1889 Photograph of Clara Louise Winn at 4 Months; Born at Plainfield, New Hampshire, Daughter of Fred E. and Sarah C. (Moulton) Winn

Cabinet photograph of a baby identified on the reverse as "Clara Louise Winn, four months, Born Apr. 29, 1889".  No studio imprint, but a New Hampshire Birth Record notes a child with the surname Winn born on the same date at Plainfield, New Hampshire, to Frank Emery Winn and Sarah C. (Moulton) Winn.

By 1900, Clara, was living with her maternal grandparents, mother and siblings at Merrimack, New Hampshire.  Her mother, Sarah C. (Moulton) Winn, indicated to the enumerator that she was married, but Fred was not listed in the household.

Clara graduated with the Class of 1907 at Bridgton Academy at North Bridgton, Maine.  Her name is included in news of alumni in the General Catalog of Bridgton Academy 1879-1916, featured in another post.  By 1910, Clara was living with her family, including her father, at Redlands, California, and teaching.

On November 27, 1913, Clara married Frank Alden Kimball, son of Frederick Clark Kimball and Bertha Abbie (Goding) Kimball, natives of York County, Maine.  Frank was born at Fort Keogh, in Montana, on July 11, 1887.  He attended Bowdoin College at Brunswick, Maine in 1910 and 1911, and worked for a time as a ranchman at Kimball, Nebraska, and Gifford, Nebraska, according to news of former students in a Bowdoin catalog of 1916.

Frank and Clara made their home at Redlands, California, where they raised their family and operated a cannery.   Frank died in 1963 and Clara in 1976.  They're buried in the Hillside Memorial Park cemetery at Redlands, California.

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

Sources:  New Hampshire Birth Records; California Death Records; U.S. Federal Censuses; Find-a-Grave

c1900 Photograph of Young Woman IDed as Miss M. Bailey at Highlandville, Massachusetts

c1900 photograph of a young woman identified on the reverse as Miss M. Bailey of Highlandville, Massachusetts.  The photograph was taken at the Manhattan Studio at 29-1/2 Tremont Street, Boston, Massachusetts.

I'm not sure which Highlandville is meant by the identification.  There was a Highlandville in the town of Haverhill, Massachusetts, and another in the town of Needham, Massachusetts.  Additionally, the name Miss M. Bailey is not much to go on, as there are too many possibilities.

Some possibilities, and there are no doubt many more:

• Mary Bailey living at Boston, Massachusetts in 1900 with mother Mary and siblings, who had immigrated from Canada about 1890.  Mary was a dressmaker - if she is the Miss M. Bailey in the photograph, she most likely  made the dress she is wearing.
• May Bailey living at Needham, Massachusetts in 1900.  According to the U.S. Census, she was born about December 1872 in Connecticut, daughter of Whitney Bailey.
• Mary Bailey living at Boston, Massachusetts in 1900-, born about October 1869 in Massachusetts, daughter of Richard Bailey.

Perhaps a reader will recognize Miss M. Bailey from family photographs and/or research and will share information about her.

c1900 Photograph of a Baby IDed as Ruth Moran; by an Enosburg Falls, Vermont Studio

Small photograph of a baby identified on the reverse as Ruth Moran.  The photograph was taken by the F. M. Carpenter studio at Enosburg Falls, Vermont.

Ruth may have been Ruth Frances Moran, born August 16, 1896 at Fairfield, Vermont, daughter of Frank Weston Moran and Katherine (Kelley) Moran.  On April 10, 1918 at Fairfield, Vermont, Ruth married James J. [or William] Tracy, son of James William Tracy and Abigail L. (Bolton) Tracy.  James J. [or William] was born June 5, 1897 at Enosburg, Vermont.

The confusion as to James' middle name comes from conflicting records - his marriage record shows James William Tracy; his death record shows James J. Tracy.

Ruth and James raised their family of several children in Vermont.  Ruth died in 1968 and James in 1973. They're buried in the North Fairfield-Herrick Cemetery at Enosburg Falls, Vermont.

If you have corrections and/or additions to the information above, or if recognize this photograph of another Ruth Moran from your family collection, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

Sources: Vermont Vital Records; Vermont Death Records 1909-2008; U.S. Federal Census; Find-a-Grave

1901 Memorial Card: Abigail (Reed) Lowther, who died in Michigan at the age of 78

Memorial card printed in 1901 on the occasion of the death of Abigail (Reed) Lowther at the age of 78 years, 6 months and 14 days.

The card was found with a cabinet photograph of a woman who may or may not be Abigail herself.  There's no identification or studio imprint to provide a clue.  Nothing on reverse.

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

Abigail's death record indicates:

•  Abigail was born August 29, 1822 in Upper Canada, the daughter of Joshua Reed and Elizabeth (Alward) Reed.  At least one record has Abigail's father's name as Josiah.  Additionally, an index for the 1821 Buffalo, New York, marriage of Joshua and Elizabeth has Elizabeth's maiden name as Alworth.
• Abigail was a widow when she died at Leonidas, Michigan, on March 13, 1901, at the age of 78 years, 7 months and 16 days [at variance with the information on the memorial card]
• Abigail was 18 when she married and had 6 children, 5 of whom were still living at the time of her death
• Abigail died of enteritis and the complications of old age
• The informant was J. R. Lowther of Leonidas, Michigan - Abigail's son James Riley Lowther - hopefully the information he supplied was totally correct

Abigail married Lemuel E. Lowther, about 1840 if the information on her death record is correct.  She and Lemuel raised their family at Knox, Ohio, or in Knox County, Ohio; and Leonidas, Michigan.  It seems that at some point in the 1860s, Lemuel and Abigail parted ways.  Lemuel died in 1881 and is buried in the Asbury Cemetery at Dennison, Illinois.  Abigail is buried in the Abscota Cemetery at Burlington, Michigan.

If you have corrections and/or additions, or if your family photographs reveal that the woman in the cabinet photograph above is definitely Abigail (Reed) Lowther, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

1907 Snapshot of Horace & Dolph Turner, Presumably Horace K. and Rudolphus K. Turner of Newton, Massachusetts

Photograph, taken in March 1907, of two children identified as Horace & Dolph Turner - or Horace and Dolph of Turner.  

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

They were presumably Horace Kibbe Turner, Jr., born September 15, 1905 at Newton, Massachusetts, and Rudolphus Kibbe Turner, born April 10, 1902 at Newton, Massachusetts.

They were the sons of Horace Kibbe Turner and Lilla (Lattimer) Turner, who were born in Illinois and Ohio, respectively.  Horace, Sr., graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1895 and produced art subjects for school and colleges.  According to Horace, Jr's, birth record, the family lived in the Newtonville section of Newton.

If you have corrections and/or additions to the information above, or if you recognize the boys from your family photographs and feel they are the boys in the photograph or different boys, please leave a comment or contact me directly.  Please be careful about adding information about people who may be living.

Sources: Massachusetts Birth Records 1840-1915

1904 Photograph of the Methodist Church at West Leyden, Massachusetts

Photograph of the Methodist Church at West Leyden, Massachusetts; taken on August 5, 1904

The photograph measures approximately 4-3/4" b7 3-1/2".  The whole piece is approximately 6" by 5".

Whether this structure is still standing today, I don't know.   The Leyden United Methodist Church of today, located on West Leyden Road in Leyden, Massachusetts, appears to be at least two and a half storeys tall.  It could be a completely different structure or an updated version of the church in the photograph.

Hopefully a reader will have information to share.

Cabinet Photograph of Zenas Downs of Swanville, Maine

Cabinet photograph of Zenas Downs of Swanville, Maine.  The photograph was taken by the W. L. Hall studio of Belfast, Maine.

See other posts that feature:

• Cabinet photographs of two of Zenas' grandchildren, Zenas Downs Hartshorn and Hattie Mae Hartshorn, children of Martha (Downs) Hartshorn and her husband Charles Andrew Hartshorn. The identifications on all three photographs appear to have been written in the same hand.
• Another photograph of Zenas' granddaughter Hattie Mae (Hartshorn) Moore, as a middle-aged woman, then married to Andrew Park Moore and living at Bangor, Maine

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

According to the record of his November 15, 1895 death, Zenas was born at Frankfort, Maine, the son of Paul Downs and Margaret (Moore) Downs, who were born at Frankfort, Maine, and Boston, Massachusetts, respectively.  Whether the information on this record is totally correct or not, I don't know.

Zenas' gravestone gives his birth year as 1822; many online trees have the birth year as 1821.  The earlier year presumably comes from his death record, which implies a birth month and year of October 1821.  In a draft registration record dated June 1863, Zenas is listed as 40 years old, a fact that would favor a birth year of 1822, since the information presumably came from Zenas himself, unlike the information on a death record.

On November 18, 1851 at Monroe, Maine, Zenas married Mary Jane Mitchell.  Mary Jane was presumably the Mary Jane Mitchell born January 31, 1828 at Monroe, Maine, daughter of Seth and Dorcas (Nealley) Mitchell.   Zenas and Mary Jane farmed at Swanville, Maine.

In addition to daughter Martha (Downs) Hartshorn mentioned above, Zenas and Mary Jane had at least two other children, son George, who died in infancy, and daughter Hattie, who also died young. Thankfully, Martha provided them with grandchildren to love.

Zenas L. Downs died in 1895 and Mary Jane (Mitchell) Downs in 1914.  They're buried with George and Hattie in the Greenlawn Cemetery at Swanville, Maine.

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

Sources:  Maine Death Records 1617-1922; Maine Marriage Records 1713-1937; U.S. Civil War Draft Registration Records 1863-1865; Find-a-Grave