1860s/70s Account Book of Edward D. Kaler and Wife Elizabeth McLellan (Shibles) Kaler of Waldoboro, Maine

Small 1860s/1870s account book that belonged to the family of Edward D. Kaler and wife Elizabeth McLellan (Shibles) Kaler, "Eliza", of Waldoboro, Maine.

The book measures a bit less than 6" by 4" and contains nine leaves.  Two of the leaves are missing portions; one leaf is detached but present; and there may be missing pages.  The inside front and back covers were both used.  See all of the pages at the end of this post.

The inside front cover indicates that the account book was the property of Eliza Mc. Keller, presumably Elizabeth McLellan (Shibles) Kaler.  The inside front cover also notes the death of Edward's older brother George Kaler (1789-1861), on September 15, 1861.  He's listed as Captain George Kaler on a Find-a-Grave page, so presumably he was a sea captain.

Eliza noted on two pages that two of her granddaughters were at the head of the class:  Eliza B. Kaler and Alcada Kaler [spelled Alcarder in the account book].  They were the daughters of Eliza and Edward's son Oscar E. Kaler and his wife Elizabeth (possibly Kaler) Kaler.   Eliza, born in 1857, married Lyndon W. Keizer; she died in1903 at age 46.  Sadly, Alcada, born in 1859, died even younger, in 1883 at age 23, a few short years after her 1879 marriage to George Achorn.



















Edward's ancestors were among the German immigrants to the Broad Bay Settlement, at what is now Waldoboro, Maine, encouraged to settle there by land grantee Samuel Waldo; he and his son made several trips to Europe to recruit settlers.

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

Edward D. Kaler was born at Waldoboro, Maine, on March 4, 1800, the son of Charles Ludwig Kaler and Mary (Genthner) Kaler.  Elizabeth McLellan (Shibles) Kaler, "Eliza", was born on April 24, 1800, possibly at Thomaston, Maine.  Edward and Eliza married in 1823 at Waldoboro, Maine.  They had at least four children:

1. Webster Kaler (1824-1920); married Rebecca Achorn
2. Jane Ann Kaler (1825-1907); married Benjamin M. Kaler
3. Edward B. Kaler (1830-1917); married Mary Umberhind
4. Oscar E. Kaler (1832-1901); married 1) Elizabeth (possibly Kaler) Kaler; 2) Amanda V. Nash

Names in the Account Book

• Densmore
• Genthner; written as Gentner in the account book
• Alcada Kaler; daughter of Oscar E. Kaler, son of Elizabeth McLellan (Shibles) Kaler and Edward D. Kaler
• Alden O. Kaler; grandson of Edward D. Kaler and Elizabeth McLellan (Shibles) Kaler; son of Benjamin M. and Jane Ann (Kaler) Kaler
• Edward D. Kaler; husband of account book owner Elizabeth McLellan (Shibles) Kaler, "Eliza"
• Eliza Mc. Kaler; Elizabeth McLellan (Shibles) Kaler; account book owner
• Eliza B. Kaler; daughter of Oscar E. Kaler, son of Elizabeth McLellan (Shibles) Kaler and Edward D. Kaler
• George Kaler; older brother of Edward D. Kaler
• Jane Ann Kaler; daughter of Edward D. Kaler and Elizabeth McLellan (Shibles) Kaler
• Oscar E. Kaler; son of Edward D. Kaler and Elizabeth McLellan (Shibles) Kaler

If you have additional information on any of these people, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

Click on an image to enlarge it.

1901 Photograph of Martha Whitney and Vivian Kennison, Presumably at Eastern Maine Normal School at Castine, Maine

January 1, 1901 photograph of Martha Whitney and Vivian Kenniston, presumably taken at Eastern State Normal School at Castine, Maine, which both attended.  The room they're in has the appearance of a dorm room.

Many thanks to a reader, who worked some magic with the images, shown below:

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

Martha Whitney was presumably Martha Norton Whitney, daughter of Calvin G. and Mary S. (Allen) Whitney of Jonesboro, Maine.  Martha married Frederick Jones Wight, a native of Medfield, Massachusetts, at Jonesboro, on December 25, 1908.  Fred, born December 16, 1872, was the son of Jonathan Gardner Wight and Jane (Morehead) Wight.

Martha and Fred lived at Medfield, Massachusetts, and, later, Millis, Massachusetts; they had, I believe, three children, two of whom were twins.  Martha and Fred are buried in the Vine Lake Cemetery at Medfield, Massachusetts.

Vivian Inez Kenniston was born September 27, 1881 at Amherst, Maine, the daughter of Seth Albert Kenniston and Marion Ethel (Williams) Kenniston.  On December 6, 1901 at Amherst, Maine, Vivian married Edwin Solon Conner, son of Fred Morton Conner and Helen M. (Peterson) Conner of Penobscot and Castine, Maine.  Edwin, a graduate of both Eastern State Normal School and Bates College, taught school in Maine and Ohio.  He and Vivian had, I believe, three children.  Fred died in Florida in April 1960 and Vivian at Castine, Maine, that same year in June.  They're buried in the Castine Cemetery.

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

Cabinet Photograph of a Man Identified as Uncle James F. Kimball; Ellsworth, Maine Studio

Cabinet photograph of a man identified on the reverse as Uncle James F. Kimball; the photograph was taken at the Osgood studio at Ellsworth, Maine.

There was a James F. Kimball born June 30, 1854 at Surry, Maine, son of James N. and Matilda (Morrison) Kimball.  On June 3, 1884 at Lawrence, Massachusetts, James F. Kimball married Mary S. Penney, daughter of Peregrine and Susan (Fox) Penney of Mariaville, Maine.  James worked as a blacksmith and farmhand and lived in various towns throughout Hancock County, Maine, including Surry, Waltham, Otis and Mariaville.

James died June 27, 1900.  On June 16, 1907 at Bangor, Maine, his widow Mary S. (Penney) Kimball married William Cross, son William and Elizabeth Cross.  Mary died at Mariaville, Maine, on January 25, 1915.

James F. Kimball and Mary S. (Penney) Kimball Cross are buried in the Penney Cemetery at Mariaville, Maine.

If you have corrections and/or additions to the information above, or if you believe that the James F. Kimball in the photograph is another person entirely, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

c 1906 Photograph, Presumably Graduation Photograph, of Ralph Leander Kendall of Orrington, Maine

A photograph, which appears to be a graduation photograph, of a young man identified on the reverse as Ralph Kendell, who was presumably Ralph Leander Kendall (1879-1963) of Orrington, Maine.  The photograph was taken by the J. F. Gerrity studio at Bangor, Maine.

The photograph was purchased with a collection of graduation photographs of students at the University of Maine at Orono, Maine, and at Lee Academy at Lee, Maine.   Ralph Leander Kendall may have attended the University of Maine; however, he graduated from Bates College at Lewiston, Maine, in 1906.

Ralph taught at Lewiston High School from 1906 to 1908.  On December 26, 1906 at Pittsfield, Maine, Ralph married Vera Merton Bryant, daughter of Edmund C. Bryant and Eva R. (Woods) Bryant of Pittsfield.  In 1908 Ralph and Vera moved to Medford, Massachusetts, where Ralph continued his career in teaching and administration.  They had a daughter Barbara, born in 1917.

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

Cabinet Photograph of Middle-Aged Emery Jones (1827-1908) of Freeport, Maine

Cabinet photograph of a middle-aged man identified on the reverse as ship figurehead carver Emery Jones of Freeport, Maine.  The photograph was taken by the Ira S. Coffin studio of Freeport, Maine.  The reverse of the photograph also has the name of Orra D. Jones; she was the wife of Emery's son Edson B. Jones.

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

Emery Jones was born September 26, 1827 at Pownal, Maine, the son of Captain Cyrus Jones and Rebecca (Tyler) Jones.  On May 1, 1851 at Providence, Rhode Island, Emery married Eunice C. Merrill, daughter of Jacob and Abigail Noyes (Dunbar) Merrill of Maine.  The couple lived at Freeport, Maine, and had, I believe, four children:

1. Charles W. Jones, born about May 1852; married Dorcas Brown Williams
2. Herbert B. Jones, born about November 1857; married Drusilla S. Brewster
3. Edson E. Jones, born about June 1862; married Orra D. Leavitt [mentioned at top]
4. Grace Ardell Jones, born May 29, 1864; married John Milton Gooding

Emery Jones died July 15, 1908; Eunice C. (Merrill) Jones died May 4, 1919; they and other family members are buried at South Freeport Cemetery at South Freeport, Maine.  Read more about the family here, in a tribute to Eunice C. (Merrill) Jones by the Daughters of the American Revolution, from a 1920 D.A.R. magazine of 1920.

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

Gem Tintype of a Woman Identified as Mary B. Jones and Mary Bunker, Presumably Maine

Gem tintype of a woman identified on the reverse as Mary B. Jones.  The reverse also contains the name Mary Bunker, which was presumably the maiden name of Mary B. Jones.

I found a Mary Bunker who was born at Eden, Maine, on June 3, 1841, daughter of Charles and Lydia (Lynam) Bunker.  Lydia and her children were living at Rockland, Maine, at the time of the 1860 Census; Charles had died in 1858.

On September 30, 1865 at Rockland, Maine, according to a recreated Maine Marriage Record, Mary Bunker of Rockland, Maine, married A. B. Jones, who was then living at Boston, Massachusetts.  Interestingly, I found a Mary B. Jones, a milliner, living in the household of hotel keeper Alexander B. Jones at Castine, Maine, at the time of the 1880 Census.  And, fittingly, there's a Maine record for the October 26, 1898 death of Mary (Bunker) Jones, the same daughter of Charles and Lydia - at Castine, Maine.

However, in the Census description, Mary was described as Alexander's step-daughter, and a Lizzie E. was described as his step-granddaughter.   Alexander was presumably Alexander Bubier Jones, son of Daniel Illsley Jones and Elizabeth (Bubier) Jones.

Is it possible that the recreated Maine marriage record got the information wrong, and it was instead Mary's mother, Lydia (Lynam) Bunker, who married Alexander Bubier Jones?  And Mary took Alexander's surname?  Or were the relationships of Mary and Lizzie enumerated incorrectly in the 1880 Census of Castine?  And was Lizzie Mary's daughter?

It's possible that Lizzie E. Jones was the future wife of Walter A. Low, son of Sheriff Augustus T. and Eliza Low of Rockland, Maine.  And it's possible that Lizzie is the person who wrote the identification.

If you have corrections and/or additional information on the Mary (Bunker) Jones described above, or an alternative theory as to the identity of Mary B. Jones, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

1880s/1890s era Cabinet Photograph of William Larrabee, his Wife and Daughter; presumably from the Sanford, Maine, area

1889s/1890s era cabinet photograph of a family identified on the reverse as William Larrabee, his wife and daughter.  Either his wife or daughter, or both, was named Anna.

The photograph was taken by the Smith Studio, which I believe was located at Sanford, Maine but might have had multiple locations.  The photographer was presumably Celia Roxie (Cook) Smith, wife of  house painter William Smith.  They indicated to the enumerator of the 1900 Census that they'd been married two years, indicating that this photograph was taken about that time.  However, I found a New Hampshire marriage record that indicates Celia and William were actually married on October 23, 1887 at Rochester, New Hampshire, so the photograph range is expanded by another ten years.

Celia Roxie (Cook) Smith was born at Barrington, New Hampshire, on December 29, 1860, daughter of Alden B. Cook and Mary E. (Wentworth) Cook.  She's buried at the Riverside Cemetery at Springvale, Maine.

If you have a theory as to the identities of this William Larrabee and family, please leave a comment or contact me directly.