Category Archives: People

Two Swedish Women

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Divided Back, Real Photo Postcard, circa 1907 – 1910. Photographer:  Fred A. Grinolds. CYKO stamp box.

Price:  $15.00

“These two girls came 3 miles last Sunday to have me take their picture they are both Swedes and are engaged to be married soon they cant talk very good English yet write me if you are coming to Cal”

I think these ladies may be sisters, there seems to be a definite resemblance. Don’t you love the hats? In particular, I love the long cloak of the woman on our left, with that double row of decorative buttons. Too bad the photographer didn’t include their names in the above note. But still, we appreciate the fact that he did write a description, and we appreciate the sense of occasion  it would have been for the women, Swedish immigrants, both engaged to be married.

As for the photographer, he was Fred Albert Grinolds, born in Oil City, Pennsylvania, March 2, 1879, mother’s maiden name Swartz. Fred must not have been in the photography business for very long:  November 15, 1911, he married Elba Vera Lovelass in Marshfield, Coos County, Oregon, his occupation given as “ratchet setter” (at a sawmill). By the 1918 WWI Draft Registration, he was working as a millwright at the Old Dominion Company (a copper mining operation) in Globe, Arizona. Nothing was found for him online under the photographer heading, but it sounds like this would have been in California, before he got married. He and Edna had two daughters, Edna and Bertha. Below is Fred’s obit found in The Modesto Bee, August 22, 1960:

Sources:  “California Death Index, 1940-1997,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPWR-WK9 : 26 November 2014), Fred A Grinolds, 21 Aug 1960; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.

Year: 1910; Census Place: Newport, Coos, Oregon; Roll: T624_1280; Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 0052; FHL microfilm: 1375293.

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

“Fred A. Grinolds.” The Modesto Bee, August 22, 1960. Monday, p. 10. (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.

Boy In Tire, California 1929

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Old photo, decorative border, 1929.

Price:  $5.00          Size:  About 3 and 7/8 x 2 and 7/8″

Well, we know the place and year of this photo from the easily read license plate. (A definite departure from the usual norm of trying to “will” a plate into focus. 🙂 )

It’s an Art Deco design that frames this cute shot of a little boy sitting inside the upright spare (Goodyear) tire. He’s in overalls and wearing a couple of strands of beads, with a big smile and clutching something in one chubby hand. An adult, probably his dad, is in the background. As for the car – Model T Coupe? We’ll have to check with our go-to site for car questions, Antique Automobile Club of America. There is no writing on the back (though from a genealogy standpoint we feel like we’re looking at somebody’s grandpa, with great-grand in the back) but it’s a nice slice of Americana – back when the family car was also one of many play destinations for the kids.

Avenida Juárez, Guanajuato, México

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Vintage Mexican postcard, unused. Publisher info:  Ediciones Guanajuato – Jardin Union No. 5, Teléfono 2.87.- Guanajuato, Gto. Series G-202. Circa 1950s.

Price:  $10.00

Avenida Juárez, circa 1950s

A beauty of a card with all those colors. The central Mexican city of Guanajuato is surely one of the most colorful in the world! The large building with the rounded roof is Mercado Hidalgo, an enormous market for pretty much anything you would like to buy – produce, clothing, souvenirs, jewelry, etc. Built on the site of an old bullring, the building was initially designed to be a railway station. Construction started in 1905 and was finished in 1910, when the market’s grand opening coincided with the centennial celebrations of Mexico’s independence.

Source:  Diaz Cornejo, Mireya. “El Mercado Hidalgo de Guanajuato.” https://www.revistabuenviaje.com/conocemexico/viajemistico/mercado-hidalgo/mercado-hidalgo-guanajuato.php# (accessed April 15, 2022).

A Beautiful Family

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Real Photo Postcard, unused. AZO stamp box. Circa 1910 – 1930.

Price:  $2.00

This postcard was found in Salinas, California, in an antique shop, next to the photos from the prior post. It was thought, at the time, that there was a link between the two (as in maybe the man in this postcard was the photographer) but, on second thought, I don’t think so (just based on the research from the prior). But anyway, a lovely family. I love the mom’s dress with the embroidery, the daughter’s delicate cotton dress, the father and son, both wearing ties.

Alamos, Sonora, Mexico, 1940s

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Eleven black and white photos, circa 1940s.

Price for the set:  $40.00       Sizes vary, see each photo.

Here’s a group of eleven vintage black and white photos taken in Alamos and La Aduana, Sonora, Mexico, circa 1940s. They were found in an antique store in Salinas, California. A sticker appears on the back of two of the photos showing, “J. V. Ryan, 3425 Champion St., Oakland 2, Cal.”  He may have been the photographer.

There are multiple possibilities for J. V. Ryan in Oakland, too bad we don’t know the actual given name. Nothing shows up for the name at that particular address in census records or city directories. The person that does come up, at 3425 Champion St., is Charles A. Weck. His census records show him at this address since approximately 1935, occupation mining engineer. This makes sense, as I think these photos have a mining connection, as you’ll see in one of them. The best assumption is that they may have been taken by either Ryan (a possible miner?) or Weck; we imagine an employer sent one or both down to the Alamos area in some type of mining connection.

Sunshine in Alamos…..

Size:  3 and 1/2 x 3 and 1/2″

Three girls and a bell…..

Size:  3 and 1/4 x 3 and 1/4″

A hammock on the porch…..

Size:  About 3 and 3/8 x 2 and 1/2″

An old street…..

Size:  3 and 1/4 x 3 and 1/4″

 

 El Camino Real…..

Size:  7 x 5″

La Aduana, shrine in background. The “fountain has never been dry in 200 years…..” 

This fountain was not found in quick online searches. It’s unknown whether it’s still there and still running. The tower with two bells in the background is believed to belong to the  Temple of Our Lady of Balvanera in La Aduana, based on photo matches online.

Size:  3 and 1/2 x 3 and 1/2″

Cacha Pomba? Center of the big silver mining district…..

Size:  3 and 1/2 x 3 and 1/2″

Shelter from the sun…..

Size:  About 5 x 4″

Casa Ruins, Alamos, Mexico…..

Size:  7 x 5″

Plaza de Armas…..

Size:  7 x 5″

Three Burros…..

Size:  7 x 5″

Sources:  Year: 1920; Census Place: Oakland, Alameda, California; Roll: T625_91; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 129. (Ancestry.com).

Year: 1940; Census Place: Oakland, Alameda, California; Roll: m-t0627-00436; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 61-196. (Ancestry.com).

Temple of Our Lady of Balvanera. https://explore-sonora.com/temple-of-our-lady-of-balvanera/ (accessed April 1, 2022).

Masons and Tamales in San Jose, California

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Old photo, circa 1907. San Jose, California

Price:  $12.00           Size:  About 2 and 1/2 x 4 and 1/4″

Striding purposefully, two gentlemen, Freemasons by their attire, maybe on the way to a meeting. That particular headgear was sometimes called a “fore-and-aft” hat, and these in the photo would have been adorned with ostrich or possibly egret feathers. The Masonic Hall address was 262-272 S. First St., San Jose, about a half mile away from the restaurant in the background, the Salinas Tamale Parlor, address 203 Post St., northwest corner of Market St., in San Jose.

So, there was a Salinas Tamale Parlor in the city of Salinas in 1926, but the locale and age of the photo doesn’t fit. Click on the History San José site, to see what appears to be the same steeple (on the right) as the one in our photo. The church was the Swedish Lutheran Emmanuel Church, located at the northwest corner of Market and Auzerais, in San Jose.

The advertisement below appeared in the San Jose city directory for 1907. The printer apparently got the name wrong. “Gabilan Angle” should have been Angel Gabilan. There were four other tamale parlors in San Jose in 1907, however Salinas Tamale was the only one to have run an ad, at least in that directory.

Voter registrations and city directories have the misspelled “Angle”, as well as Angel and Angelo and sometimes given with a middle name, spelled Teneselo or Tanislado. Angel Gabilan relocated to San Francisco at least by 1913, according to the city directory under “Angle T. Gablian” occupation restaurant owner, address 1615 1/2 O’Farrell St.

We found no indication of there being anyone else by the same name in San Jose and later San Francisco, so it would seem that the Angel Gabilan (born 1845 in either California or Mexico) that is connected with this photo, is likely the son of Pablo Gabilan (native of Chile) and Clara Montoya. The obituary for Angel’s father, from the San Jose Evening News, January 1902, is of historical interest, and tells how the Gabilan Mountain Range got its name:

Sources:  “fore-and-aft.” https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fore-and-aft.

“Looking South on Market Street from City Hall, 1890.” https://historysanjose.pastperfectonline.com/photo/F753869E-035D-4D83-AC1C-204509509941 (accessed February 23, 2022).

California State Library; Sacramento, California; Great Registers, 1866-1898; Collection Number: 4-2A; CSL Roll Number: 126; FHL Roll Number: 977290. (Ancestry.com).

Polk-Husted Directory Companies, 1907-8, San Jose City and Santa Clara County, California, pp. 595 and 809. Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995.

Crocker-Langley San Francisco City Directory, 1913. p. 718. Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995.

California State Library; Sacramento, California; Great Register of Voters, 1900-1968. (Ancestry.com).

Find a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/132883494/angelo-t-gabilan.

“Aged Pioneer Buried.” San Jose Evening News. Tuesday, January 21, 1902. (Genealogybank.com).