Cabinet Photograph of Eugene Bachelder of Gardiner, Maine

Photograph of a young man identified on reverse as Eugene Bachelder; the photograph was taken by the McIntosh studio of Gardiner, Maine.

There were several Eugene Bachelders living in the Gardiner, Maine area.  

Three of them living in the Gardiner, Maine area were:

1.   Eugene Bachelder, born in 1862
2.   his son Eugene Earle Balchelder, born in 1889
3.   Eugene Elwood Bachelder born in 1876   

And there may be one or more that I missed.

From online research, hopefully correct:

Eugene Bachelder (1) was born 10 March 1862 at Gardiner, Maine, son of Charles Albert Bachelder and wife Olive (Sprague) Bachelder.  His paternal grandparents were Abraham and Susanna (Young) Bachelder.  His maternal grandparents were Josiah and Abigail (Collins) Sprague.  

He married Ida Elnora Averill and raised a family of three children, including the aforementioned Eugene Earle Bachelder (2), born 11 September 1889.  Eugene Earle Bachelder married Geneva E. Harriman of Gardiner on 26 September 1918.

The third Eugene, Eugene Elwood Bachelder (3)was born 25 December 1876 at Gardiner, Maine, the son of Augustin W. and Annie L. (Bailey) Bachelder, who were each born in West Gardiner, Maine.  His paternal grandparents were Augustin and Nancy (Look) Bachelder.  I haven't yet found the parents of Eugene's mother, Annie L. Bailey.

Up to the time of the 1930 Census, Eugene Elwood Bachelder was living with his parents, sister and brother.  I'm not sure if he ever married.

If you have corrections to the above information or a guess as to the particular Eugene Bachelder pictured in the photograph, please leave a comment or contact me directly.


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1909/1910 School Year Memento of Central School, Freeport, Maine

Lovely memento of the 1909/1910 school year at Central School in Freeport, Maine, featuring a photograph of teacher Eva M. Bradbury (1890-1971).

The memento is comprised of cardstock covers and two interior leaves, approx. 6-3/4" x 4-1/2", with text on the front cover and one side each of the interior leaves.  The photograph appears to have been pasted on each front cover individually.

Central School, Freeport, Maine.  
Presented by 
Eva M. Bradbury
Teacher
1909-1910
John A. Cone, Superintendent

Pupils

Madeline Allen
Thornton Allen
Perley Anderson
Ellen Talbot
Charlie Todd
Elsie Todd
John Todd
Gladys Woodman
Mabelle Woodman

Don't worry - the symbol at bottom is not what you might at first think.  It's a symbol used and tweaked throughout antiquity with a variety of meanings.

Teacher Eva M. Bradbury (1890-1971) was born 27 June 1890 at Peaks Island, in Portland, Maine, the daughter of Lynus Edwin Bradbury and Alice M. Springer of Maine.  

Eva  married Elwood Stuart Fraser (1892-1979) on 29 November 1917.  He was born 31 July 1892 at Peaks Island, son of Port Mouton, Nova Scotia natives William James Fraser and wife Andevine (Stuart) Fraser. 

The 1920 Census found the couple at Taunton, Massachusetts where Elwood was a teacher in the area.  The Census image is very faint, but I believe the entry for occupation for Eva is "none".  By the time of the 1930 Census, they had moved to Rochester, New Hampshire, where Elwood Stuart Fraser was an area high school principal.  Eva was at home with their five year old son.

It appears that Elwood and Eva Fraser moved back to Maine, at least in retirement, as both of them died there, Eva in 1971 and Elwood in 1979.

Superintendent John A. Cone was born 19 February 1859 at Bowdoinham, Maine, son of Charles and Margaret Cone.

If you have any corrections, additions or insights regarding the information on the Bradbury, Fraser or Cone families, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

Pupils: 

I believe Madeline Allen, born about 1901, and Thornton Allen, born about 1897, were the children of Amos and Maude Allen.

Perley Anderson was born about 1898, son of George and Cora Anderson.

Ellen Talbot was born about 1898, daughter of Herbert and Elsie Talbot.

Charles Todd was born about 1895, son of Charles Todd.

Elsie Todd, born about 1902; Ernest Todd, born about 1904; and John Todd, born about 1905, were the children of Frank and Mary Todd.

Gladys Woodman, born 15 December 1900, was the daughter of Charles R. and Emma L. (Coffin) Woodman.  Her birth name was Gladys Belle Woodman.

Mabelle Woodman, or Mabel E. Woodman, was born about 1900, also the daughter of Charles R. and Emma L. Coffin, unless I've got information on Gladys Woodman and Mabelle Woodman mixed up.

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1915 RPPC of Young Man Johnnie Christie

Real Photo Postcard showing a candid pose of a man, possibly a student, who identified himself on the reverse as "Johnnie Christie on March 20, 1915; some unknown found in the road".

Searching online, I found many possibilities for a John Christie or Jonathan Christie.  The postcard was acquired in Maine, which may be a clue, but not a dependable one by itself.

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

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1880s Photograph of J. W. Bragg by a Leadville, Colorado studio

1880s photograph of a man identified on reverse as J. M. Bragg. The photographer was F. W. Grove of Leadville, Colorado.  I believe the faint handwriting indicates that Mr. Bragg was age 48 at the time the photograph was identified and that the date was May 16, 1884.

I don't know for sure who J. M. Bragg was, but it would be nice to think he might have been James Warren Bragg, who was born in 1836 in Old Town, Maine, and died in Calais, Maine, on 22 July 1910.

His parents were James and Patience (Estes) Bragg of Maine.  Because his father's name was also James, I believe James Warren Bragg was known as Warren, at least for part of his life.

James Warren Bragg survived service in the Navy during the Civil War and married Mary A. Cousins about 1870.  She was the daughter of Samuel and Eunice (Estes) Cousins.  I didn't find children of the couple but may have missed them.

Interestingly, there's a Warren Bragg listed in early 1880s directories of Leadville, Colorado, but I have no idea of his origins or home state.  He was, I think, at least for part of the time, in a business known as Leighow & Bragg.

By the time of the photograph, Leadville had become one of the largest silver mines in the world and had a population of about 40,000 drawn from all corners of the United States and beyond.

If this was indeed the James Warren Bragg of Maine, he would have returned home by the time of enumeration of the 1880 Census of Calais, Maine.

Hopefully a reader will come forward with knowledge that the James Warren Bragg of Maine did or did not spend part of his life in Colorado, or that the photograph is of another J. W. Bragg recognized from family albums or research.

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c1910 Photograph of Salmon Falls on St. Croix River, Maine & New Brunswick Border

c. 1910 photograph of Salmon Falls, at the head of tide of the St. Croix River, which forms part of the border between Maine and New Brunswick.  

The photograph was likely taken from the Maine side at Milltown, part of the City of Calais, Maine; though, it's possible Milltown is in the distance.

Read more about the St. Croix River here.

Map of Calais, Maine:

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Vintage Postcard of Bocabec River, Bocabec, New Brunswick, Canada

Old postcard of a view of the Bocabec River at Bocabec, New Brunswick, Canada, not far from St. Andrews and Passamaquoddy Bay.  

Smith College historian William Francis Ganong (1864-1941), who was born at Saint John, New Brunswick, conjectured that the name might derive from where the gorge-like area of the stream opened up into a wider section subject to tidal effect.  An original Passamaquoddy name for the region sounded like Po-ka-besk.  More of Ganong's theory can be read here.

Many Loyalists settled in this area after the American Revolution.

Map of the Bocabec river or stream:


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1912 Photograph of an Outing to Bliss Island, New Brunswick, Canada

September 22,1912 photograph of an outing by boat past the cliffs of Bliss Island, which is located in Passamaquoddy Bay, near Deer Island and mainland St. George, New Brunswick, Canada.

Someone wrote North Perry under the photograph but crossed it out.  North Perry is on the US side of Passamaquoddy Bay; perhaps the group left from there or near there.

Because of the American flag and other photographs found with this one, I believe this is a group from Eastport, Maine out for a day of sightseeing in an area of stunning views of islands, coves, beaches and whales.  

The views from boat, car and ferry are still stunning one hundred years later.

Samuel Bliss, a Loyalist from Massachusetts, was given 500 acres in the area in 1784 and operated a farm on the island.  Read more here at the lighthousefriends.com site.

Map of Bliss Island, New Brunswick:  zoom out a few clicks to see Passamaquoddy and Fundy Bays.


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