is holding the American flag. They are posing in front of what is probably their home or the older couple’s home. This one was not postmarked, and has identification in pencil on the back showing:  “Father and Mother and Dewey taken at Omaha.”  In very faint writing, and appearing upside down here it says,  “For Pa & Ma.”  I guess one would presume that Dewey is either the couple’s son, grandson or maybe nephew, but if he was the originator of the faint writing then he would likely be the son. This postcard was trimmed by someone, and thank goodness, does not have any of the black photo album paper glued to the back which so often ends up covering up the identifying information. The size is an uneven, approximate 3 x 5 and 1/4.”

Wow! Who would guess that there would so many Deweys showing up in Omaha, Nebraska in the U. S. Draft Registration records for WWI? There are at least 57 entries for young men with Dewey as a first name, or more commonly, as a middle name, residing in Omaha and registering for the draft. When I bought this postcard I thought there might be a possibility of tracing the people in the photo, since Dewey (so I thought) would be an uncommon name. This brings up the question of the name’s origin, and after checking online, I found a website that states Dewey (Dewydd) is the Welsh form of David. Interesting! And though WWI ended on November 11, 1918, one can well imagine that this photo could also have been taken after the war ended, maybe on the Fourth of July, the following year.

Source:  http://www.behindthename.com/name/dewey

Gene Balch in Fresno, California

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Oval studio portrait of a handsome gentleman in a dark suit jacket with a white or light-colored patterned vest, white tie and wingtip style collar. He is identified on the back as Gene Balch. This is very likely Albert Eugene Balch, who according to the U. S. City Directories, Voter Registrations and U. S. Federal Census records, had a long career in the school system in Fresno, as principal of Emerson, Washington Junior High, Longfellow Junior High, and was also Assistant or Deputy Commissioner for the Superintendent of Schools (at least approx. 1914 – 1917.) Born in Kansas, about 1874, he appears to be the same person as on the 1880 Federal Census taken in Chase County, KS with parents Albert and Almira Balch, and other household members Elliot, Carrie, Mary and Homer. Fresno city directories show many entries starting in 1906, and voter reg as early as 1894. (The 1900 Fresno directory shows an Albert and an A. E. Balch, living in Oleander with occupations for both given as farmer. This may be Albert Eugene and his dad.) The 1910 census in Fresno shows wife Mary (married about 1898); the 1930 shows Albert E. Balch with wife Mary, and their daughter Nellie. A 1935 city directory shows Albert is married to second wife Cydney (various spellings). By the 1940 census, Albert, Cidney and Nellie are living in Santa Cruz, California; no occupation for Albert E., so he is likely retired by then.

As for the photography studio, the signature shows “Maxwell & Mudge, Fresno, Cal.”  This studio opened in about 1898 when John Franklin Maxwell took in A. C. Mudge as partner. More detailed information on the photographers will be put up under a separate post.

Price:  $25.00  Size including cardboard matting: About 8 and 3/4 x 5 and 3/4″  Circa early 1900s.

Sources:  Year: 1880; Census Place:  , Chase, Kansas; Roll: 375; Family History Film: 1254375; Page: 284D; Enumeration District: 149. Year: 1910; Census Place: Township 3, Fresno, California; Roll: T624_76; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 0030; FHL microfilm: 1374089. Year: 1930; Census Place: Fresno, Fresno, California; Roll: 116; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 0027; Image: 836.0; FHL microfilm: 2339851. Year: 1940; Census Place: Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California; Roll: T627_342; Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 44-7. (Ancestry.com)

California State Library, California History Section; Great Registers, 1866-1898; Collection Number: 4 – 2A; CSL Roll Number: 14; FHL Roll Number: 976462.  For Fresno, California. 1894 – 1896. (Ancestry.com)

Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989  for Fresno, California. 1904 – 1938.

Vandor, Paul E. History of Fresno County, California with Biographical Sketches. Los Angeles: Historical Record Company, 1919. p. 2574. Web. Accessed 20 Jun 2014.