Mystery Photograph of Nate, Fred Ganner & Cliss Shirley; possibly Maine

Real photo postcard photograph of 3 young men identified on the address side as Nate, Fred Ganner and Cliss Shirley.  Nate's surname may or may not have been Ganner.

They may have been from Maine, as there was a Frederick W. Ganner (1886-1966), who lived in Lincoln, Maine.

[Note: for those interested, I was sent a short memoir written by Fred W. Ganner in 1955 about his life growing up in his father's barber shop in Lincoln, Maine. I don't know where this first appeared, or even if it was ever in print, so I'll only share offline, if requested.]

If you have a theory as to the identities of these young men, please leave a comment for the benefit of other researchers.

1913 RPPC of the Boat Landing at Edgecomb, Maine; addressed to Ella N. Davis in Manchester, New Hampshire

 

1913 Real Photo Postcard of the Boat Landing at Edgecomb, Maine; sent by "C." or "G." to Miss Ella N. Davis at 375 Central Street, Manchester, New Hampshire.

Ella may have been the Ella N. Davis (1875-1869), who was the daughter of Richard E. Davis and Harriet (Coffran) Davis, "Hattie" of Manchester, New Hampshire.

"C." or "G." might have been a visitor to Edgecomb, not a resident. Whether the Davis family ever visited the area, I don't know. Hopefully a reader will weigh in.

1910 Real Photo Postcard of 5 Month Old Jesse William Greenlief, Postmarked Newton, Iowa

Real photo postcard postmarked August 19, 1910 at Newton, Iowa, showing Jesse William Greenlief at age 5 months; addressed to Miss Mary Hughes at 738 West 20th Street, Des Moines, Iowa.

From brief online research, hopefully correct - corrections and additions requested - while respecting the privacy of living or recently deceased people:

Jesse William Greenlief was born March 9, 1910 at Newton Township, Iowa, the son of Charles E. Greenlief and Jomattie Ellen (Rumbaugh) Greenlief; their fifth child.  The postcard notes "This is Gracie's Brother".  Gracie was Delta Grace Greenlief, born in 1899, presumably Mary Hughes was Grace's friend or caretaker.

On July 21, 1929 at Huntington Park, Los Angeles, California, Jesse married Marjorie Elizabeth Castner, also an Iowa native, born October 16, 1910 at Union Township, daughter of James Miller Castner and Lucile (Morrisey) Castner.  Another record, from California, County Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1849-1980, gives the date as July 23, 1929.  At the time they were both living at Long Beach, California.  They would have at least two children, a daughter and son.  U.S. Censuses show that they lived in the Los Angeles, California area and at Seattle, Washington.

Jesse died at Toronto, Ontario in 1974; Marjorie died in 1984.  They're buried in the Carling Cemetery at Carling, Ontario, Canada.  Jesse's Social Security death record gives his address as the U.S. Consulate, but I don't know if that means he worked there or if they handle the deaths of U.S. residents in Canada.

I don't know the identity of Miss Mary Hughes but note that there was a Mary Hughes, born about 1903, who is enumerated in the 1910 Census as living on 20th Street in Des Moines, the daughter of Ernest M. Hughes and Edith (Todd) Hughes.  If this Mary was the recipient of the postcard, she would have been about age 7 at the time, not out of the ordinary.

If you have corrections and/or additions to the information above, or an identity for Miss Mary Hughes, please leave a comment or contact me directly.  Please be careful when mentioning living or recently deceased people.

Vintage Real Photo Postcard of 5 People, 2IDed: Ernest Phinney & Blanche Elwell; possibly Maine

Early 1900s Real Photo Postcard of 5 people, with two of them identified: Ernest Phinney, the man with the mustache; and Blanche Elwell, presumably the woman second from right, not the woman partially obscured.

The photograph came with a collection of photographs, most of them from Maine and several from the Livermore Falls area.  Interestingly, there was an Ernest Phinney at Wilton, Maine, and  a Blanche Elwell also at Wilton, each born in the mid 1870s.

From brief online research, hopefully correct - corrections and additions requested:

Ernest Adelbert Phinney was born September 12, 1873 in Maine, son of Alfred Lincoln Phinney and Adrianna A. (Tracy) Phinney.  In 1924, Ernest married Edna Gertrude Prince, daughter of George A. Prince and Ada L. (Sterry) Prince.  Edna had previously been married to Charles Francis Clark, with whom she had two children.  I don't believe Ernest had any children with Edna.

Blanche H. Elwell was born in 1875, daughter of Herbert G. Elwell and Mary Ella (Dakin) Elwell.  I don't know if Blanche ever married.  She worked in a woolen mill and appears to have raised her niece and nephew, at least at times.  Blanche died in 1958 and is buried with her parents in the East Wilton Cemetery at Wilton, Maine.

If you have corrections and/or additions to the information above, or if you feel that Everett Phinney and Blanche Elwell are other people, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

Sources

• U.S. Federal Census
• U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
• Maine Marriage Index, 1892-1996
• Maine, Nathan Hale Cemetery Collection, ca. 1780-1980
• Maine, Faylene Hutton Cemetery Collection, ca. 1780-1990
• Find-a-Grave

Real Photo Postcard of Jean Baptiste Leclerc and his Beautiful Team of Horses

Note of October 19, 2016:  Be sure to scroll down to the comments section where a reader has researched the printer of the postcard and is fairly sure the card was produced in Canada.  In addition, he identified several possibilities for Jean Baptiste Leclerc.

Real photo postcard of a man who identified himself on the reverse as Jean Baptiste Leclerc.   The postcard was found with a collection of photographs, most of them, but not all, of Maine people and scenes.

His message is written in French, which might point to Quebec or the Maritime provinces, but French was - and is - spoken in several states in the U.S. as well, including Maine.

He's wearing a cap that looks to be part of a uniform and is driving a pair of horses in a fancy harness, festooned with hearts.  Perhaps his occupation was driving for hire; or perhaps this was the harness he used for special occasions.

Sadly, there's no clue to the locale.

The photograph was purchased with a group of photographs, most of which, though not all, were from Maine.  And there just so happened to be a Jean Baptiste Leclerc born at Brunswick, Maine, on August 1, 1887, son of Guillaume Leclerc and Lena Demere Leclerc.

But I'm not sure U.S. postcards used the phrase "For Inland Postage", so the card might have been produced in Canada.

If you have a relative named Jean Baptiste Leclerc who took great pride in his team of horses, please check your family albums for a resemblance to the fellow shown on the postcard.

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1909-1922 Postcards Sent to Shut-in Lucie Fish or Fishe and Sisters Georgia and Beth of Jonesboro, Maine

7 postcards sent to the Fish or Fishe sisters of Jonesboro, Maine - five to shut-in Lucia L. Fish, "Lucie" - and one each to Georgia Lindsey Fish and Elizabeth M. Fish, "Beth".  

They were the daughters of George Washington Gates Smith and Lizzie Madge (Drisko) Fish of Jonesboro, Maine.

The postcard sent to Georgia shows a Bird's Eye View of Barre, Vermont and contains a long message.  See the card and a transcript at the end of this post.

Arthur's Home Magazine, Volume 53 of 1885, contains an article that described the founding and mission of the Shut-in Society in 1885, most likely by its first president, Mrs. Helen E. Brown.  The second president was a shut-in herself, a Mrs. J. M. D. Conklin.  Other members included Miss E. E. Burge; Mrs. May S. Dickinson; Miss Annie E. Fuller; Miss E. Proudfit; Miss Jennie Cassidy; Mr. W. C. Mather; Mrs. M. E. Sangster; Miss Hester Bates; Miss M. Hitchen; Mrs. Kate S. Burr; Annie S. Bartlett.

Mrs. May S. Dickinson may have been the author, educator and humanitarian Mary Lowe Dickinson, a Fitchburg, Massachusetts, native, who married New York City banker John Dickinson.

Another article about the Shut-In Society appeared in the Cambridge Tribune issue of July 4, 1896.   At that time, the secretary of the organization was Miss Mary Hamilton Hartley of 14 Lincoln Street, New Haven, Connecticut.

Lucia Leigh Fish, "Lucie", was born February 26, 1890.  She died in 1956.  Georgia Lindsey Fish was born January 14, 1895.  She married William Noland Morris, "Willie", at Jonesboro, Maine, on August 15, 1915.  Willie died in 1972 and Georgia in 1982.  The postcards sent to her were dated 1909, 1919 and 1922.

Georgia Lindsey Fish was born January 14, 1895.  She married William Noland Morris, "Willie", at Jonesboro, on August 15, 1915.  Willie died in 1972 and Georgia in 1982.

Elizabeth M. Fish, "Beth", was born October 28, 1903.  She died in 1988.

There was another daughter, Cecile or Cecilia, born in 1899, but she died in 1903, before these cards were sent.

Card sent by Ethel Ladd, a shut-in at Santiago de las Vegas, Cuba.  She notes that her father raises strawberries for market.

Ethel Arline Ladd was born October 22, 1897 in Vermont, daughter of William Porter Ladd and his second wife Sarah Agnes (Sanborn) Ladd.   Her father, according to an online reference, once lived on a pineapple farm at Santiago de las Vegas.  The family later moved to Volusia County, Florida.  Ethel must have fought through whatever kept her a shut-in, as she went on to marry Albert C. Tyler and have at least one child.  Ethel died in 1982 and is buried with her brother Eugene Philip Ladd in the DeLand Memorial Gardens cemetery at DeLand, Florida.  Hopefully a reader will have more information.

Card sent to Miss Lucie Fishe by Alice M., postmarked 1908 in Bangor, Pennsylvania, with a photograph of the United Evangelical Church of Bangor, Pennsylvania, on the message side.

Card sent to Lucia Fish in 1909 by Alonzo Cole, Superintendent of the Shut-in Society Boys at 21 Wolcott Street, Dorchester, Massachusetts

Card sent to Miss Lucie Fishe by Leo Clark, 120 Pearl Street, New York, New York, in 1919.

Card sent to Miss Lucie Fish by Mrs. W. F. Hampe at 604 McCabe Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland, in 1922

  Card sent to Miss Beth Fish with no sender information and the postmark obstructed.

Card sent in what appears to be 1913 by "Sister" to Miss Georgia L. Fishe at Salem Depot, New Hampshire, in care of E. B. Hall, R.F.D. 1.  "Sister" may have been either Lucia or Beth.

"The show that is here is just the same as when it was here last year.  Al Martz is to be here the 17th.  Ruth's cold is about the same.  Mina gets our mail for us at night.  Last eve she and H was up and talked to me quite a while.  Mina is going away next Friday.  I can't bear to think of hr going - now there is a ray of comfort in seeing her but if she goes!!  Had a note from Aunt Cora last eve.  Yes they miss you at school and everybody asks for you.  Have a lot to tell you in my letter.  Mina said last night she was going to send you a card.  Mama will write tomorrow and she sends you her bestest love.  And she says give her love to Ploma and Hannah.  I have a __ for P when I write.  I've been sewing two forty.
It doesn't seem possible you have been gone only a week.  To us it seems years.  How kind people are to you, dear, and we feel so grateful to them.  Tata, til tomorrow."

If you can supply the missing word in the message above or provide more information on the people mentioned or the Fish or Fishe sisters themselves, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

A label for L. A. Fish & Company of Jonesboro, Maine:

Real Photo Postcard of a Boy Identified as Harland Erickson

Real photo postcard of a young boy identified on the address side as Harland Erickson.

Since there are several possibilities for a Harland Erickson of about the appropriate age, I'm hoping that someone will recognize this photograph from family photographs.

The RPPC was found with photographs from the Brockton, Massachusetts area.  Perhaps Harland was Harland Forrest Erickson, born September 4, 1917 at Middleborough, Massachusetts, the son of Herbert F. Erickson and Caroline (Bryant) Erickson.

This Harland married Myrtle Florence Darling, daughter of Lester C. Darling and Hannah F. (Baker) Darling.  Harland and Myrtle had several children.

Harland Forrest Erickson died in 1988 in Texas, where at least two of children resided, and Myrtle in 2001 in Massachusetts.

See another post that features a photograph of Kenneth Erickson by a Boston, Massachusetts studio.  Kenneth may have been Harland Forrest Erickson's brother, Kenneth Bryant Erickson.

If you have corrections and/or additions to the information on Harland Forrest Erickson, or if you recognize the boy as another Harland Erickson, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

Real Photo Postcard of the 1906-1907 Champion Basketball Team of Brooks High School Basket Ball Team at Brooks, Maine

Real Photo Postcard of the 1906-1907 champion basketball team of Brooks High School at Brooks, Maine.  The postcard was never addressed or mailed.

The photograph shows 5 team members and their coach or manager, all sadly unidentified, as well as the championship ball.

Checking the 1900 Federal Census of Brooks, Maine, for a male born in the relevant time frame brings up too many possibilities for me to make a guess as to any of the team members.

I'm hoping that a reader or readers with relatives from that era from Brooks, Maine, or area towns, will recognize one or more of the people in the photograph from family photos or family resemblance and will leave a comment for the benefit of other researchers.

Real Photo Postcard of Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Olson of Wilmington, Delaware, at Atlantic City

Real Photo Postcard of a middle-aged couple identified as Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Olson of Wilmington, Delaware.

A name mentioned on the reverse is presumably the intended recipient, though the card was never mailed. The name might be E. H. Meriam or Marvin or ?  If you can perceive a surname, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

The couple pictured might have been John A. Olsen and wife Matilda (Olm or Pierson or Peterson) Olsen, who were born in Sweden about October 1859 and about April 1853 respectively.  They were living at Wilmington, Delaware at the time of the enumeration of the 1900 Federal Census and had three daughters and two sons in the household:

1. Alma Matilda Olson
2. Anna Augusta Olson
3. Esther Elizabeth Olson
4. Axell Imanual Olson
5. Edwin A. Olson

By 1900, they had lost a son, Elmer David Olson, and perhaps other children.

If you have more information on John A. and Matilda Olson of Wilmington, Delaware, or if you believe that the couple is another Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Olson, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

1909 PC from Everett Moulton to Cynthia S. Lang at Ridlonville, Maine: Granite Cutting Shed

Stone Cutting sheds of the Maine & N.H. Granite Corporation

This postcard, mailed from North Jay, Maine, in July 1909, is of interest for two reasons: the subject matter of granite harvesting and cutting in Maine and the message on the reverse from Everett to sister Cynthia S. Lang at Ridlonville, Maine.  Ridlonville is a village in the town of Mexico, Maine.

Read more here about granite mining in North Jay, Maine.

Teasing out the identities of brother Everett and sister Cynthia was not as easy as I had first imagined, but that's what makes these journeys of discovery so fascinating.

First, I found a marriage record for a Cynthia S. Moulton to an Andrew J. Lang, on 22 November 1896, giving her parents as Daniel and Dorcas (Phinney) Barrett.  But I couldn't find a pair of siblings named Everett and Cynthia Barrett.

Perhaps Everett was married to one of Cynthia's sisters or to one of Andrew J. Lang's sisters...  But I came up empty handed.  Then I looked for information on the Mr. Moulton who had been Cynthia's first husband. It turns out he was Hartson Moulton; he and Cynthia were married at Carthage, Maine, on 29 March 1887.
And it turns out that Hartson Moulton had a brother Everett Orville Moulton!  And since Everett was nice enough to include his birth date and his father's in his message, and those dates lined up perfectly with Everett Orville Moulton and his father Albert Moulton, mystery solved!

It's nice to know that these two in-laws, Everett O. Moulton and Cynthia Stevens (Barrett) Moulton Lang, kept in touch after Hartson's death in 1893.  Cynthia is buried with Hartson Moulton at Newman Cemetery in Franklin County, Maine.

See more information on Cynthia Stevens (Barrett) Moulton Lang; Everett O. Moulton; Hartson Moulton; and Andrew J. Lang, below, after the transcription.

Transcription

July 17th 1909, North Jay, Me.
Dear Sister:
Yours gladly received and it is a beautiful card; my birthday is the 19th,  Father's is the 12th but that was alright, glad to hear from you.  We are well.  Fred [Fred Hartshorn Moulton, son of the writer, Everett Orville Moulton, and Winifred J. (Hodgkins) Bridden Moulton] is at home now but will go back to school Sept. 6th one year more.  He and I are working for the Granite Corporation.  I saw Father and Mother the 5th and Mother had a little cold.
Everett

From online research, hopefully correct:  [corrections and additions welcome!]

According to her Vermont death record, Cynthia (Stevens) Moulton Lang was born 23 November 1866 at Weld, Maine, the daughter of Daniel and Dorcas (Phinny or Phinney) Barrett.  As noted above, she married Hartson Moulton on 29 March 1887 at Carthage, Maine.  Hartson was born about 1855, the son of Albert and Roxanna Louisa (Pearl) Moulton.   Everett Orville Moulton was his younger brother, born on July 19, 1859, as the message implies.  Their father Albert Moulton was born July 12, 1836, again, as the message implies.  Hartson Moulton died 24 April 1893.

On 22 November 1896, Cynthia Stevens (Barrett) Moulton married Andrew J. Lang, son of Andrew Lang, who was born in Scotland.  Andrew's mother was born in England, but I can't make out her name on her son's marriage record.  Andrew J. Lang's first wife was Helen Newell (Storer) Lang, whom he married 25 December 1881 at Rumford, Maine.  Helen died 20 October 1895 at Dixfield, Maine.  She and Andrew had at least three children together: George F. Lang; Andrew Lucian Lang; and Ethel C. Lang.

Cynthia Stevens (Barrett) Moulton Lang and Andrew J. Lang had, I believe, one child, daughter Christina Elizabeth Lang, born 18 August 1898 at Dixfield, Maine.  Christina married a Mr. Baker from Rutland, Vermont, and moved there.   On 11 January 1952 at Rutland, Vermont, Cynthia Stevens (Barrett) Moulton Lang died of a cerebral thrombosis brought on by a fractured hip.  She had presumably moved to Rutland to live with Christina and her family.

On 29 March 1887 at Cambridge, Massachusetts, Everett Orville Moulton married Minnie (Hodgkins) Bridden, daughter of Aaron and Lucy Hodgkins of Jefferson, Maine, and widow of Benjamin F. Bridden, with whom she had two daughters, Lucy and Winnie.  Everett and Winnie would have two sons, Fred Hartshorn Moulton, who is mentioned in the Everett's message to Cynthia, and Amzi Moulton, who died in childhood before the postcard was written.

Everett Orville Moulton died in 1912, several years after he sent this postcard.

If you have corrections and/or additions to the information above, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

North Jay, Maine [A] and Ridlonville, at Mexico, Maine [B]


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Real Photo Postcard of the Lindgren Family who left for California in 1927

Real Photo Postcard of the Lindgren family, which consists of the parents and their daughter and son.  

The identification on reverse mentions that the family left for California in 1927.  

There's a notation at the bottom edge that I can't quite figure out.  It could be contemporary seller's info, but not from the most recent seller, or could be some information relating to the family.  There are two more Real Photo postcards, with unidentified couples, with the same  (K) MV notation.  Those postcards appear at the end of this post.

If you recognize the Lindgrens from your family albums or research, please leave a comment or contact me directly. 

The two other postcards:

#1, front and reverse

#2, front and reverse

Hopefully someone will recognize the postcards from their family collection or from knowledge of a part of the family that left from somewhere for California in 1927.

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1913 Real Photo Postcard of the Wharff family

Real Photo Postcard of a family of four identified on the reverse as the Wharff family in 1913.

The postcard was purchased in Maine, but the setting could be anywhere.  The parents appear to have started their family later in life.

If you recognize this family from your family albums or research, please leave a comment or contact me directly.  Thanks!

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Early 20th Century Postcard of Willow Street, Patten, Maine

Note of February 7, 2017 - check the comments section for information on the location and houses in this image.

Early 20th century postcard of Willow Street in Patten, Maine.  The scene shows electric poles, which may help a reader to winnow down the era of the photograph.

Located in northern Penobscot County, Patten offers jaw-dropping views of Mt. Katahdin in Baxter State Park and other mountains and lakes in Penobscot, Piscataquis and Aroostook Counties, and possibly Washington County, as well.  

Patten is home to a wonderful museum, the Patten Lumbermen's Museum.

I wonder if the streetlight in the foreground was located at an intersection, perhaps with Main Street or Gardner Street.  The section between Gardner Street and Main Street is now known as Founders Street, but Founders Street may be a relatively recent name.

If you have knowledge of the Patten area or can name people who lived in the houses shown in the photograph, please leave a comment.   Thanks!


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Early 1900s postcard of Cottages on Squirrel Island, Maine, near Boothbay

Early 1900s [I think] postcard showing a photograph of the "cottages" at Squirrel Island, off Boothbay, Maine.  Some of the cottages are  draped with bunting, so the photograph may have been taken on the Fourth of July.

Squirrel Island is part of the town of Southport, Maine.  You'll find more information about Southport and Squirrel Island at the websites of the Hendricks Hill Museum and the Boothbay Region Historical Society.

Squirrel Island, Maine, in Lincoln County [Zoom out one or two clicks to see Southport Island and the Boothbay Region.


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1908 RPPC of a Sister of Matilda Young, at Camden, Maine

Real photo postcard mailed in 1908 from Nebraska [or possibly New Brunswick, though there's a US stamp on it] to "Sis" Tillie Young at Arequipa Cottage at Camden, Maine, and forwarded to Bangor, Maine, in care of E. F. Dillingham.

Tillie may have had up to eight siblings, some of them sisters.  Because the photograph shows a woman, I'm assuming that the card was sent by one of her sisters, but I suppose it could have been sent by a brother.

The 1910 Census of Bangor, Maine, shows a Matilda Young living as a servant in the household of Edwin F. and Julia Dillingham.  The Census indicates that Matilda was born in Canada and that her parents were born there as well.  

Incidentally, Arequipa Cottage was built for the Dillinghams on their property at Dillingham's Point (originally known as Ogier's Point) at Camden, Maine.

Perhaps Tillie was Alfreda Matilda Young, daughter of George Daniel Young and third wife Elizabeth Ann (Harnish) Young of Nova Scotia.   Alfreda Matilda Young married Horace Sawyer Leadbetter, son of Isaac and Jennie (Sawyer) Leadbetter of North Haven, Maine, on 26 December 1910 at Bangor, Maine.

They were enumerated on the US Censuses of Camden, Maine, from 1920-1940.  Horace was a fisherman and marine engineer.

As an alternative, there was a Matilda C. Young at Camden, Maine, the daughter of Linneus and Catherine Young.  Census records indicate she was born in Maine of parents born in Maine and Ohio.

If you can clarify the identity of Tillie Young, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

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1921 Real Photo Postcard of Florence G. Knapp at age 14

Real photo postcard of a girl identified on reverse as "Florence G. Knapp, age - 14 yrs. - 3 months; taken Feb. 18, 1921".

The postcard was produced by the Arax Studio of 243 Main Street, Poughkeepsie, New York.

Researching online, I found a few possibilities for a Florence G. Knapp, but perhaps a reader who recognizes the girl from family albums will come forward to identify her.

Based on the hints in the photograph, Florence would had to have been born in the fall of 1906.  

There was a Florence G. Knapp, born 2 November 1906, who married Harold A. Anderson, son of John [or Peter] and Ella Victorina (Carlson) Anderson, Scandinavian immigrants to Connecticut.   Harold was born 30 May 1905.

This Florence G. (Knapp) and husband Harold lived in the Bronx, New York; Boston, Massachusetts and at Concord, New Hampshire, where they both died.  Harold was the manager of a department store.  I don't have any information on this Florence's parents or where she was born.  

If you can identify the girl in the photograph, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

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