Rescue Photo Album Carillon Quebec page 9

This page in the rescued Flynn family album is labelled "Carillon 1930" and contains three photos

Rescue Photo Album 1930s Carillon Quebec page 17

The last page of the Flynn family photo album contains school photos of a young boy. The page is labelled "St Dominic School, March 1837" One photo has 1937 on the frame and it is labelled "age 8" The photo under it has 1938 on the frame and is labelled "age 9"

Rescue Photo Album 1930s Carillon Quebec page 16

The photos of this tombstone on page 16 of the Flynn family photo album finally gave me the clue I need to find the family buried here. Using a photo editing program I darkened the shadows to read the tombstone inscription a bit more easily.

 

In memory of Mary Martha Bradley

beloved wife of

Daniel Flynn


died [?] June? 1891?


[illegible]

Mary died April [illegible] 18? days

Augustus Edward died 1891?

Joseph Bradley

[illegible]





A search of Ancestry.com 's Drouin Records found the marriage of Mary Martha Bradley and Daniel Flynn in Montreal on 18 May 1886. Daniel was recorded as the widower of Mary Ann McCreary. Mary Martha was listed as the daughter of John Bradley. The witnesses were John Bradley and Michael Flynn.

Further research showed that Daniel Flynn married for a third time to Catherine Myles and had a son Fred shown as age 5 in the 1901 census for Montreal. I believe this young boy Fred is the Fred shown on 51 Robert St on page 11 of the photo album. Fred Flynn married a Theresa and we see Fred and Theresa on that page with a young 5 year old boy named Joe.

Looking for the family of Mary Martha Bradley showed that her parents were John and Ann (1881 census Hochelaga Quebec) and she had a brother Joseph born 2 years before Mary. This is possibly the Joseph Bradley on the tombstone photo above.

If we go back to page 2 of the Flynn family photo album to the tombstone picture, here is what I found for that family stone:

William Flynn was married to Brigid/Brigitte and they were the parents of Agnes Brigitte Flynn whose name is also found on the tombstone. William was the brother of Daniel Flynn married to Mary Martha Bradley.

Interested descendants can contact me if anyone is interested in the photo album.

Rescue Photo Album 1930s Carillon Quebec page 15

On this page of the Flynn family photo album we see a wonderful photo of students in a classroom at Saint Dominic's School in April 1936

 

 

Rescue Photo Album 1930s Carillon Quebec page 14

Page 14 of the Flynn family photo album contains three badly faded photos.

Rescue Photo Album 1930s Carillon Quebec page 13

This page of the Flynn photo album has photos that look like they were taken at 51 Robert St but there is no labelling visible.

Rescue Photo Album 1930s Carillon Quebec page 12

The 12th page of the Flynn family photo album has no writing.

Rescue Photo Album 1930s Carillon Quebec page 11

The 11th page of the Flynn family album has some names. The left photo is labelled "Theresa - Fred - Joe" and underneath an address "51 Robert St." The second photo is labelled "Joe age 2 on Robert St."

Please see page 16 of this album when it is available for more information on this family

Civil War Photo Album Fowler Merchant Families

This is one of my favourite CDVs (Cartes de Visite) from the Fowler Merchant Civil War era photo album in my personal collection. It was taken during the Civil War - if you look carefully you can see this young lady's snood - a netting worn over the hair at the back of the head. Her hair is carefully slicked down and parted in the center - another sign of 1860s women's hairstyles.

Her bolero jacket was also popular during this time. Also note the dropped shoulders, full sleeves narrowing at the wrist, and the full skirt, but loosely draped, not over a hoop.

The plain background and patterned floor are further clues to help date this photograph. You can see the full Fowler-Merchant Family Photo Album online at Lost Faces.

Surnames: Fowler, Merchant, Keach, Houghton, Lovejoy, Hewitt, Maloney, Tanner, Whitcomb, Sladden, Frazier, Comstock, Gray, Moseley, Center, Lee, Alexander, Fisher, Williams, Cottrell, Burgess

Locations: Cambridge New York, Connecticut, Washington DC

Rescue Photo Album Carillon Quebec page 10

This page is labelled "Carillon 1931" The photo on the left is labelled "Mrs. A. Pope" but it is not clear if this relates to all three photos or not.

Rescue Photo Album 1930s Carillon Quebec page 8

The Flynn family photo album has another page labelled "Carillon 1930".

Rescue Photo Album 1930s Carillon Quebec page 6

This is the next page of the Flynn family photo album. The page is dated 1930 and above the photo on the left is "age 4"

Rescued Photo Album 1930s Carillon Quebec page 4

This is the next page of the Flynn family photo album. It is labelled "Carillon 1930" It appears that one photo is missing.

Rescued Photo Album 1930s Carillon Quebec page 3

This is page 3 of the rescued Flynn family photo album

 

This page has photos of two young boys, both labelled "age 5".  This page is dated "August 1931" and the location is "Carillon"

Rescued Photo Album 1930s Carillon Quebec page 2

This is page 2 of the rescued Flynn family photo album.

 

The page is dated 1924 but there is no other identifying information. 

 

Orphan Album: Swiss Photo Album with Chimney Sweeps

Recently Alice H. wrote to me about an antique photo album  she purchased many years ago.

I have a very old photo album that I purchased at an antique store many years ago & have been looking for a place to send it. if you would like to have them just send me an address & they will be yours.. I hate to see them waste away.

 Alice went on to add that she bought the album many years ago in Glendale Arizona but that no one in the store knew anything about where they came from originally. The photos are from Switzerland with a few from Germany and none of the individuals are identified by name.

I plan to scan and publish the photos on Lost Faces in hopes someone might recognize an ancestor. All the photos are CDVs (Cartes de Visite) and appear to be from 1860s-1880s.

CDV Chimney Sweeps

Here is one that really interested me. It appears to be a photo of three Chimney Sweeps. Note their ladder and brooms and traditional Chimney Sweep top hats. All of them are wearing small shovels used to rake out ashes. I do not know if these shovels on their lapels are an insignia or actual working tools.

Chimney Sweeps Verso
J. ZURKIRCH RHEINECK und ALTSTAEDTEN
1885

Who Are You Kathleen Nellthropp?

While going through my mother's cousin Doris Simpson's photo albums, I came across this set of photos. They are of a woman called Kathleen Nellthropp and were taken in Kent England. I do not know how, or even if, Kathleen is related to our Simpson family.

The photos appear to have been taken in the late 1920s and  1930s.  One is dated 1928 and a second one 1938. A search of Ancestry.com shows only one Kathleen Nellthropp that seems to fit, and that is Kathleen Alice Nellthropp who was born ca 1908. 

In 1911 she is found in Lewisham with parents William and Alice Nellthropp. In 1954 she married Cecil Laver but that is where my search ended. She appears in dozens of Electoral Registers before marrying Cecil but is a mystery beyond that. 

I found it interesting that Kathleen lived with her parents, but after her mother's death in 1953 (her father having died some years previously), this 46 year old spinster married less than one year later. Was Kathleen the dutiful daughter who cared for her parents in their declining years? 

Kathleen & her mother who I think was Alice Peacock

Lost Faces Photo Album - Is one your ancestor?

This is another album in my collection of Civil War era photo albums. It appears to be mostly of the Chidester family and most of the photos are mid to late 1860s

Below is the list of names which were written on the album pages in period handwriting.

Most of the photos are CDVs (Cartes de Visite) but there are several early tintypes.

As I scan these photos front and back I will be putting them online on Lost Faces on my Olive Tree Genealogy website. They will join 63 other antique photo albums I have there.

1. blank
2. Uncle McKay and Aunt Lib
3. Grandma Chedister
4. Uncle Leander Chedister
5. Sadoc? Chidester
6. Aunt Jennie Pittenger
7. Uncle Frank Chidester
8. Uncle Grant Chidester
9. Uncle Earna Chidester
10. Lat? McKay
11. Unlce Vint and Aunt Huldah Deyo
12. blank
13. Uncle Elliot Chidester
14. Vinnie Larua Chidester Uncle Floyd
15. blank
16. Uncle Smith Thorp
17. Aunt Mandy Tharp
18. Fanny and Harvey Tharp
19. Uncle Grant
20. Aunt Almira Law
21. x Daughter Clara
22. Uncle Adam Law
23. blank
24. blank
25. Violet and Chas Strong
26. blank
27. Illinois Soldiers Indiana 1861
28. Cousin Leander Chidester
29. Lille Wiley McFadden
30. Hettie Pittenger (right) Daisy and Aunt Deyo
31. Daisy Perrin
32. Grandma Deyo
33. Frank Deyo
34. Alvira and Deyo
35. blank
36. Sadie McKay Duncan
37. May McKay Perry
38. Cousin Lurns grandchildren
39. blank
40. Uncle and Aunt Bissh who Pa staid [sic] with after he was 12 

Another Set of Orphan Identified Photos from Cousin Doris

 I love this photo. It was taken in 1925, probably in England. The boys are brothers and their names are on the back as this is actually a postcard. It was sent to my Auntie Cordie (Mary Cordelia Simpson nee Cook) who lived in Toronto.

They were part of a treasure trove of photos, documents and photo albums that came into my possession when my mother's cousin Doris (daughter of Auntie Cordie) died in 1998.

I knew the brothers were almost certainly part of Auntie Cordie's family but until last night I did not know how they fit, or what their surnames were.

The text on the back reads:

"Auntie Cordie
Horace 4 yrs 4 mos Leslie 1 yr 7 mos"

You're probably wondering how I know the photo was taken in 1925 (the scribbled "Sept 1925" on the bottom right is my handwriting, it was not part of the original photo)

I have an earlier photo of Horace labelled "Horace Leonard 1 year, [2?] May 1922" So I had a birth year for Horace of 1921. In case you are thinking that "Leonard" might be his surname, it isn't.

 Last night I decided to enter Auntie Cordie's COOK family tree on Ancestry.com.  I spent several hours linking records suggested by Ancestry.com shaky leaf (after reviewing them of course to be sure they were the correct family)

Horace Leonard Cook 1 year old, May 1922

I'm glad I did because it helped organize the family for me and allowed me to attach some of the many photos in my possession. My hope is that a descendant will find the Cook Family Tree (which I made public) and thus have access to these wonderful photos.

As I discovered more facts about Auntie Cordie's family, I decided to search Free BMD indexes for a Horace Leonard born in 1921 and a Leslie born 1923-1924. I used the surnames I knew were in Auntie Cordie's family (Cook, Towner, Malpas etc) and there they were - Horace and Leslie Cook born to a mother whose surname was Towner.

I knew that Clara Towner married Horace Stephen Cook in 1920 and Horace Stephen was Auntie Cordie's half-brother. Bingo! At last I can give these engaging brothers a family. I'm crossing my fingers that a descendant or other family member stumbles on my blog or my Ancestry Family Tree as I really would like these photos to go to someone who is connected to the boys. And I have more of Horace and his parents.

And to top it all off I also have a photo of Horace and Leslie as young men in WW2, with their grandmother. The photo is labelled on the reverse "Horace 19, Gran 78 & Leslie 16 1/2. Soldiers 2 May" Since I know Horace was born in 1921 it must be 1940.

The date of birth of "Gran" would be ca 1862 and Rose Dugwell, the second wife of their paternal grandfather Henry Stephen Cook is the best candidate. Their maternal Grandmother was Emily Curtis born ca 1855. 

Auntie Cordie's mother was Priscilla Edith Curtis (1856-1889) and she was the sister of the maternal grandmother Emily Curtis. 

The families lived for the most part in or near Ramsgate, Kent England.

Orphaned Kirby Photo Album Goes Home to a Descendant in England

I am very pleased to share with my readers that the orphaned Kirby photo album I found and rescued from an antique store has arrived safe and sound in England.

Gordon Wake, the descendant who I contacted after finding his Family Tree on Ancestry.com, was thrilled to receive the photos. Postal mail from Canada to England didn't take that long and Gordon and his wife wasted no time once the package arrived.

Gordon tells me he is overjoyed to finally see a photo of his grandfather! And I am equally pleased that these photos have now found a new home to be treasured and shared with other descendants.

Even as I write this blog post, Gordon is happily scanning the photos to share with two descendants here in Canada.

I also included in the package several pages of the hand-written notes I made while my husband and I studied and analyzed clues in each photo.

Gordon requested I send those as they might help him to identify more of the individuals who appear in the photos.

This was such a happy ending story for me and I was privileged to be part of it! I'm so glad I didn't pass that album by which I admit I almost did as it was rather expensive. But I kept returning to it in the store and I knew I had to have it.

Credits: Images courtesy of Gordon Wake