Who Were the Children?

     This is a photo from my maternal grandmother's collection. She wasn't sure who these children were, but had been told that the oldest child (in the middle holding the youngest) was her Aunt Alma Waters.

     So who are the other children? I'd guess that the child identified as Alma might be about 3 years old? If so, that would place the photo at about 1909. Alma's next youngest sibling, who lived beyond infancy, was five years younger than she was and was not yet born. Thus, if Alma is correctly identified, these cannot be her siblings.

     It's highly possible that the other children were Alma's cousins. The two youngest look too close in age to be siblings anyway. Alma's father, Leverett had some nieces and nephews the right age through his sister: Claude (abt 1907), Annie May (abt 1909). Alma's mother had some nieces and nephews the right age though here brother's and sister's: Maudie (abt 1908), Foster (abt 1907), Robert (abt 1908).  If the photo is a bit older, there are even more options.

     It's impossible to tell the gender of any of the children. I have another photo, dated late 1910, in which a male child is wearing an almost identical gowns and a three year old little girl has close cropped hair.

     It's pretty much a given that I'm never going to positively identify these children, but if anyone spots any clues, feel free to comment.

What Year Was This?

     I'd appreciate anyone who could help me find a date for these photos. I'm trying to figure out if one of the girls is my grandmother or great grandmother. The low quality of the photos is due to the fact that they are actually negatives.

 

Whose Funeral Is This? Pt 2

     A little bit back, I posted some photos of a funeral. These photos belonged to my maternal grandparents, but no one knew who the deceased was. I thought that I'd take the photos apart and look for clues.

Clues

     Well, the first clue is what the type of photo these are. They were in with photos of similar size and physical compensation, such as one of my grandmother as a child, dated about 1937. They are also black and white. If I had to compare them to other photos in my collection, I'd say they are closest in composition to the postcard style of photos.


     Moving on the elements in the photos, you can partially see the deceased's face:





     So, this is a man, he has a full head of hair (side part?) and seems to be of slim or average build. It seems to me that this isn't an old man. If I had to guess, I might say he was anywhere from 30 to 50.  He was dressed in a suit, but from this angle it's hard to pick out any details about it.


     Next, I looked at the different elements in the room where the viewing is being held.

     First, looking at the walls, we can see some sort of circular wall moldings. This is not the sort of thing that you would find in a home, but looks like just about every funeral home that I've ever been to.


     Also in the room are a number of lamps. The tall floor lamp on the left is much like a lamp that we have in our home that had belonged to my Dad's Aunt Ollie. We had it refurbished and the repair guy said that it dated from the late 30s to 40s. So, I'd guess that this funeral took place no earlier than the 1930s, but could have been as late as the 1950s. Who knows when this funeral home might have updated their decor?


     Next, there seem to be a large number of flowers. It seems that this would be a large number of flowers today, and might have been considered an even larger number of flowers in the past. There are also a large number of wreaths, with can be rather expensive.


     I wonder if the coffin might give clues as well? I bet it would, but I'm at a loss as to uncover the information.


     Next, the final photo:






     This photo, taken at the cemetery, offers a number of clues as well. In looking at the trees lining the cemetery, it looks like there are leaves on the tree, so we can probably say that it's mid/late spring, summer, or early fall.


     Next, there is a recently dug grave next to the person being buried in the photo. Grass is growing on the grave, but the shape of the grave is still distinct from the other ground around it.  I'd guess that this grave could be between one month to one year old.  Could this be a spouse?


     You can also see a headstone behind the grave of the person being buried. It's possible that this might be a family marker, or a grave for another individual buried in the next plot. But if it were for a non-family member, why would the flower arrangements seem to frame the stone? I'm leaning toward this stone being a marker for the family plot.


     Finally, we have a strange, double canopy going on. I'm not sure what the lower canopy is - I've never seen this before.
    

Conclusion

     Well, even after evaluating these photos, I'm still not able to identify who the deceased is.  Looking through my database, I just can't find anyone who fits these clues. But, as my research continues, I can keep these photos in mind. Maybe one day I'll be able to say whose funeral this is.

Whose Funeral Is This?

     My Grandmama had a large number of photos from her mother, Ruby Waters Huyler. She was also given a large number of photos and keepsakes from her aunts, who had no children themselves.  Most of those photos are of the Waters family, who lived in Atlanta, Georgia and Greenville, South Carolina. There are a lot of photos of unknown folks that I honestly don't know if I'll be able to ever identify most of them.

     Amongst the photos are three that I'm very interested in identifying: photos of a funeral. 

     As you can see, two of the photos were taken at a inside location, a funeral home or church perhaps, and the third was taken at the cemetery. There are a lot of clues in these photos that might help to identify the time period and location: a profile of the deceased, the large number and type of flower arrangements, the other burial in the cemetery, etc. I'm going to take a day to analyze the photos and then post about what I find. If you see anything in these photos that might be helpful, point it out!  

Who was Ernie Lee Moore?

The back of this photo is addressed to Ruby Waters (my maternal great-grandmother). It is from Ernie Lee Moore, sent from a CCC Camp in TN. So, who was Ernie Lee Moore?

Albea Cousins

I've posted this first photo before, but the second is new to me.  The first is of the "Albea first counsins," the grandchildren of William and Nina (Sprouse) Albea.  The second photo is of their spouses.  The photos were taken at the same time.

I'm not sure who everyone is, but my Grandaddy, Roy Albea Sr., is kneeling in the first photo and my Grandmama is wearing red in the second photo.  The second photo is labeled on the back:

"left to right: Betty, Joe's wife, Alton's wife, Big Doris, Bill, Lib, Melvin, Betty ann's husband, Buddy.  front row: Betty Jean's husband, Doyle"

I should be able to identify a few folks from my family tree file, but I'm not sure about everyone.

These photos were taken at a family reunion and I have a video that actually shows these photos being taken.  I'm going to try and go through the video and find out some more names.  

the 6th of the 6th

As inspired by the GeneaMusing's blog post, here is the 6th photo in the 6th folder in my photo folder.

This photo is from my Great Grandmother, Ruby Waters Huyler's photo album.  The only person who's identity is known is my grandmother, Betty Huyler Albea. She's the girl on the right.  

The man is in a few other photos, but I don't know who he is.  My guess is that he is one of Ruby's Smith cousins.  Ruby's mother, Louise Smith Waters came from a large family and Ruby and Betty stayed with them in Greenville, SC sometimes.

Desperately Seeking Identification

Who are you?  I really want to know! This photo is in my great-grandmother Ruby Waters' photo album.  Families in this album include Waters, Smith, Bouchillon, Huyler. In general, the photos are from Georgia and South Carolina.

I'd date this photo late 1920s (?).  The back says:

"Willie

Clifford

Lorene

Christine"

I've searched the 1930 census but can't seem to find a family that fits.  If anyone has any information, I'd love to hear from you!

Tombstone Tuesday

This little infant's identity is unknown to me. He/she is buried in the Albea family plot in Edgewood Cemetery, located in Greenwood, Greenwood, SC.

Buried in the same plot are Charles Vernon Albea (1903 - 1947) and his parents, William A. Albea (1872-1936) and Nina Sprouse Albea (1878-1962).

I've thought that the infant probably died after William (1936). Would the family have bought an entire plot for an infant's death? It seemed more likely that a baby in the family died and was buried in an extra plot. There are two empty plots remaining, so perhaps the child's parents thought be be buried her too.

William and Nina's sons were Johnny, Melvin, Charles, Henry and Coleman. Charles's infant is buried a city over, in Callison, so I doubt that his is his child.

Where do I go from here? I haven't been able to find an office for this cemetery, but there is a church nearby. I could try contacting them to see if they know anything.

I've searched the new SC Death Certificates on ancestry.com, but haven't been able to find an infant death that belongs to anyone in my Albea line.

We have a pack of negatives from my maternal grandparents side. Today I scanned them and reversed the images. They came out really well. The only thing: I don't know who these people are!

The package is marked Globe Photo Service, Greenville, SC. The customer's name looks like Paul Hand. It's written in pencil, and the photos are probably from the 40's, so it's hard to tell for sure. Here are some of the photos, let me know if you recognize them!