Photograph of an Older Man Identified as John Skillin of Bangor, Maine or the area

Small photograph of an elderly man identified as John Skillin, with further identification on the reverse showing that John was from Bangor, Maine, or the area, or that the photography studio was located at Bangor.

The photograph itself measures about 1-1/4" by 1-1/8".  The matted piece measures approximately 5-1/4" by 3-1/2".

He was presumably John W. Skillin; another photograph features a photograph of his son Harry Alfred Skillin.

John W. Skillin was born August 18, 1842 at Gorham, Maine, son of Leonard and Susan Skillin.   On October 12, 1872 at Kenduskeag, Maine, John married Sophronia Jane Brown, "Jennie", daughter of Albert Brown and Rachel (Morey) Brown.  Jennie was born at Levant, Maine, about June 1848.

John and Jennie had at least four children.  One was the aforementioned Harry Alfred Brown, who was born June 5, 1889 at Kenduskeag, Maine.   Another was Susan Rachel (Skillin) Kendall, who became the fourth wife of Ora Crosby Knapp and stepmother to his daughter Leda Burrill Knapp.

John died June 23, 1920 and is buried with Jennie, who died in 1922, at Mount Hope Cemetery at Bangor, Maine.

If you have corrections and/or additions to the information above, or you feel that the John Skillin in the photograph is not the John W. Skillin described above, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

Cabinet Photograph of Abbie Wilson; Sanford, Maine studio; possibly Abbie Jane (Hobbs) Wilson

Cabinet photograph of a woman identified on the reverse as Abbie Wilson.  The photograph was taken by the studio of C. R. Smith of Sanford, Maine.  She may have been Abbie Jane (Hobbs) Wilson, wife of Frank Wilson.

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

If the woman in the photograph is Abbie Jane (Hobbs) Wilson, she was born June 1, 1859 at Waterboro, Maine, the daughter of Benjamin Franklin Hobbs and Ruth (Tibbetts) Hobbs.

I found Abbie's birth date and death date in The Hamiltons of Waterborough (York County, Maine): Their Ancestors and Descendents, 912-1912, by Samuel King Hamilton and published in 1912.  Hopefully the information is correct.

On November 17, 1880 at Somersworth, New Hampshire, Abbie married Frank Wilson, son of Dr. Timothy and Mary B. (Kimball) Wilson.  Frank was born at Orleans, Massachusetts, on September 1, 1849.  Dr. Timothy Wilson was born in 1811 at Shapleigh, Maine; he practiced medicine first at Ossipee, New Hampshire, and then at Orleans, Massachusetts.

Abbie and Frank lived at Sanford, Maine, where Frank worked as an attorney.  The History of Sanford, Maine 1661-1900 by Edwin Emery, published in 1901, contains a short biography of Frank Wilson.

Sadly, Abbie and one of their daughters, Ida Bell Wilson, died in 1891, Abbie on September 13.  Frank married Alice L. Pike on November 16, 1892 at Sanford.  Frank and Abbie's other daughter, Gillie May (Wilson) Hubbard, also died before her father, in 1922.  Frank himself died in 1929.

Frank, his two wives and other family members are buried in the Oakdale Cemetery at Sanford, Maine.  If you have corrections and/or additions to the information above, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

Cabinet Photograph of E. E. Hussey; by a Sanford, Maine, Studio; possibly Edward E. Hussey

Cabinet photograph of a man identified on the reverse as E. E. Hussey.  The photograph was taken by the Philpot studio of Sanford, Maine.  The man may have been Edward Elmer Hussey.

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

E. E. Hussey may have been Edward Elmer Hussey, born March 27, 1861 at Charlestown, Massachusetts, the son of Burleigh S. Hussey and Lavinia T. (Miller) Hussey.  Burleigh was born at Kennebunkport, Maine, not far from Sanford, Maine, according to Edward's birth record.

On March 15, 1882 at Sanford, Maine, Edward married Abbie Julia Bodwell, daughter of William Henry Bodwell and Eliza (Bennett) Bodwell.  Abbie was born March 18, 1862 at Sanford, Maine.  Edward and Abbie lived at Sanford, Maine, where Edward managed Sanford Mills, a textile firm and was involved in other business and civic matters.

Interestingly, the Maine Memory Network has a photograph of the Hussey home, which was purchased through a mail-order catalog in the 1890s.  That photograph was also taken by the studio of Fred Philpot.
The caption of another photograph at Maine Memory Network, a photograph of the home's interior, indicates that Edward Elmer Hussey was one of Sanford's highest paid people during his lifetime.

See a short biography of Edward Elmer Hussey here, from Maine Biographies, by Harrie B. Coe, published in 1928.

I didn't find a record for any children for Edward and Abbie.  Abbie died in 1919, and Edward in 1939.  If you have corrections and/or additions to the information above, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

1907 Photograph of Ethel Bedford, Class of 1907 of Madison High School at Madison, Maine

Photograph, presumably a graduation photograph, of Ethel Bedford of the Class of 1907 of Madison High School at Madison, Maine.  The photograph was taken by the Corson studio of Madison, Maine.

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

Ethel Winifred Bedford was born November 14, 1888 at Dracut, Massachusetts, the daughter of Thomas Bedford and Ella F. (Bentley) Bedford, who were born in Rhode Island and Connecticut, respectively.

By 1900 the family was living at Madison, Maine, where Thomas worked in the woolen industry.  In 1910, Ethel was still at Madison, Maine, working as a school teacher.  By 1920, Thomas's occupation had taken the family to Connecticut.

The Censuses of 1920-1940 show Ethel living with her parents and not working.  Whether she was ill or a caretaker for a family member or had no need to find work, I don't know.  I don't believe Ethel ever married.  She died in 1951 and is buried in the West Cemetery at Plainville, Connecticut, with her parents and other family members.

If you have corrections and/or additions to the information above, please leave a comment for the benefit of other researchers.

CDV of Agnes Baker (1861-1890) of Waterford, Maine

Update of February 2, 1016:  Regarding Agnes' death at Idaho Springs, Colorado, an historian has informed me that Idaho Springs was known for its healing waters.  Many well-to-do families sent their ailing members there as a last resort, and this may have been why Agnes happened to have died there.

Carte de Visite of a woman identified on the reverse, in contemporary handwriting, as Agnes Baker of Baker Hill, Waterford, Maine.  The CDV was created by the studio of J. U. P. Burnham of Norway, Maine.

The identification:  Agnes Baker, b. 2/19/1861 - D. Unm. in Idaho Springs, Colo. 5/12/1890.  Baker Hill, Waterford.

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

Agnes Maria Baker was born at Waterford, Maine, on February 19, 1861, the daughter of John Newton Baker and Jane M. (Plummer) Baker.  Agnes was living with her parents at Waterford at the time of the 1880 Census, when she was described as 19 years old with no occupation listed.

[See note of February 2, 2016 above]  I'd be very interested to know how she subsequently happened to find herself in Colorado, where she died at Idaho Springs, on May 12, 1890.  I found some settlers by the name of Baker who established a ranch at Idaho Springs, but they came from Ohio.  Perhaps, though, their ancestors had come from Maine.

Cabinet Photograph of Nellie Mae Balano at Age 11-1/2; by a Rockland, Maine studio

Cabinet photograph of Nellie Mae Balano at the age of 11-1/2 years.  The photograph was taken by the Crockett studio of Rockland, Maine.

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

Nellie Mae Balano was born July 17, 1884 at St. George, Maine, the daughter of Isaiah Balano, also seen as Isiah Balano, and Margaret (Wall) Balano.  On April 20, 1909 at Augusta, Maine, Nellie married Hugh Augustus Merrill, son of Joseph Greenwood Merrill and Martha Maria (Stiles) Merrill.  Hugh Augustus was born at Yarmouth, Maine, on March 10, 1876.

Hugh Augustus Merrill attended Bowdoin College and became a newspaper reporter and editor on various Maine periodicals, including the Portland Daily Argus at Portland, the New Age at Augusta and the Rockland Messenger at Rockland.  He was also interested in history and genealogy and wrote on those subjects, including the "Hero of Westcustogo", [now known as North Yarmouth, Maine], included in the Maine Historical and Genealogical Recorder, Volume 9, dated 1898.

The couple lived in various Maine cities as Hugh Augustus pursued his newspaper career; I didn't find a record of any children for them.  By 1958, Nellie was living at Portland, Maine, where she's noted as a widow in the City Directory of that year.

If you have corrections and/or additions to the information above, or if you believe Nellie M. Balano to be a different person, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

2 Photographs of Harold S. Babcock; by Bangor, Maine studio; Presumably Dr. Harold Snow Babcock of Hampden & Castine, Maine

Two photographs of a young man identified on the reverse as Harold S. Babcock.  The photograph was taken by the J. F. Garrity studio of Bangor, Maine.  The young man was presumably Harold Snow Babcock of Hampden, Maine.

The matted pieces are both about 9" by 6", with the oval photographs measuring about 5" by 3-1/2".

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

Assuming the young man was Harold Snow Babcock, he was born October 31, 1888 at Hampden, Maine, son of John William Babcock and Abbie Knowles (Tribou) Babcock.  Harold attended Hampden Academy and then worked as an orderly at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he met his future wife, nurse Matilda Harris, "Mattie", whom he married on September 26, 1912 at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. 

Matilda, or possibly Martha, was born in Nova Scotia on February 24, 1886, the daughter of Joseph Harris and Mary (Borden or Worden) Harris They were possibly Joseph Wilson Harris and Mary E. (Borden) Harris of Wolfville, Nova Scotia.  If a reader can clear up the mystery of Mattie's full name and place of birth, I'd be very grateful.

Harold and Mattie moved to Philadelphia, where Harold attended Jefferson Medical College, from which he graduated in 1916.  He must have been quite a character, as you can see from this description of him in alumni news.

Upon graduation, the couple returned to Maine, where by the time Harold completed his World War I draft registration card, he was working at Eastern Maine General Hospital at Bangor, Maine.  He spent the remainder of his life serving the people of the Castine area of Hancock County.  See the Babcock house here.  The couple had, I believe, just one child.

Harold died in 1973 and Mattie in 1983; they're buried at Castine, Maine.