c1904 Photograph of Ralph Waldo Emerson Kingsbury of South Brewer, Maine; possibly graduation photograph, University of Maine

c1904 photograph of a young man identified on reverse as Ralph W. E. Kingsbury of South Brewer, Maine.

The photograph was taken by the Chalmers studio of Bangor, Maine, and is possibly Ralph's graduation photograph from the University of Maine, where he received a degree in electrical engineering in 1904.

The image of the reverse of the photograph below has been altered to show contrast between the background and Ralph's name.

From online research, hopefully correct: [corrections welcome]

Ralph Waldo Emerson Kingsbury was born about February 1882 in Maine, the son of Waldo H. and Anna T. (Gowen) Kingsbury.  His paternal grandparents were Daniel Stafford Kingsbury and Mary G. (Penney) Kingsbury of Brewer, Maine.  His maternal grandparents were Samuel and Maria Jemima (Jencks) Gowen of Bradford, Maine.

On 2 September 1908 at Westchester, New York, Ralph married Anna May Skinner, daughter of Alva(h) Greenleaf Skinner and Julia Frances (Bates) Skinner.  Anna had graduated from Vassar College in 1907.

The 1910 Census found Ralph and Anna living at Brewer, Maine, with their newborn daughter Helen and Anna's widowed father Alva.  Ralph was working as an electrical engineer.

Ralph and Anna had a son born about 1911.

A note in a 1913 Vassar College publication, as shown below, indicates that Ralph and Anna and family had recently moved to Pasadena, California.   I wonder if Ralph was attracted to Pasadena to study or teach at the Throop Institute of Technology, now known as the California Institute of Technology, or Caltech.

Although I haven't yet found an official death record, a couple sources online indicate that Ralph Waldo Emerson Kingsbury died in 1914.

Anna stayed in California with her two children and pursued a career in education, as shown in city directories of the era.  By the time of the 1920 Census, her father Alva was living in her household.  He may have gone west with them in 1913 or he may have joined his daughter when she became a widow.

If you have corrections to the above information or additional information on the Kingsbury and Skinner families, please leave a comment or contact me directly.


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