Category Archives: Photos With Names

The Falveys Get Back to the Country, 1929

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Old photo, white border. Dated July, 1929.

Price:  $15.00            Size:  About 6 and 3/4 x 4 and 1/2″

Sláinte!………..Some glasses are raised in salute here – in celebration of something, maybe just in the happiness of getting back to the ranch.

The Falvey Family lived in San Francisco, but it seems likely they owned some property outside of the city. Indeed, a 1905 newspaper article in the San Francisco Chronicle, mentions the family,  “preparing to go into the country for the summer.”  

Falvey is an Irish surname, and one we hadn’t come across until now. From Wikipedia:

“Falvey is a surname which is an anglicisation of the name Ó Fáilbhe:  in the Irish language Ó means “descendant” [of] and “fáilbhe” literally means “lively, pleasant, sprightly, merry, cheerful” or, according to another historian, “joker”. Other anglicisations include O’Falvie, O’Falvy, O’Failie, O’Falvey, Falvey, Fealy and Fealey.”

From the photo:

Arthur Falvey, born February 17, 1877 in San Francisco, California.

Gertrude (Green) Falvey, born November 9, 1879 in California. Daughter of James Green and Annie Ryder, both born in Ireland.

Son, Jack Falvey, born September 29, 1913 in San Francisco.

Jamie(?) and Evelyn, surnames unknown.

Sources: Year: 1920; Census Place: San Francisco Assembly District 27, San Francisco, California; Roll: T625_142; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 329.(Ancestry.com).

Year: 1930; Census Place: San Francisco, San Francisco, California; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 0237; FHL microfilm: 2339938. (Ancestry.com).

California Birth Index, 1905-1995. (Ancestry.com).

San Francisco Area Funeral Home Records, 1895-1985. Microfilm publication, 1129 rolls. Researchity. San Francisco, California. (Ancestry.com).

Falvey. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falvey. (accessed September 22, 2022).

“Jumps From Roof After A Robbery.” San Francisco Chronicle. Friday, April 21, 1905. p. 16.

Thelen, Kenkel, Goergen, Burdick, Wolf, Relatives & Friends, Iowa, Circa 1910

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Divided Back, unused, cropped postcard. KRUXO Stamp Box. Circa 1910.

Price:  $20.00

What a great find for the families named above and the one unnamed young woman! (Someone knows, I’m sure.) The Thelen siblings appearing in this postcard are Josephine, Catherine, Gertrude, Mike and John – children of John (Johann) Thelan and Catherine Leick.

Left to right:  Katherine (Jonas) Nettleship, born 1888 Iowa. Married Arthur Cyril Nettleship about 1910. Kate was the daughter of Joseph Jonas and Maria “Gertrude” Thelen. Working as a domestic servant in 1910 in Stockton, CA. Single at that time.

Josephine “Jo” (Thelen) Kenkel, born 1887 Iowa. Married John Joseph Kenkel June, 1910.

Catherine (Thelen) Goergen, born 1882 Iowa. Married Matthias “Math” Goergen September 1908.

Gertrude (Thelen) Burdick, born 1880 Iowa. Married Charles Burdick May 1910.

Christine (Wolf) Thelen, born 1884 Iowa. Married Michael Thelen October 1908.

Unknown friend

Mike Thelen, born 1884 Iowa. Married Christina Wolf October 1908.

Math (Matthias) Goergen, born about 1879 Iowa. Married Catherine Thelen September 1908.

John Kenkel, born 1881 Iowa. Married Josephine “Jo” Thelen June 1910.

John M. Thelen, born 1888 Iowa. Married Eunice Davis December 1915.

Sources:  Ancestry.com Family Trees.

Year: 1900; Census Place: Baker, O´Brien, Iowa; Roll: 451; Page: 5; Enumeration District: 0077; FHL microfilm: 1240451. (Ancestry.com).

Year: 1910; Census Place: Nassau, Sioux, Iowa; Roll: T624_423; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 0152; FHL microfilm: 1374436. (Ancestry.com).

Year: 1910; Census Place: Stockton Ward 2, San Joaquin, California; Roll: T624_103; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 0136; FHL microfilm: 1374116. (Ancestry.com).

Iowa Department of Public Health; Des Moines, Iowa; Series Title: Iowa Marriage Records, 1880–1922; Record Type: Marriage. (Ancestry.com).

Ruth Bower and Family, Pontiac, Michigan, Circa 1923

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Old photo, white border. 92 Oak Hill St., Pontiac, Michigan. Circa 1923.

Price:  $15.00          Size:  3 and 7/16 x 5 and 9/16″

A lovely snap, half-posed, half-candid of family life in Pontiac, Michigan, about 1923……

The reverse shows:   “Oak Hill St, Grama & Grampa Bower, Ruth, Helen, Al.”

This will be a great photo addition for descendants of this particular Bower family. This snapshot was taken at 92 Oak Hill Street, Pontiac, Michigan, the house having been fairly recently built – in 1920 (according to Zillow.com).

Ruth Esther Bower (born 1905 in Detroit, MI) is the young lady smiling for the camera. She is the daughter of the older couple on the porch, who are Charles Bower (born 1856 in E. Hamburgh, NY) and Hannah Prudence (Allen) Bower (born 1867 in Avoca, St. Clair, MI). The two children are the couple’s grandchildren and Ruth’s niece and nephew. They are Helen Mae Bower (born 1914 in North Branch, MI) and Alvah B. Bower (born 1921 in Pontiac, MI). Helen and Alvah are the children of Henry Earl Bower and Minnie (Yerden) Bower, and this is their home at 92 Oak Hill, in Pontiac.

Sources:  “92 Oakhill St, Pontiac, MI 48342.” zillow.com. (Accessed September 20, 2022.)

Michigan Department of Community Health, Division of Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867-1952; Film: 108; Film Description: 1911 Washtenaw-1912 Barry.Find a Grave, database and images. (Ancestry.com).

(https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/37844263/hannah-prudence-bower: accessed 20 September 2022), memorial page for Hannah Prudence Allen Bower (3 May 1867–29 Jun 1929), Find a Grave Memorial ID 37844263, citing Perry Mount Park Cemetery, Pontiac, Oakland County, Michigan, USA; Maintained by SisterMaryLouise (contributor 46984885) .

Michigan Department of Community Health, Division of Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867-1952; Film: 177; Film Description: 1924 Monroe-1924 St Joseph. (Ancestry.com).

Michigan Department of Community Health, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, Michigan; Death Records. (Ancestry.com).

Michigan Department of Community Health, Division of Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867-1952; Film: 175; Film Title: 63 Oakland 10110-13449; Film Description: Oakland (1933-1935). (Ancestry.com).

Lillie Findahl, Sheridan, Wyoming

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Divided Back, Real Photo Postcard, unused. AZO stamp box. Circa 1913 – 1917.

Price:  $15.00

Lillie May, daughter of John L. Findahl and Nancy A. Hammontree, was born December 8, 1897 in Sheridan, Wyoming. John was a native of Denmark and Nancy was from Tennessee. Lillie married Claude Olan Realing in 1918 and they had one child, their son Lyle, who was killed in action during WWII when his ship, the U.S.S. Indianapolis, was torpedoed by the Imperial Japanese Navy. Lillie was a lifelong Sheridan resident, and died in 1986. This postcard will be a great find for anyone researching the Findahl family.

Also of interest:  A movie was made in 2016 starring Nicholas Cage, based on the true story – U.S.S. Indianapolis:  Men of Courage.

Sources:  Ancestry.com. Web: Western States Marriage Index, 1809-2016 .

USS Indianapolis:  Men of Courage. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Indianapolis:_Men_of_Courage (accessed September 17, 2022).

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/55435835/lyle-olan-realing: accessed 17 September 2022), memorial page for Lyle Olan Realing (1925–30 Jul 1945), Find a Grave Memorial ID 55435835, citing Sheridan Municipal Cemetery, Sheridan, Sheridan County, Wyoming, USA; Maintained by Marsha Hanson Dillon (contributor 46953066) .

“Lillie M. Realing.” The Billings Gazette obituaries. August 15, 1986, Friday, p. 12A.

Kate Hang, Redondo Beach, 1911

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Divided Back, Real Photo Postcard, unused. August 1, 1911. Artura stamp box.

Price:  $15.00

“Taken Aug. 1st at Redondo.”

The scene behind Kate is, of course, a photographer’s backdrop, and a nice one at that, with its breaking waves, rocks, lighthouse and distant ship. Holding a pastel striped parasol (note the optical illusion – it appears to be inside-out) and in a graceful pose with natural-looking head tilt (the photographer must have loved her!) Kate is trim-waisted in long skirt, belt, and a white blouse – pleats, cuffs, and a collar folding down into a wide tie – perfect for the seaside look. I’m trying to figure out that hat with it’s missing center part – maybe just a wired velvet half-wrap with velvet flower on the side. Different, but not surprising given the myriad of styles showing up in old photos and postcards.

The surname on the back is a little hard to read but Hang is the only name that fits, according to records found, though there are not many, and the name is often misspelled “Haug.”

1916 Voter Registration:  310B Metcalf St, Los Angeles, CA. Mrs. Katie Hang. Spouse, John is a cook.

1920 and 1924 Voter Registrations: John and Kate, 1668 Echo Park Ave, Los Angeles. John works for the American Railway Express. Name spelled “Haug.”

1918 WWI Draft Registration for John Hang:

1934 Voter Registration and 1937 City Directory – John (clerk) and Kate. 710 Lucretia Ave. Name spelled “Haug.”

Sources:  U.S. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. (Ancestry.com).

Railway Express Agency. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_Express_Agency (accessed September 13, 2022).

Los Angeles County, California, U.S. Voter Registrations, 1900-1968.  (Ancestry.com).

Los Angeles Directory Co.’s Los Angeles City Directory, 1937. p. 882. (Ancestry.com).

Savillah (Rudy) Ward

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Old photo, mounted on cardboard frame, circa 1883 – 1900.  Photo studio:  Ritchie Bros., Rantoul, Illinois. 

Price:  $15.00          Size: 2 and 1/2 x 2 and 5/8″ including frame.

A small photo, glued to a decorative cardboard frame, of an older woman with a nice smile. (Someone we would have liked to have met.) On the reverse, a descendant wrote:   “Savillah Rudy Grandma Ward Dad’s Grandmother”. A record for child, Orlando Francisco Ward, shows that Savillah (or Savilla) married Jesse Ward. The 1850 Federal Census for Berlin, Holmes County, Ohio has Jesse, Savilla and one-year-old H. I. Ward. Savilla was born in Pennsylvania in1827. She died at her home in Rantoul, IL, January 29, 1901, per the following obit:

No online records were found for the photo studio of Ritchie Brothers.

Sources:  Various Illinois County Courthouses; Various Illinois County Courthouses; Marriage Records; Collection Title: Marriage Records. (Ancestry.com).

Year: 1850; Census Place: Berlin, Holmes, Ohio; Roll: 696; Page: 193b. (Ancestry.com).

“Rantoul Lady Passes Away.” The Champaign County News, February 2, 1901. Saturday, p. 2. (Newspapers.com).

Nora Ward, Silver Lake, Indiana

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Carte-de-Visite, circa 1876. Photographer:  J. F. Shoemaker, Warsaw, Indiana.

Price:  $18.00      Size:  About 2 and 1/2 x 4 and 1/8″

An adorable photo of Nora Ward, estimating she was about four years old in this picture. Love the stripes on the skirt and jacket, and I’m always struck by the quality of the clothing in antique photos.

We find Nora on the 1880 Federal Census for Silver Lake, IN:  Daughter of U. F.(?) and Ellen S. Ward. Nora was born in Indiana, about 1872, the fourth child of five. Siblings on this record are Laura, Charlie, Artemas and Mary. Their father is a physician. Further searches show the father’s full name is Uriah Irvin Ward and mother’s maiden name Giauque (possible French-Swiss origin). Nora grows up to marry a Mr. Gardner, and is living in Los Angeles in 1918, per Uriah’s obit, below:

Sources:  Year: 1880; Census Place: Silver Lake, Kosciusko, Indiana; Roll: 290; Page: 211B; Enumeration District: 058. (Ancestry.com).

Directory of Deceased American Physicians, 1804-1929. (Ancestry.com).

“U. I. Ward is Dead.” The Hutchinson News (Hutchinson, KS). May 17, 1918. Friday, p. 8. (Newspapers.com).

Marriage Records. Ohio Marriages. Various Ohio County Courthouses. (Ancestry.com).

Lucille Wickson, Berkeley, California

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Old photo, circa 1906 – 1916.

Price:  $12.00         Size:  3 and 1/8 x 2 and 1/16″

Availability status:  ORIGINAL IS SOLD. Digital copies only are available.

We have a last name this time:  Wickson. And I thought at first that Berkeley was the surname or it was a marriage situation, Wickson marrying Berkeley, but no such records appear online. However, we do find Lucille M. Wickson, student in 1909, boarding at 2662 College Ave., Berkeley, California (and the palm tree in the background fits). Other records show Mildred Lucille Wickson was born November 17, 1890, daughter of George Guest Wickson, II and Mary Ellen Winter. She married Walter Reeve Woolpert, July 27, 1916.

I’m estimating that Lucille was at least age 16 when this photo was taken. A fashion expert would no doubt be able to narrow down the time frame. Note that she wears both a large hair bow and a hat. But, easy to miss – she’s holding some daisies in her left hand. (It’s the little things that really bring the moment to life!)

Below, the announcement of Lucille’s upcoming nuptials from The San Francisco Examiner, July 22, 1916:

Sources:  Husted’s Oakland, Berkeley and Alameda Directory, 1909. p. 1214. (Ancestry.com).

“East Bay Society Notes.” The San Francisco Examiner, July 22, 1916. Saturday, p. 7. (Newspapers.com).

Ancestry.com. California, U.S., Death Index, 1940-1997.

A Photo of Miss Pansy

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Old photo, circa 1900 – 1920s.

Price:  $6.00       Size:  2 and 3/8 x 3 and 5/16″

Even though there is no last name on the reverse for this young girl, her given name, Pansy, is unusual enough to maybe help anyone searching for any additional photos (she is someone’s grandma or great-grand or great-aunt). And we love out-of-the-ordinary names. Wondering then, how uncommon was this name in say, 1910? Just looking in the U. S. alone, on the 1910 Federal Census, the given name Pansy shows up 7,109 times. More popular than the name Poppy (only 28 Poppies in 1910) and more popular than the name Iris, which was surprising (6,219) and also surprising, much more popular than the name Dahlia (only 426). For perspective, the name Rose shows up 293,403 times. How about……Carnation? Yes, there were 14 Carnations on the 1910 census.

Source:  Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.

Ruth Brown, Ida Corbett and Nellie Bond Bagley

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Real Photo Postcard, cropped. July, 1913, Santa Paula, California

Price:  $12.00        Size:  About 2 and 1/8 x 3″

“Ruth Brown, Ida Corbett and Nellie Bond Bagley – on her wedding day. Santa Paula, Calif.”

Three beautiful ladies decked in lace, in that gorgeous style from the 1910s. It was Nellie Bond’s wedding day, Santa Paula, CA, July 1913. I think it’s pretty safe to assume that the names read left to right, which places the bride to our right, wearing the white shoes, long white gloves, and holding a bouquet of flowers that trails into a long spray. And, if you look closely, you can see that there are some black marks on the photo, obscuring the full bouquet. At first glance, you might mistake the marks as part of the flower arrangement (it works ascetically speaking, but no.) This Real Photo Postcard was found cropped down quite a bit to it’s approximate 2 x 3 inch size.

Nellie Bond was born February 1893 in Missouri, daughter of William and Susie Bond (from the 1900 Federal Census, Benton, Polk County, Missouri). In July, 1913, she married James Elijah “Ail” Bagley, also a Missouri native. His full name and date of birth, October 26, 1893 are found in Ancestry.com family trees.

The clipping below appeared in the Oxnard Courier, July 11, 1913:

Ida Corbett (maiden name Hardison) born about August 1870 in Pennsylvania, was married to Leonard W. Corbett, February 11, 1892. Their marriage announcement was found in the Los Angeles Evening Express, dated February 13th:

Ruth Brown proves to be a little harder to find in records – a common name and we don’t know whether Brown is her maiden or married name. Nothing definitive shows up in quick searches online.

Sources:  Year: 1900; Census Place: Benton, Polk, Missouri; Page: 6; Enumeration District: 0122; FHL microfilm: 1240883. (Ancestry.com).

Year: 1900; Census Place: Santa Paula, Ventura, California; Page: 7; Enumeration District: 0166; FHL microfilm: 1240116. (Ancestry.com).

Year: 1910; Census Place: Santa Paula, Ventura, California; Roll: T624_111; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 0215; FHL microfilm: 1374124. (Ancestry.com).

“Wedding in Santa Paula.” Oxnard Courier, July 11, 1913, Friday, p. 6. (Newspapers.com).

“In Social Circles.” Los Angeles Evening Express, February 13, 1892, Saturday, p. 8. (Newspapers.com).