contents
Features
Columns
The Future of Memories
pg. 9
The First “Class” Photograph
pg. 5
To The Nines
pg. 14
Family At School
pg. 34
Penelope Dreadful
pg. 18
The Friends Album Goes Home
pg. 36
The Healing Brush
pg. 24
The Golden Rule Album
pg. 52
Shades Centerfold
pg. 48
Prom & Corsage
pg. 80
In2Genealogy
pg. 92
Behind The Camera
pg. 86
Painting A Life History
A Little Class
Dreadful Secrets
Graduation Day
Miss Golden Rule Days
How Will You Know
iAncestor
iLibrary
On The Cover A graduate of the Indiana Common Schools
pg. 110
fM
Sheri Fenley
Missy Corley
Questions & Answers Their Beginnings
George Kendall Warren
School Photo Souvenirs
pg. 114
Teacher & Student
In Every Issue From My Keyboard
pg. 4
Letter from the editor
The Last Picture Show
The graphic image on the back of a carte-de-visite or cabinet card
Download The Magazine
All photographs that not credited are in the collection of footnoteMaven.
Back Cover
contributors PENELOPE DREADFUL
JANINE SMITH
Penelope Dreadful is the alter ego of Denise Levenick. Denise authors the blog, The Family Curator and gives us something “Dreadful” every month.
Janine is the new author of The Healing Brush Column. She also owns Landailyn Research & Restoration and is an award winning restorationist.
DENISE OLSON
SHERI FENLEY
CAROLINE POINTER
Denise is the author of The Future of Memories Column. She also writes the blog Family Matters and experiments with her iPad
Sheri writes The Year Was . . . Column. She also authors the blog The Educated Genealogist.
Caroline is the In2Genealogy Columnist. She is also the author of the Family Stories blog.
MAUREEN TAYLOR
CRAIG MANSON
FOOTNOTEMAVEN
Maureen is author of the “To The Nines” column. Well-known as the Photo Detective she has authored many books on family history and photography.
Craig authors the Appealing Subjects column. He also writes the blog Geneablogie.
Maven edits Shades Of The Departed The Magazine. She also writes the blog footnoteMaven and Shades of the Departed.
From the Editor School Days, School Days, Dear Old Golden Rule Days, taught to the tune of an old photograph. It’s been dinosaur years, but Shades is back! Thank you for your support, letters of encouragement and ideas for a better old photograph centric magazine. It’s so good to be back. In this issue Shades presents some very unique articles surrounding photographs with a school days theme. We also introduce a new feature, a “Face Study” authored this issue by Missy Corley. All your favorites have returned; Penny Dreadful as always, Maureen Taylor taking us “To The Nines” in school, Caroline Pointer the Link Queen Minding it all “In2Genealogy,” Janine Smith working her “Healing Brush” on a young graduate, Sheri Fenley and her Four Generations of family school photographs, while Denise Olsen channels her inner “iAncestor.” Shades explores the First “Class” Photograph and Yearbook. We go back in time to the Prom and give our date a Corsage. Explore school photographic mementos and an album of class and graduation photographs. And don’t miss “The Last Picture Show.” There’s so much to see. Please Enjoy!
"School Days" ("When We Were a Couple of Kids") Cover, sheet music, 1907
Courtesy of Library of Congress
Samuel F.B. Morse (1791-1882), the distinguished looking gentleman to the left, is best known as an artist and inventor of the telegraph. But were you also aware he is known as the father of “American Photography?”
Samuel Finley Breese Morse was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts in 1791 the son of a Calvinist minister. He entered Yale College at the age of fourteen where he fostered his interest in the arts, becoming a renowned portrait painter, while still following the sciences approved by his father. It is said that his work on the telegraph was
The First “Class”
fueled by the death of his wife in 1825. On a trip to Washington he received a letter from his
PHOTOGRAPH
Quarter Plate Daguerreotype of a Woman Telegrapher
And its story! father informing him his wife, Lucretia Pickering Walker, was gravely ill and asked him to return home. The letter was sent in the normal manner of the day, by horse messenger. Upon receipt Morse left his wife having died and been buried before he arrived.
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Cowan Au ctions
immediately for New Haven, but was too late,
Daguerreotype of Louis Daguerre in 1844 by Jean-Baptiste Sabatier-Blot WikiMedia
In the Spring of 1839, while in Paris to obtain patents and funding for his telegraph, Morse heard of Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre's work in the new art of painting with sunbeams. Having attempted and failed to do the same himself, Morse was anxious to meet with Daguerre. He enlisted the aid of Robert Walsh of the American Consul to extend an invitation to Daguerre to view a demonstration of his telegraph with the hope of a reciprocal invitation to Daguerre's Diorama. Morse was successful. Morse visited Daguerre's Diorama and laboratory and declared the Daguerretype to be "Rembrandt perfected."
Daguerre
During this visit Daguerre agreed to send Morse plans for the Camera Obscura. In the New-‐York Observer of 20 April 1839, Morse wrote of the events of Daguerre's visit:
Le Dyorama, an engraving by Marlet of Daguerre’s Diorama, 1824. www.dwellstudio.com
"M. Daguerre appointed yesterday at noon to see my telegraph. He came, and passed more than an hour with me, expressing himself highly gratified at its operation. But while he was thus employed, the great building of the Diorama, with his own house, all his beautiful works, his valuable notes and papers, the labor of years of experiment, were, unknown to him, at that moment becoming the prey of the flames. His secret indeed is still safe with him, but the steps of his progress in the discovery, and his valuable researches in science are lost to the scientific world."
Engraving of Daguerre’s Diorama. A Diorama was a display of large paintings and photographs on thin canvas with the light shining from behind. Daguerre was an artist who produced theatrical backgrounds.
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Morse received the process details in the United States directly from Daguerre. In an article in the 1872 Philadelphia reporter Morse wrote "In my interview with him [Daguerre], however, I requested him, as soon as his pension bill was passed, and the publication of his process was made, to send me a copy of his work, which he courteously promised to do, and accordingly in the summer of 1839 I received from him probably the Mirst copy that came to America. From this copy, in which, of course, were the drawings of the necessary apparatus, I had constructed the Mirst daguerreotype apparatus made in the United States." Morse’s camera can be seen in the Library of Congress’ photograph to the left. Morse established a Daguerrian Studio in New York and began teaching the process to students, including Matthew Brady, who became famous in their own right. Now what about the Mirst class photograph you ask? Samuel Morse is believed to have made the Mirst class photograph, that of his 1810 Yale Graduating Class. It was not, however, taken at the time of graduation but rather at the occasion of his thirtieth class reunion in 1840. The photograph is not what you would expect. Photographing groups in a daguerreotype in 1840 was not feasible. Instead this class Mirst was a group of thirty-‐Mive daguerrotype images, each one only one-‐half-‐inch square made to Mit a 3 1/4 by 4 1/4 inch frame. Absolutely amazing.
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This is a copy of the class photograph taken from Photography in America: The Formative Years 1839-1900, A Documentary History, (1978) by William Welling. An excellent reference. Welling lists the source of the photograph as in the private unpublished collection of Mrs. Joseph Carson of Philadelphia. In 1996, the Library of Congress acquired the Marian S. Carson Collection numbering more than 10,000 American manuscripts, broadsides, pamphlets, photographs, prints and drawings, dating from before the Revolution to the end of the 19th century. A search of the Library of Congress did not uncover the photograph. However, I felt this a photograph that had to be seen to understand the beginnings of class group photography.
This work of camera art led to immortalizing class group photographs from that time forward. The 1854 graduating class of the Wesleyan Female Institute, Murfreesboro, North University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Carolina Digital Lib. & Archives.
Caroline is one early example.
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THE FUTURE OF MEMORIES
painting a life history DOCUMENTING A CAREER AT SEA BY DENISE BARRETT OLSON
Most people document their professional lives by the companies they worked for, the positions they held or the products they created. For the mariner, their professional lives revolve around ships and ports. My father spent most of his life at sea as a merchant mariner. He worked his way from deck hand on a small liner ferrying tourists to Havana to master of the largest tanker Mlying the American Mlag. He served on liberty ships during World War II in both the Atlantic and PaciMic theaters. He was Mirst mate on the Mirst merchant ship to sail into Tokyo Bay after the surrender. He shuttled water to Guantanamo when Capt. William H. Barrett, Jr.
Castro cut the water mains to the base in
the 1960s. He carried wheat to the Soviet Union and oil to Cam Ranh Bay to support our efforts in Vietnam. He moved from super tankers to Mishing boats after he retired and always found being out on the water a relaxing experience. He died in 1991.
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His brother also made the sea his profession, but when it came time to settle down with a family, he chose a job piloting ships through the Panama Canal. As a canal pilot, he was in a unique position to have access to just about any ship that sailed the seas for the many years he worked there. So, when I recently inherited my father’s discharge books, I called my uncle to help me understand what these documents were and how I could use the information they contained as part of Dad’s life history.
Postcard of the USS National Defender sent from Capt. Barrett.
The terms of employment for a mariner are much different than onshore professions. Some of those traditions go back many centuries. A mariner signs on for a cruise to perform a speciMic job on that ship. Although a “cruise” may make several stops and may or may not return to the original port of departure, at the end of the cruise all the crew members are paid off and become technically unemployed. The Continuous Discharge Book is a U.S. Coast Guard book issued to every mariner to log each cruise that individual is hired for and provides the ship’s name, the mariner’s assigned job, dates and places of engagement and discharge. Unfortunately, it doesn’t tell you all the places that cruise visits. You would need to have access to each ship’s log for that.
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As my uncle is explaining all this to me and looking through the books, he starts commenting on several of the ships listed in Dad’s logs. He was familiar with a number of them from his experiences in the Canal Zone. Several times he mentioned that he had a sketch of a ship in his sketch book. I was delighted to learn details about Dad’s career and the additional comments about the ships was icing on the cake. I should mention that my uncle is an accomplished watercolorist and we all have been the recipients of several pieces relating to special places and pastimes in our lives. He always has a sketchbook nearby and has years of earlier sketches in his studio. So, when he stopped by several days later to show me a rough sketch of a project idea and wanted me to help, I was pleasantly surprised and delighted to participate. He is fond of creating collage-‐style paintings for friends and family members that incorporate the person’s interests, special events and places. His proposed project would be a painting celebrating Dad’s maritime career that would include the memorable places he visited and the special ships he sailed aboard. My job was to help compare cruise dates in the discharge book with dates of signiMicant events to determine which ships were involved with those events and to Mind photos online of the one or two ships he didn’t already have in his sketchbooks. We are still a work in progress and I’m in no rush to see it completed. When it is Minished, each of us children will have a priceless piece of historical art to keep our father’s memory alive. I am having a grand time working with my uncle -‐ and especially wandering through his sketchbooks getting a look at his life. Once Dad’s painting is Minished, I’m going to insist that my uncle creates another one documenting his own maritime career. I look forward to working with him on that one too!
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TO THE NINES
school days A LITTLE CLASS MAUREEN TAYLOR
odey’s Lady’s Book offered fashion advice and home crafts for women, but each issue usually included a bit about children—in particular the care, clothing and coaching of them.
In the nineteenth century, a child’s access to education depended on where they lived and their economics circumstances. Not all children had a formal education. Reading, writing and arithmetic were basic skills, but reading meant the ability to read the bible and writing didn’t necessarily mean a child could write more than their name. Godey’s frequently offered articles on instructing children. “Even teachers of the most improved systems of education are slow to apprehend how greatly the perception of form is assisted by imitation—how the rudest attempt to draw a letter gives the child such an interest in it, that it can hardly be forgotten—how the plan of learning to read and write simultaneously is the best of all plans.” The article continues to describe a series of exercises to encourage learning the alphabet and penmanship. While wealthy children likely wore clothing similar to what was shown in the magazines, it’s unlikely that a child of mill workers wore this frivolous attire. Caring for children’s needs was something mothers of all economic classes had in common. Godey’s head to toe fashion advice covered topics such as head coverings and shoes. For instance, “the evils of a
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tight shoe or boot, in a grown-‐up person, are ten times multiplied in a child. Splay feet, knock-‐knees, or bandy-‐legs are the consequence.” Fashion plates showing women’s clothes often included children so it’s possible to obtain a sense of what adults wore versus their well-‐dressed children. In this fashion plate from 1867, the engraving may be simple sepia and white but the descriptions let you imagine what the fabrics looked like.
Fig. 1.— Underskirt of blue silk. Overdress of satin de mair of white ground, with large blue satin balls. The trimming consists of bias bands of blue satin. Fig. 3.— Dress of white piqué, trimmed with bias bands of blue cambric, arranged to simulate an overskirt. This is an admirable style for silk or wool goods. The waist is merely a sleeveless corsage worn over a white muslin waist. Fig. 4.— Underskirt of rose-‐colored silk. Overdress of Mine French muslin, Mluished on the edge with a Cluny lace, headed by an insertion lined with rose-‐ colored ribbon. The skirt is also ornamented with medallions of Cluny lace and festoons of embroidery. The corsage is trimmed with embroidery and Cluny; it is also ornamented with rose-‐colored ribbons, which form the belt and graceful little festoons round the corsage. Fig. 5.— Suit of white mohair, ornamented with bands of braiding in black, Minished on each side with a row of green velvet. The hat is of white chip, trimmed with green velvet.”
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Of course, the average child didn’t wear mohair braid or Cluny lace, but that doesn’t mean that their mother’s didn’t aspire to mimic these Americanized Paris fashions. This little boy wears a suit that features prominent buttons, just like the boy in the fashion plate. When dating fashion it’s often the details, like those buttons, that helps assign a time frame. The clothing is different and the educational methods have evolved, but reading these tips reminds me that while the years may roll by from one generation to another, our concern for children is timeless. “Fig. 2.— Suit for a little boy. It is of buff piqué, trimmed with black mohair braid and jet buttons. The leggings also are of piqué, fastened with jet buttons. Straw cap, trimmed with black velvet.
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Hill’s Manual 1887
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ear Readers, You might imagine that the life of a journalist is Milled with romance and adventure, but you would be only partially correct. As my Editor has reminded me many times, “Writing is hard work, Miss Dreadful. Sometimes it’s harder than a bounder’s heart.” It’s no easy task to pull words from the air, craft cunning phrases, and spin a tale to make a grown man weep. No easy task at all; but, someone has to do it. And, truly, the romance and adventure aren’t always half-‐bad either. This same Editor has asked me to reply to a reader’s request for more information as to how I come upon the accounts relayed in this periodical’s pages. “Is the narrative supplied with the illustrative photographs?” the reader writes. “Or, does Miss Dreadful interview friends and family to elicit the report? Perhaps she has other ‘tricks of the trade’ she might share with an aspiring young writer.’” I am deeply Mlattered to be the subject of such speculation and therefore, consequently, because of the aforementioned, will endeavor to describe my personal methods of photographic prognostication.
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As my Editor travels our nation meeting with dignitaries and esteemed personages, she is often presented with mementoes of person or place in the form of a photographic image. These cabinet cards, carte de viste, and the occasional tintype or daguerreotype have now become part of the periodical’s permanent photographic collection. From this varied study of human nature, my Editor selects only the most intriguing subjects to be highlighted in the magazine. Invariably, on the 10th of each month, a carefully wrapped and insured parcel arrives in my post containing the photograph for my next assignment. Any kind of documentation is rare; the photograph is unwrapped from the heavy tissue and revealed as a pristine artifact awaiting a life story. Before you ask, dear reader, “So, where does the story come from?” permit me to ask you a question, Are you familiar with the science of phrenology, the physiology of the brain extended to understand human nature and mental acuity? The value of phrenology in unlocking the secrets of an undocumented photograph cannot be underestimated. Consider. . . The great detective Sherlock Holmes knew instinctively that his arch-‐enemy Professor Moriarty was a worthwhile opponent, simply by recognizing the expanse of the latter’s high domed forehead. Holmes recognized the science of phrenology as a valued deductive tool. Imagine, then, dear reader, how one might apply the knowledge of the brain’s several organs to reveal the character if not identity of a photographic subject. The photograph of Alice B. Olver is a classic study in this skill. Here we have an inscription that lends more information than usual to the photograph. We can assume the image
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depicts Alice Olver, herself, a schoolteacher, who has sent the photo-‐postcard to one of her students, Master William Latourette. Some photo-‐analysts might rely on a study of hairstyle, clothing, or the photographer’s studio; others might date the image by the style and form of the postal imprint on the reverse of the image. Extensive experience in the analysis of similar photographs has convinced me that phrenology is the best key to unlock the story of Alice Olver. First, examine the young woman’s broad high forehead – Dr. Samuel Wells codiMied the cranium to help us understand what we see, but do not see. The broad forehead reveals a propensity for the Reasoning Faculties of comparison, inductive reasoning, and the ability to classify and apply analogy, such as are necessary in the teaching profession. The high bridge of her nose shows Individuality, often called “the looking faculty,” a desire and ability to acquire knowledge. Note the eyeglasses, yet another indication of this young woman’s desire for the keenest sense of sight. Her strong neck demonstrates the Domestic Propensity of Amativeness, or interest in marriage and motherhood. Perhaps Alice desires to marry and leave teaching for wifely duties; we will not Mind her many years listed in the census as a single woman. The gentle slope of her head, likewise shows Benevolence and a propensity for kindness and philanthropy. It is no surprise that Alice Olver should send her inscribed photograph to Shades MAGAZINE | www.shadesofthedeparted.com 21
a student with her best wishes. Perhaps y o u n g M a s t e r L a t o u r e t t e w a s relocating, or graduating from her classroom. The story of Alice B. Olver begins to take shape from her own skull. And yes, as we investigate further, we Mind that Alice is “Miss Olver,” a young woman born in Pennsylvania who traveled west after the death of her parents to be near her older brother, a Private at Fort Assinniboine in Chouteau, Montana. In this small frontier community, her intellectual propensities are noted by a local follower of phrenology, and Miss Olver is invited to become the Mirst district schoolteacher. As foreseen, the young woman excels as mistress of the classroom, leading her students to new heights of academic achievement. Although she will continue teaching until the time of her marriage, the students who comprise her very Mirst class will always remain her favorite. It is not surprising that each year she concludes the school year by sending a token of her affection to each boy or girl who was present that Mirst term. For one young scholar, Miss Olver’s annual card is a reminder of a wonder-‐Milled year. William Latourette loved learning all Miss Olver had to teach, and the nine-‐year-‐old was devastated when his father, a tinner, announced that the family was moving on to California’s gold country. Life was hectic and rustic in Dry Creek, near Sacramento, school was often interrupted by rain, Mlood, and mud, yet William persisted. Miss Olver’s image and kind words inspired William to continue his schooling and to dream of attending college. Sadly, William died in Stockton a few weeks before his 17th birthday, a victim of the winter inMluenza that shows no mercy for youth and aspiration. Miss Olver, by then a married woman, did not learn of the loss until late spring. Her star student was gone, and with him her legacy, or so she thought. . .
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Years passed, one day the former Miss Olver received a postcard forwarded by way of her brother, now an ofMicer at the Fort. The inscription was brief and echoed one familiar from long ago – With Best Wishes of your student, Armedia Latourette. The photo itself showed a young woman, so much like William she could only be his sister. Postscript – Dear Reader, I trust this biographical sketch has proved instructive in the value of the Science of Phreneology in unlocking the mysteries of “reading” a photograph. It is a skill built upon Science, nurtured by Intuition, and expressed with the utmost care.
Yours very truly, (Miss) Penelope Dreadful
For More Information about the Science of Phrenology, please consult A Measure of Perfection, Phrenology and the Fine Arts in America, by Dr. Charles Colbert, Fine Arts Department, Boston College, Massachusetts. http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/ phrenology/default.html The Interactive Guide to Phrenology – Get Your Head Examined: The Phrenological Organs, by Samuel R. Wells, after O.S. Fowler. http:// www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/phrenology/ phrenology_frames.html
Penelope Dreadful’s School Photograph A thespian at heart.
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THE HEALING BRUSH
graduation day A GELATIN SILVER PRINT BY JANINE SMITH
This image is a perfect example of the graduation pictures I love. Most I’ve seen date from the 1910 to 1920 period, the young ladies in their wonderful white dresses, many probably made at home, proudly holding their diploma. Due to the fact that they are around 100 years old, many of them have at least some age related damage. The main issue with this particular image is the silvering around the edges. Silvering is the aging process on a gelatin silver print, the most common form of black and white print from the 1890’s on. Introduced in the 1880’s, the process involved a suspension of silver salts in gelatin coated onto a bed of glass, Milm, resin-‐coated paper or plastic. When exposed to light, the silver suspension formed a latent image. The process continued through various chemical and non-‐chemical immersions,
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the Minal image consisting of metallic silver embedded in the gelatin coating. Gelatin silver remained the most popular photographic process until the 1960’s, when consumer color photography took over. Over time, the silver tarnishes, resulting in a distinctive shiny blue appearance.
Inset of larger photograph
The best starting point when it comes to digitally toning down the silver is a black and white conversion. Now, that’s just sad, because I rather like the patina these old photos have taken on, don’t you? Fear not! You can always put some color back, later. Let’s see if we can tone the silver down, Mirst. Open the image in Photoshop and go to the bottom of the layers panel. Select the Create a New Fill or Adjustment Layer icon, the half black, half white circle, and choose Black & White from the menu. When you add a black and white adjustment to an image with silvering, there may, or may not, be a dramatic improvement. I’ve had instances where all traces of silvering were gone, just from choosing the right black and white preset. However, that’s not always the case. As I scroll through the presets, you see that some settings are better than others, and some much worse, but none of them gets rid of all traces. The one that had the least amount of silver trace was, barely, High Contrast Red. I’ve decided to go with the Lighter preset,
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however, because the High Contrast Red Milter made the whites quite bright and blew the detail out of the dress a bit more than I’d like. I decided to sacriMice a slight bit of silver trace for the sake of that detail. A lot of the decisions you make when it comes to something like this is c o m p l e te d i s c e r n m e n t . Fo r instance, the default and lighter settings look nearly identical at Mirst glance, but a closer look shows that the lighter setting makes the whites just a tiny bit brighter, without sacriMicing detail. Fig. to the right. Now we want to tone the silvered areas down even more. The silvering presents itself, digitally, especially in a black and white state, as lighter pixels. Therefore, the way to correct them is to darken the pixels. One way to do this is to go to the icons at the bottom of the layer panel and select the Create a New Layer icon. Go to the Layer Blend Modes drop down menu and select Soft Light. Make sure your foreground color is set to black, and with the brush tool, begin to paint in around the silvered areas. If you wish, lower the opacity of the layer to 50% to see
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better what the result will be. Go to the Filter menu and select Blur, Gaussian Blur. Bring the pixel radius up enough to blur the edges signiMicantly, to blend. Continue adding blank layers, changing the Blend Modes to Soft Light and painting black in the lighter,
silvered areas, to blend into the darker areas. It’s better to add more layers, varying the opacity to whatever looks the best, instead of trying to do everything in one or two layers. The result is much more subtle and natural this way. The areas you paint in on these stacked layers will naturally become smaller until only the very lightest areas of silvering remain. You can use the same type of blend mode layer, to darken and enhance other areas as well. For instance, our young graduate’s left eye could stand to be darkened, due to a little glare on her glasses, to match better with the right. Simply use the same steps as before, new blank layer, change the blend mode to Soft Light and paint in the area around the
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eye with black as the foreground color. Go to Filter, Blur and Gaussian Blur and adjust the blur to blend. Lower
the opacity, if needed, to get a natural look. I lowered to 75% Opacity. You can also use a blend mode layer to highlight an area. Follow the same steps, add a new blank layer and change the blend mode to soft light, but this time make sure the foreground color is white. Now paint in the areas you want to highlight, say on her face. Go to Filter, Blur and Gaussian Blur and select a high enough pixel radius to blend well. I’ve used a radius of 8.9 pixels.
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Lower the opacity of the layer to a rather low value. Especially with facial highlights you’re going for a glow, not war paint. I lowered the opacity to 30%. Now to put some color back in! One way is to simply make a combination layer of all the work you’ve just done, using keyboard shortcut Shift + Ctrl + Alt + E on a PC, or Shift + Cmd
+ Opt +E on a Mac, make all the layers invisible (by clicking on the eye icon next to the layer) except the combo and the original layer and change the layer blend mode to Luminosity. And violá! The original color’s back and the silvering is, well, less.
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You can lessen the blues that come back through the luminosity by making a Hue/ Saturation adjustment layer and lower the Saturation and Lightness settings in the Blues and Cyans.
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The result is a bit too yellow for my taste, so I’m going to tone it down. To do this, I do another combination layer. With last layer selected, in this case, the Hue / Saturation layer, use the keyboard shortcut Shift + Ctrl + Alt + E on a PC, or Shift + Cmd + Opt +E on a Mac. Now click on the Hue Saturation layer visibility icon (the eye) to make it invisible. Click on the new combo layer at the top of the layer stack to make it the active layer. This is something like your layer stack should be looking, now: Lower the Opacity of the new combo layer to allow as much of the black and white layer beneath it through and lowering the saturation of the new combo layer. I lowered the Opacity to 75%, just to take the edge off the yellow tone. So now our graduation girl is still lovely, perhaps even a little more so without that distracting bit of blue around the edges. Below, we have the original, the Minished product with all the original color shining through, and even one that mutes the color, just a bit!
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Mr. Moulthrop advertised “The largest Camera in the State, affords remarkable facilities for taking group pictures and large heads by the instantaneous process.� Yale Banner, 1881
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Family At School Four Generations
SHERI FENLEY
Left: The author in Kindergarten. Can you identify me? Opposite Page Top: : Hazel Harris (Great Grandmother Holding Sign) - Maple Grove School, Bourbon County, Kansas - 29 April 1911 Middle: Garnett High School, Anderson County, Kansas, 1930, Darrell Kenneth Skillman - Second row knelling - fourth from left striped sweater. Bottom: Seniors Garnett High School, Anderson County, Kansas, 1934, Mary Ellen Harris. Back row of girls second from right. Below: Mummy Dahling, front row, sixth from left with bow James Madison School Kindergarten Pasadena, Los Angeles County, California Miss Kester Teacher,1943
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A PICTURE’S WORTH
the friends album finds its way home A FACE STUDY BY MISSY CORLEY
One day back in March, 2010, I wandered into the newly opened Easton Antiques and Art Gallery in Easton, Md. As I went through the store, I selected an old postcard that I thought would be fun to research. That's when I spotted it -‐-‐ a large, old photo album with a metal clasp. Like a well-‐loved teddy bear, its once velvety cover was worn away in most spots. I could tell it was stuffed to the gills. The postcard completely forgotten, I turned the pages of the album and I couldn't believe my eyes. It was indeed overstuffed with photos of all types -‐-‐ cabinet cards, cartes de visite, tintypes, you name it. People of all ages and all walks of life were pictured. The price was right too -‐-‐ $75 (which turned out to be $1 for each person pictured in the album). A plaque on the front read "Our Friends."
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The Friends Album. I had to have it. Not to keep though. Not if I could help it. I wanted to return the photos within to the descendants of those pictured. If I could Mind them. I asked the gentleman ringing up purchases if he knew anything about the album. He said it came to the store from a family in St. Michaels, Md. That was more information than I hoped for, actually. But I Migured those in the album probably weren't their relatives since the cover of the album said "Our Friends." That could explain why the family sold such a treasure. The most recent owners probably had no idea who was pictured anymore. But another family-‐-‐possibly several other families-‐-‐might want the photos! I practically skipped home. I crowed about my purchase on Twitter. I couldn't wait to begin studying the photos in the Friends Album.
After carefully removing many of the photos from their holders in the album, I found that several had notations on the back. Names, locations, even the names of relatives. Many others had quite detailed photographer's imprints as well. Some of the identiMied subjects shared the same surname -‐-‐ Young. What's more, the majority of the photos were taken in Connecticut and New York. My excitement grew -‐-‐ could all of the people pictured be related? I started scanning as many of the photos as I could-‐-‐front and back-‐-‐and photographed the ones that I couldn't remove from the album without damage to either the photos or the album itself. My plan was to examine each photo and write blog posts about them. I hoped I would be able to divine from the inscriptions, imprints and other photo details enough to trace the subjects' families forward. I had my work cut out for me, but inspired by several other genealogists who have worked on similar projects, I welcomed the challenge.
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With my handy copy of Maureen Taylor's Uncovering Your Ancestry Through Family Photographs by my side, I started studying each photo closely. I considered the ages and apparel of those pictured. For instance, the Mirst two photos depict a fancily dressed man and woman who appear to be in their 20s. Wedding portraits, perhaps? Most of the subjects in the album were not identiMied, but almost all of the cabinet cards had photographer's imprints that at least listed the photographer and city. When I ran out of details to comb within each photo, I tried to learn as much as I could about the photographer. Several photographers were visited multiple times by the subjects of the Friends Album. I created a Google Map depicting the various locations of the Friends Album photos. Quite a large number were taken in Danbury, Conn., and so I created a separate Google Map for that location and charted all of the addresses for the photographers there. In a few instances, I was able to bring up Google Street View images for the former studio locations. It was neat to see the original buildings and what is there now (in one case, what was once a studio location is now a Chinese food restaurant). I used resources on Ancestry.com, Fold3.com and FamilySearch.org, locating census records and city directory listings for the photographers. I noticed that many of the photographers moved their studio locations over the years. Where an address was listed in a photographer's imprint, this helped me to date the photo, when I cross-‐referenced that information with what I found in city directories. Google Maps helped me again when I started researching the Mirst person identiMied in the album: Fred Young. There were several Fred Youngs residing in the area where the photo was taken. I was able to determine which one was the right one by plotting their addresses on Google Maps and determining which was the closest to the photographer's location. Eventually, I also started a Google spreadsheet, so I could keep track of the subject names (where known), locations, photographers, approximate ages, dates and other details about
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the photos. I made links to the maps and the spreadsheet available to others on my blog so they could follow along.
The Friends Album presented at least a couple of mysteries along the way. One involves a photo of a brother and sister, taken in Danbury, Conn. They are beautifully dressed. In the next photo, the same pair is pictured, slightly older, with their parents. But this time, they're in Idaho! I would love to know why the family made such a move. The other mystery involves a pair of photos of the same gentleman positioned very close to each other in the album. In both photos, he is standing
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in front of the same scenery, his hair is parted the same. Even his tie is tied (badly) the same way. He's wearing slightly different outMits in each photo. The biggest difference is that he has a mustache in one photo and is clean-‐shaven in the other. I have to wonder how far apart in time the photos were taken.
“A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you, the less you know.” ~ Peter Gasser
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There were a lot of baby photos in the album and though most of them remain unidentiMied, it was still fun to view all the details in these images. Several appeared to be "hidden mother" photos, where the baby was posed on a huge blanket or fur. The tiniest infants needed something to hold them in place and presumably mom was hidden under the blanket. I even noticed the baby below was tied to a chair!
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The Mirst piece of the Friends Album puzzle to fall into place was the photo of Cornelia Morris. Not only is she identiMied in an inscription on the back, but her husband Henry B. Young is named as well. In addition, the photo is so similar to that of another woman (by the same last name) in the album that I was able to conMirm they were sisters. What's more, I had worked out that Cornelia and her husband Henry were the parents of another subject of the Friends Album-‐-‐Fred Young-‐-‐even before I realized I had a photo of Cornelia. When I found an 1860 census record for the family, I noted that there was a Stanley Young in the household. (1) That name showed up in the inscription on another gentleman's photo-‐-‐William Morrell was noted to be the brother of Mrs. Stanley Young. Those inscriptions and census records helped me relate almost every identiMied person in the album to each other (save for one, whom I'll discuss later). One weekend, I decided to buckle down and trace all of Cornelia's and Henry's descendants as far forward as I could. I hit a lot of brick walls. However, when I followed their son Stanley M. Young and his line, everything started to come together. Here is their tree: Cornelia Morris + Henry B. Young || Stanley M. Young + Mary L. Morrill || Calvert H. Young + Helen M. ???? || Stanley A. Young + Mary Kerr || Stanley A. Young Jr. || Stanley A. Young III In researching the above line, looking at another Ancestry.com member’s work paid off. I found a 1930 census record that I had missed for Stanley A. Young (Cornelia and Henry's great-‐grandson) and his family in Yonkers, N.Y. (2) One of the three children in the household was still another Stanley A. Young.
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I did follow one false trail after Minding a Social Security Death Index record for a Stanley A. Young from New York. I soon realized that I had the wrong Stanley A. Young after discovering that one of the obits for this Stanley was printed in a newspaper too far Mlung from Yonkers. I was able to research the right Stanley A. Young, Jr., using resources like Pipl.com. Such sites can bring up very interesting things, including street addresses, the names of relatives and associates, public records like court cases, and social media proMiles. (They also can bring up a lot of junk and sponsored links. Be careful what you click on. I usually only stick to the sites with free information.) When I looked up Stanley A. Young this time, Yonkers came up as a former place of residence. I found the names of his wife and children. I found the street address and phone number for his son. The phone number didn't work, so I wrote him a letter instead. I printed out a copy of his great-‐great-‐great-‐great grandmother Cornelia Morris' photo and a copy of the family tree from Ancestry. I sent the letter and I waited. Nearly a month later, I received a call from Stanley Young III. He said he had just returned from out of the country and my letter was waiting for him amidst a huge stack of mail. He called me as soon as he opened it. He conMirmed that I had the right family. He said both of his parents are still alive and in their mid-‐80s. He conMirmed the family has strong connections to Danbury, Conn., and Yonkers, N.Y. I could hear the excitement in his voice over the phone, but I was over the moon to hear from him. Once I got off of the phone, I couldn't Tweet about the conversation fast enough. I carefully packed up the Friends Album and shipped it to Stanley two days later. When I last talked to him, he Minally had the album and was looking forward to showing it to his parents over the 4th of July holiday weekend. He said other relatives of his who are into genealogy were very excited to hear about the album and that I should expect to be contacted by his
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Ellis Burton Wilson
89-‐year-‐old aunt who heads her local genealogy society. Indeed, I have since been contacted by several Young descendants who have emailed to thank me and send me some of their own family photos. While I have sent the Friends Album off to New York and the descendants of the Youngs, I did keep one photo -‐-‐ that of Ellis Burton Wilson. Ellis was an early Friends Album favorite of mine. Not only is his expression in his baby photo absolutely precious, he's identiMied in an inscription on the back of his photo. I was able to Mind a lot about him right away, including his tombstone, which is pictured on
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FindaGrave.(3) I also was able to Mind military and other death records related to him. These records conMirmed that Hartford, Conn., was the place to search for his obituary. The Hartford Courant archives delve back into the 1700s. The paper charges users for anything besides a brief abstract of its older articles, but after failing to Mind the obituary through other free resources available to me (and resources that I already pay for), I decided it was worth the nominal fee to get the details that his obituary would divulge. From Ellis’ obit, I learned he was known as “Mr. American Legion Baseball,” having established the American Legion Baseball program in Connecticut.(4) I also learned that he died while on vacation in Treasure Island, Fla. The obituary named his daughter and her place of residence at the time of his death. This allowed me to Mind more information on her, which led me to her sons including one whom I know still to be living. However, I have not been able to get in touch with him yet. I also haven't been able to Mind a connection between Ellis and the Youngs. There are several avenues that I could yet pursue with the Friends Album, even though I don't have it anymore. There are still so many unidentiMied individuals in the album -‐-‐ further sleuthing could divulge at least some of their identities. In tracing the Young clan forward, I came upon names of individuals who may be subjects identiMied only by Mirst name in the album. A Young descendant sent me an old family photo (with the subjects identiMied) that has many familiar faces in it. One friend suggested I closely study the jewelry worn by the women in the album to see if any of the pieces might have been shared between the subjects. At least a couple of the subjects in the Friends Album appear to be wearing ethnic dress of some sort -‐-‐ I would love to know the story behind their costumes.
I felt I was hampered by my geographic location in researching the subjects of the album. I wasn't able to visit libraries, courthouses and archives in New York and Connecticut, and
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“Missy” Corley is a personal archivist and the owner of Bayside Research Services, LLC (www.baysideresearchservices.com), a provider of genealogical and historical research services along with photo preservation materials and services, based on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Email Missy [ here ]. (1) 1860 U.S. Census, LitchMield County, Connecticut, population schedule, Bridgewater, page 15, dwelling 125, family 125, Henry Young and family; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 April 2011); citing NARA microMilm publication M653, roll 82. (2) 1930 U.S. Census, Westchester County, New York, population schedule, Yonkers, p. 15, dwelling 180, family 222, Stanley A. Young and family; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 May 2011); citing NARA microMilm publication T626, roll 1668. (3) FindaGrave.com, digital images (www.Mindagrave.com : accessed 12 March 2011), photograph, gravestone for Ellis B. Wilson, Zion Hill Cemetery, Hartford, Conn., Memorial #16887574. (4) “Ellis B. Wilson, 77, Dies; Legion Baseball Pioneer,” The Hartford Courant (1923-‐1984), 30 Jan 1971, p 4; online database, ProQuest Historical Newspapers Hartford Courant (1764-‐1985) (http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courant/ advancedsearch.html : accessed 26 March 2011).
St. Nicholas Magazine April, 1921
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Miss Golden Rule Days
Great Grandma Is A Centerfold Lookin' through Shades Magazine Found something tucked there in-‐between My blood runs cold My memories have all been sold Great Grandma is a centerfold Great Grandma is a centerfold A part of me has just been ripped The ages from my mind are stripped That unnamed woman can't deny it footnoteMaven had to buy it!
Photo In The Collection Of footnoteMaven
My blood runs cold My memories have all been sold Great Grandma is a centerfold Great Grandma is a centerfold It's okay, we understand Not all heirlooms are in our hand We know that when this issue's gone Great Grandma’s centerfold lives on My blood runs cold My memories have all been sold Great Grandma is a centerfold Yes, Great Grandma is a centerfold
Miss Golden Rule Days is a Graduation Photograph; graduate with diploma, corsage, and a basket of flowers. Cabinet card by Edwin & Winans, Onconta, N.Y. Successor to Mereness & Winans. While we may enjoy looking at the lovely young woman, we can’t celebrate her accomplishment as her family failed to identify her, the date, or what graduation she celebrated. Mores the pity. Thank you again - Diana Ritchie (Random Relatives) this was a great idea!
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School Arts, 1915
The Golden Rule Album Surely it would give us a sense of space if we could see clearly a little further behind us. Would it not be a good plan if every family appointed a historiographer. The Living Age, 1913
Class Photographs
This is an absolutely amazing quarter plate ambrotype with original seals measuring approximately 3.25 x 4.25 inches in very good condition. It’s last known place of origin was south central New Hampshire. It is offered for sale by Theprimitivefold on eBay for $1,499.99. The ambrotype also includes a handwritten note by one of the young girls. I so hope it goes to a good home, a home where it is shared for educational purposes.
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Music Class A handsome class of musicians who obviously use the Tone Touch Technic. This is a card mounted photograph whose card has deteriorated to the point that the information for the photographer is missing.
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This is one of the most poignant photographs in the album. There are no student names, no school name and the photographer isn’t known. The photograph was probably captured by an itinerant photographer or a local amateur. It is the inscription that attracted me to the photograph. My first school, I was 16, as was the third boy from my right.
Left and Opposite: Another r ural photograph probably taken by an itinerant photographer. It appears the children knew the photographer was coming, fancy hats and jackets, some Sunday best, but contrast the number of little bare feet. No shoes, but at least they were in school.
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Above: The girls of Mrs. Bryant’s Somewhere in the photograph is Sophie Beckwith. But where? Card Mounted Photograph No photographer identification
Learn one thing new everyday. The Mentor, 1918.
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Individual Student Photographs Student photographs taken at school in front of a black backdrop.
A sales tool sent to the teacher in 1932. Students could purchase individual photos of the entire class in a pocket size booklet. Unknown students. Unknown photographer.
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Carte-de-Visite Lillian Atherton Smith & Bousley, Salem, Mass. Salem Normal School in Salem, MA. 1875
Right: Leigh Hanchie Class 1896 Armstrong Studio 7 Main Street, Watertown
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School Activities
University of Oregon Libraries - Special Collections and University Archives
Carte-de-Visite Penmanship Class Unknown
“Dixie Queens” - Two young girls eating lunch. Lane County, Oregon. Roy Andrews, 1912
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School Outing - Flags Baseballs, Bats & Baseball Hats The Steps of Carnegie Hall NYC - ca. 1906 Maven’s Grandmother Lillian Salter
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The F. Gutenkunst Co. 1700 N. Broad 712 Arch, Phil. Pa. USA ca. 1893-1900
Sorority Sisters? Certainly taken in the style of sorority photographs of the time. Beautiful photograph with no identification.
A May Day Celebration in one of Carnegie Hall’s Classrooms Maven’s Uncle Edward J. Greene, Jr.
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School Athletics
Football Captain above Varsity Football Team right Yale University Yearbook, 1913
Girls Basketball Team, 1901 Northern Illinois University
Two young men simulate a game of football in a photographer’s studio. While the uniforms are quite different from those of today, it is the shoes that caught my attention. Ballet anyone? Miller, Ashland, Penna.
Yale's four-oared crew team with 1876 Centennial Regatta trophy
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Can you imagine playing basketball in the above costume. Vassar College Archives 1896 Class Women’s Basketball Team
The first women’s intercollegiate basketball game was between Cal and Stanford, April 4, 1896. Stanford beat Cal 2-1in a game played in San Francisco.
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Unknown Hall, Meriden Conn. ca. 1900 Inscription: Thought To Be Head Teacher Meriden School
Teachers Teacher’s Creed I believe in boys and girls, the men and women of a great tomorrow; that whatsoever the boy soweth the man shall reap. I believe in the curse of ignorance, in the efficacy of schools. In the dignity of teaching, and in the joy of serving others. I believe in wisdom as revealed in human lives as well as in the pages of a printed book, in lessons taught, not so much by precept as by example, in ability to work with the hands as well as to think with the head, in everything that makes life large and lovely. I believe in beauty in the school-room, in the home, in daily life in and out of doors. I believe in laughter, in love, in faith, in all ideals and distant hopes that lure us on. I believe that every hour of every day we receive a just reward for all we are and all we do. I believe in the present and its opportunities, in the future and its promises and in the divine joy of living. Amen. Edwin Osgood Grover 68 Shades MAGAZINE | Golden Rule Days 2013
Marion Royce, Student Jennie Morgan, Teacher Boston Bank Note & Lith’o Co.
Faculty of Park College 1903-04 All identified Photographer Unknown Card Mounted Photograph
Opposite Page Bottom Right: Frances E. Willard Veeder, Albany, New York Willard appointed president of Northwestern Female College in 1871. When it merged with the Northwestern University, she became college dean and professor of esthetics.
Reward Of Merit To Bruce Davenport From F. A. Bouham
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1916 Graduates of Holsey Academy Graduating Ministers and Teachers Cordele, Ga.
The Crisis, July 1916 Photographed by The Holsey Academy, Cordele, Ga.
Graduation Class Group Photographs
Unknown Unknown Photographer Inscription Verso: Graduating Class in Arenzville, Ill. Auntie at left (Note - poor Auntie is the one with the ink X on her head.)
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Ambrotype/Tintype filing series (Library of Congress) Liljenquist Family
Individual Graduate Cap and Gown
Top Right: Unusual side profile Card Mounted Photograph Ruth Hinman’s Maternal Grandfather’s older sister. Jeannette Reed. who lived to be 101 years old.
Card Mounted Photograph Unknown Leo H. Dresser, Winfield, Kans. ca. 1900 Shades MAGAZINE | www.shadesofthedeparted.com 71
THE custom of wearing caps (Mortar Boards) and gowns on appropriate occasions is fast becoming Mixed in the higher educational institutions of this country. It has passed the stage of student fad or ecclesiastical requirement; it has o v e r c o m e t h e q u i e t n a t i o n a l anglophobia... The academic gown, as used in America, is really a uniform. On its historic and picturesque side it serves to remind those who don it of the continuity and dignity of learning, and recalls the honored roll of English-‐speaking University men. Cap and Gown In America, 1896.
Above: Cabinet Card Unknown I.M. Moll 222 W. Main St. Norristown, PA
Cabinet Card Unknown Blessing & Co. Baltimore, MD ca. 1880-1904 72 Shades MAGAZINE | Golden Rule Days 2013
The
Individual Graduate With Diploma Graduates appear with cap and gown— sometimes—but, alas, without the diploma which was, likely as not, left on the table at home . The obliging photographer supplies a diploma—ribbon and all. Abel's Photographic Weekly. 1922.
Unknown Ninth Plate Embossed Colorized Tintype J. H. Pope’s Premium Gallery Baltimore ca. 1860s
Left: Unknown Real Photo Postcard Surry Studio Wenatchee, Wa. ca. 1913-1918 Inscription Verso: Grandpa’s Racus
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Diploma cont. Emma Everson Fermann Stoughton, Wis. Date Unknown Inscription Versa: Luthera Kasberg, Please send yours in return, as you forgot it Sat. evening.
Right: Pensive young woman with diploma and bouquet Card Mounted Photograph Montfort, Handel Hall, 40 E. Randolph St. Chicago ca. 1900
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Diploma cont. Left: A young man and his diploma. P.M. Kinder, Art Gallery Akron, Ind.
Right: A young woman standing on a box with her diploma. She may have been standing on the box to raise her to the level of the background. Colorized Card Mounted Photograph No photographer information
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Pictorial Yearbooks
Indiana State Normal School at Terre Haute. ISNS was founded in 1865, but did not open its door until 1870. "Normal," or teacher education, schools and colleges. 1900 Yearbook.
Cover of the 1907 Indiana State Normal School Catalog. Read more about the history of ISNS here - http:// www.people.iup.edu/mcdevitt/ ch2p1.pdf
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University of Southern California El Rodeo 1910
Military Yearbooks Henry Ossian Flipper was the first African American to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy (West Point). Born March 21, 1856, in Thomasville, Georgia, Flipper was the son of Festus Flipper and his wife Isabelle, both of whom were slaves.
WEST POINT CLASS OF 1882 C. W. MCIVER ALBUM This beautiful album is for sale on eBay for $4,999.93 by alleghenyantiques.
West Point cadets started the practice of wearing gold class rings in 1835.
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Sunday School Photographs
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n of B ernard The C ollectio
The first national Sunday School effort in America began in 1824.
W. Ga r land
Unknown The Ideal Photo Studio 476 Temple Street Opposite Temple Place Boston, Mass. 1895
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PPhotographs ROM
“Prom Girl” Illustration Hamiltonian 1898
When did the custom of proms begin in America? Prom, is short for the word promenade, from the French promener to lead out for a walk. A promenade was a walk or a place to walk, and was often a slow couples walk around the dance Mloor before the start of a dance. Yale is credited with the Mirst p r o m i n 1 8 5 1 , h e l d i n conjunction with the Junior Exhibition, a day of speeches and recitation to show off the skills of the student. The prom was a week long series of events that was the great social event of the college year. (Bagg, Lyman. 1871. Four Years at Yale. New Haven: Charles ChatMield & Company. ) High school proms are far more difMicult to trace. It appears they caught on in the 1900s, but did not show up in photographs in yearbooks until the 30’s.
Pictures of student life at Yale, 1779-1988 (inclusive). Manuscripts & Archives, Yale University 1918
A group of Yale Students and their dates at prom 1918.
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This 1909 University of Montana Junior Prom dance card shows our young woman danced to the Waltz, the Two Step, the Three Step, and the Barn Dance for a total of twenty-four dances played by the H. H. Shander’s Orchestra.
Filling Out A Dance Card
The Yale Prom’s week long event was
enough to inscribe their names." The
organized entirely by men. An invitation
Bachelor of Arts 1896.
was mailed to the “Prom Girl” which included her @illed dance card.
The young men signed the card relying upon the opinion of their peers. Their
The Monday Teas would "provide
friends, they were certain, would only
opportunity for men to meet the girls
invite quality women.
upon whose cards, without previous acquaintance, they have been rash 82 Shades MAGAZINE | Golden Rule Days 2013
Dressed For Prom?
Are these young women on their
events and a prom was certainly a life
way to Prom? Their costume
event, but unless our ancestors were
suggests a formal occasion. The dress,
vigilant in documenting an event on
the corsage, the gloves, fan and
the photograph or our young woman
handkerchief were all appropriate to a
has her tiny dance card in her hand
prom. But they might also be
we can only speculate.
appropriate to a debutant ball, and perhaps even a wedding. These are expensive studio portraits indicating the importance of the
Do you have an early identified prom photograph in your family? We’d love to see them. Send an email to footnotemaven@comcast.net with your photograph and all the particulars.
event. Photographs memorialized life Shades MAGAZINE | www.shadesofthedeparted.com 83
Corsage Our modern identiMication of the corsage
graduates, and women being honored.
comes from the French “bouquet de
Over time the positioning of a corsage has
corsage,” meaning “a bouquet of the
moved to the shoulder and the wrist, most
bodice.” Originally, the bodice of a woman’s
likely corresponding with the changes in
dress was called a corsage. As shown in
fashion. The style of the corsage itself has
Godey’s Lady’s Magazine (above), Mlowers
not changed much over the years, but the
were pinned to the bodice of a gown and
size has. As you will see in two of the
eventually adopted the name, "corsage."
graduation corsage photographs on the
A corsage was worn on special occasions such as dances, by brides, debutants,
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opposite page, the corsage used to be two to three times the size of the corsage that is worn today.
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Behind The Camera Yearbooks and their beginnings
rren, . Wa ge K Geor 149.01. .0 2003
George Kendall Warren
The inventor of the photoillustrated college yearbook.
from tgers
's Ru Neel . Mc ge W Geor
Inscription: “Photographically I am Yours My Dear McNeel. Geo. Kendall Warren. Lowell Mass. Dec. 1859”
boo Year orge k, G e , arren K. W -60,
1859 NMA mber
nu talog H ca
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Photographer George Kendall Warren (1832-‐84) of Lowell, Cambridgeport, and Boston, Massachusetts, belonged to the generation of photographic portraitists who began their photographic business creating daguerreotypes and successfully transitioned to paper media on the eve of the Civil War. He opened his Mirst studio in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1851, at the age of nineteen, with the assistance of his parents. Warren was a savvy businessman; with negatives that offered the opportunity to reproduce one image multiple times, he sold Boston area students multiple copies of their own image and encouraged them to trade with their classmates. Several of the students collected the images and had them bound. Seeing a way to maximize business Warren started printing the negatives in his studios and assembled pages for individual books according to student requests, creating his own yearbooks. Warren also set up appointments to make portraits of college presidents, professors, and housekeepers selling interested students on their complete experiences at school. Warren secured commitments from students to purchase a minimum number of portraits and related photographic images prior to producing their one-‐of-‐a-‐kind yearbook.
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Harvard Photographic Yearbook 1870 Photographer - George K. Warren Richard Theodore Greener, Harvard College's first black graduate and the first black graduate of a toptier university (Slater, "The Blacks who First Entered the World of White Higher Education" p. 48-9).
Boston, with its wealth of universities and colleges, proved to be a rich market for this product. During the 1860s and 70s, Warren presided over a studio at Cambridgeport that served as headquarters for his venture into processing school photography. In the Yale Literary Advertiser of November 1868, Warren claimed to have produced over Mive hundred thousand college photographs. In 1884, at the age of 52, Warren was killed in a train accident at, ironically, the College Hill Station in Medford, Massachusetts. The National Museum of American History has collected Warren’s Rutgers College Yearbook of 1860. Information on that important historical yearbook can be found in the “A Good Read” section that follows.
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Cornell University Library, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art
View of Harvard and Radcliffe, the Delta, Cambridge, Massachusetts George K. Warren, ca. 1862 Shades MAGAZINE | www.shadesofthedeparted.com 89
A Good Read From Smithsonianeducation.org - a yearbook from 1860, (featured in Behind The Camera) complete with farewell messages from classmates. The yearbook’s owner was a Texan at Rutgers College in New Jersey, a scion of a plantation family who would go on to die for the Confederacy. On close study, the messages from his mostly northern classmates reveal much about the complexities of the “brothers’ war.”
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IN2 GENEALOGY
how will you know YOU MUST LOOK! BY CAROLINE POINTER
I scour antique stores and malls looking for
One type of ephemera that I see a lot of in
other people’s ‘stuff’. The kind of ‘stuff’
the antique stores is the kind related to
that, as family history researchers, we are
school. Think for a moment about all of the
all looking for about our families, but in
paperwork, books, etc. that are related to
this case, I search for and buy other
attending school. From report cards to
families’ artifacts, ephemera, etc. all in
school work to graduation announcements
hopes of identifying the family it once
– there is no shortage of it, and for
belonged to and returning it to their
whatever reason, a lot of it ends up in
descendants. My hope is not only to return
antique stores being sold individually to
the item or items, but to please the
those of us who thrive on collecting pieces
mythical genealogy gods enough that I will
of history. Further, while I have some
be the recipient of some of my own family’s
school-‐related ephemera of my own
artifacts that will help to tell my family
family’s history, I still collect other people’s
story. Perhaps even give me clues to further
school ‘stuff’. There is quite a bit that can
my research. It’s good genealogy karma,
be ascertained from school ephemera and
and it works.
school records. But other than antique
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stores, where can you Mind them? Is it worth looking for them? Will you really gain anything from your search? And what of the school records? Where do you look for those? There are the obvious places to look online, but they are not the only places to look. Further, when it comes to genealogy and family history research, the beauty of the internet is not just Minding scanned digital images of documents and books, but it is also the ability available to us to track down where we might Mind the documents and books that are not scanned. So while it is true that not everything can be found online, keep in mind that many physical locations of documents and books not yet scanned can be identiMied online very efMiciently. Moreover, genealogists and family history researchers can have very different reasons for looking for school-‐related information. Looking for every clue possible to solve a “brick wall” problem while researching is a valid reason for looking for school-‐related information. However, sometimes these documents and ephemera are sought after because they provide another insight into your ancestor’s life. Either way, there are many types of documents and ephemera to look for and many places to look for them.
PLACES TO LOOK Ancestry.com
While it’s a good idea to look at Ancestry.com’s school collections for school-‐related ancestor information, don’t forget more unique collections such as U.S. Passport Applications, World War I and World War II Draft Registration Cards, newspaper collections, and their county history books. Additionally, take a look at some of their other collections to see if they might yield some school-‐related information. I had a lady contact me through Ancestry.com who had known my parents while in college. She had found my Dad’s information and photos on my family tree, and she shared with me some of her memories of him and a college school photo of him. You just never know where information is going to come from.
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FamilySearch.org There are two main divisions that you will need to take a look at when searching for school-‐ related records on FamilySearch.org. First, look at what’s available online by looking at their U.S. collections by state. Some are indexed while others are “Browse Only”. Second, you will need to look at their online catalog. By performing a place search, you can Mind school records available for the various counties on microMilm available for renting from the Family History Library through your local Family History Center or by renting online for viewing at your local Family History Center. Fold3.com and GenealogyBank.com While some of these sites have other collections, their newspaper collections are what will be most helpful in looking for school-‐related information. GenealogyToday.com GenealogyToday.com is a subscription site that has a collection of school records and yearbooks available to view online. USGenWeb.org This is a volunteer-‐based organization that provides county information for each state in the United States. Because each site is handled by a volunteer, the offerings that are available vary greatly, but it is still a resource to check for newspaper clippings, county histories, and school records.
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State Archives and University Libraries and Archives and their websites Spend a little time looking at the state archives’ websites. They vary in their offerings both online and ofMline, but it’s well worth the look if you are able to Mind some information about your family. Likewise don’t forget university libraries a n d a r c h i v e s . A university’s archives usually houses the school records. The screenshot above is from Texas A&M’s archives, Cushing Library, in College Station, Texas. Types of materials that can be found in the Texas A&M University Records Collection is listed and includes yearbooks, newspapers, newspaper clippings, photographs of campus buildings, photographs of scenes and activities, commencement records, and football programs. Genealogical and Historical Societies and their websites Many genealogical and historical societies house collections that include school-‐related information. Don’t forget to look at county and regional histories as well. County Level Government OfEices and their websites It’s a good idea to have a Mirm grasp of what records are located at county level government ofMices. For example, in the state of Texas, the school census records are kept at the county
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level, not at the state archives. Therefore, survey what’s available at the county level in the county you are researching. DeadFred.com DeadFred.com is a free lost and found website for photos that has 5 ways to search their photo database. Online Ephemera Stores Many online stores that sell ephemera can be found on Ebay.com. Quite a few of the sellers will post the surname if it has been identiMied. An online family artifacts website, JustaJoy.com, provides an online subscription service for those who would like to match found artifacts to families. Additionally, there is an online forum called the 48 Hour Ephemera Challenge, where a group of volunteers use their research skills to Mind more information about a piece of ephemera that is posted every Friday for research practice as well as to Mind living descendants in order to return the piece to the family. It's free to join, volunteer, or just watch the stories unfold, but to keep living individual's information private, it is a closed forum and free registration is required. Antique Stores Many types of school-‐related ephemera can be found in antique stores. If you are planning a research trip to a particular area that your ancestor lived in, don’t forget to make time to visit local antique stores and sift through their ephemera. It might seem like a long shot, but it’s not any more of a long shot than looking for a document in an archives. Google Try Googling your ancestor’s name and the word “school”. Don’t be afraid to be creative with your search terms and don’t forget to look past the Mirst two pages of search results. Sometimes what you are looking for does not have a high search ranking.
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Twitter I network with a wide variety of people on Twitter other than those who are genealogy-‐ related. For example, I follow many antique stores and dealers, a few online ephemera stores, and quite a few current and former students from my Alma Mater, Texas A&M University. The antique and ephemera dealers are quite handy when I need something identiMied or if I’m in the mood to buy pieces of history. However, an unusual tweet came one day from a graduate student from Texas A&M whose boss (a professor) had been gone for the day, and the graduate student was explaining how she had cleaned out the professor’s ofMice. She remarked that she couldn’t believe that there had been attendance records from the 1960’s in there. I quickly sent a tweet back to her explaining their genealogical value and requested that she not throw those away, but give them to the school’s archives, which she later did. While I didn’t save someone’s life or discover a cure for cancer, I did save some records that could place someone’s ancestor in a time and a place. The point is that you never know who you are going to meet online who might be a distant relative with family information, who might work for an entity or organization that houses family-‐related documents and ephemera, or who might try to throw away papers with genealogical value (I’ve encountered two so far.). Therefore, get on Twitter, meet others with like-‐minded interests (not just genealogy) start tweeting, and reading tweets. Start networking. Cyndi’s List Cyndi’s List is a great resource for links to places online, and it’s organized by types of content. The link given above for her site is the link to what she has listed for school-‐related websites. Plan to spend quite a bit of time exploring each site listed. Blogs At the time of this writing, there are over 3000 genealogy blogs listed on Geneabloggers.com. What is on them is varied. Therefore, take a look at them to see if someone else is writing about your family. You just might Mind a cousin who has photos, documents, and ephemera they are willing to share with you.
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Great-So-and-So’s Attic Go visit an older family member and Mind out if they have some of your family’s school-‐ related ephemera. More than likely they do. However, you won’t know until you ask. Plan to stay the whole day with them and let them do most of the talking. You’ll learn more that way.
TYPES OF RECORDS, DOCUMENTS, INFORMATION, AND EPHEMERA TO LOOK FOR Census / School Census Federal Population Schedules have a little school-‐related information. At times, the enumerator would list that a child was “at school” in the occupation blank. In addition, c e r t a i n c e n s u s y e a r s t h e enumerator was instructed to ask if the child had attended school within the past year. The 1880 census was the only year the enumerator was instructed to ask how many months in that year the child attended school. State school census were taken in order to determine adequacy of funding for schools. These are usually found in the school districts themselves or in state or university archives. However, in Texas, they are usually kept by the County Clerk’s ofMice. Also, don’t forget to look at FamilySearch.org’s online catalog and USGenWeb.org for them as well.
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Report Cards Some report cards have only the names, the grade levels, and the parent’s signatures while others include the street address for the student as well. All of this information is perfect for those looking to place an ancestor in a time and place especially between censuses.
Look for these in antique stores, Great-‐So-‐and-‐So’s Attic, genealogy blogs, GenealogyToday.com, USGenWeb.com, etc. Registration Information and Records Try either contacting the school and/or school district to see where these records are archived. Many will be found in state archives. Therefore, take a look at websites for the state archives in the state that you are researching. Below is a
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screenshot of the available records at the Illinois State Archives for Johnson Co, IL which is where my paternal grandmother was born and raised, and the school-‐related records that are available are highlighted. The years that the records span are listed as well with the earliest record, School District Record, dating 1860. Because my grandmother’s family had been in Johnson Co, IL since about 1845, many school records for her family should be there. Diplomas, Graduation Invitations and Commencement Programs
Diplomas, Graduation ephemera, and commencement ephemera help to put an ancestor in a time and place with names, dates, and names of schools which can all be used to Mind other school-‐related records. School Photos I don’t like many of my school photos, but I absolutely adore school photos of my ancestors. A common practice is to write identifying information on the back such as names, dates,
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grade levels, etc. Some school photos have the school year and name of school printed on the front by the photographer. Again this is all information to place an ancestor in a time and place which can help to Mind more school-‐ related records and information. Keep in mind that not just individual school photos were taken, but class, athletic, and organization photos were taken as well.
Letters Letters can reveal many clues about our ancestors and their lives including names of schools and names of school friends. Perhaps they can reveal
the fact that a woman pursued higher education as in the case of Ms. Franchel, a young woman from Dallas, Texas who, in a letter to a friend, brieMly mentions her attending school in New York City. Her brief mention of it, the tone in which it is written, and the fact that it is brief as compared to the rest of the letter, which expounds upon her social life in New York City, all combine to give the reader a feeling that Ms. Franchel was not impressed with her schooling and would
rather be doing something else. Therefore, not only does the letter reveal that she went to school in New York City and the approximate time period, but it also reveals her feelings on the matter, which is hard to Mind about our ancestors. Another letter that I found in an antique store was written by a Mrs. Frances A. Burke from Aubrey, Texas and the acrostic poem that she wrote in it was in honor of a Ms. Erma Dyche’s graduation from Aubrey High School 6 Mar 1912. This letter reveals the fact that Erma graduated from Aubrey High School in 1912, and that there was some type of a relationship between the two women. All deMinite clues to use for further researching and searching. Composition Notebooks and School Books
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Students have always had to write their names and the date of r e c e i p t i n s c h o o l books and their school c o m p o s i t i o n notebooks. This is f o r t u n a t e f o r t h e f a m i l y h i s t o r y researcher for this can place an ancestor in a time and place. In the case of the school book, Swinton’s Word Primer, it had had two owners. Pearl Williams used the book when she was 10 yrs old in 1892, but so did her future husband, Harvey Lewis Belcher Pointer. This confounded many of the present-‐day Pointer’s, but with a little digging the reason was found. Harvey had been raised by the Belcher family, and they happened to be extended family of Pearl’s. They lived in a small rural area in Iowa, and they would have known each other at a young age. What is unique about his signature is that while growing up, he signed his name and considered himself a ‘Belcher’, even though he was a ‘Pointer’, and his signature in this school primer is Harvey Belcher. As an adult Harvey went by his true last name, ‘Pointer’.
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Promotions to the next level and Academic Awards Even to this day, students are given a written notice of their promotion to the next level. While they come in many forms, they usually have the student’s name, date, level student is being promoted from and to, and a teacher’s name. These can be found on Ebay.com, antique stores, genealogy blogs, Great-‐So-‐and-‐So’s attic, etc. Awards and certiMicates can contain the same information and can be found in in the same places.
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Yearbooks If they can be found, yearbooks give a wonderful glimpse into your ancestor’s school life. They can be found at the actual school, at local libraries, at local archives, at local antique stores, f o r s a l e o n e b a y. c o m , a t A n c e s t r y . c o m ,
a n d
G e n e a l o g y To d a y. c o m . T h e yearbook page following page shows my mother, Carolyn Blacketer, in 1955 attending Providence High School in San Antonio, Texas. Newspapers / Newspaper Clippings / Articles Every time your ancestor received an award at school and if it was in a smaller town, a mention of it was probably made in the local newspaper. Searching Ancestry.com, GenealogyBank.com, NewspaperArchives.com, and Fold3.com might yield a rare Mind of your ancestor and their school life. Likewise, look for newspapers in local libraries, archives, and genealogical and historical societies. I found this newspaper clipping on Ancestry.com about my father being honored as one of seventeen Designated Distinguished Students at Texas A&M from the San Antonio area. Along with his name, it lists his local
address in San Antonio. Also, don’t forget that if your ancestor played sports at any level, the likelihood of their name and/or photo appearing in a local or state newspaper is high as can be seen in the image of the newspaper page right. PTO / PTA Records Many parents over the years have worked and supported the Parent Teacher Organization or the Parent Teacher Association of their child’s school. Records and yearbooks full of n a m e s o f p a re n t a n d te a c h e r v o l u n t e e r s e x i s t f o r t h e s e organizations as is evidenced in the photo below. Look at the school level to Mind where these are archived. Some may be found in local university archives. City Directories Schools are usually listed in the back of city directories in the classiMied section. Additionally, in some older directories, each person’s occupation and employer is listed, including teachers.
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University Former Student Directories These directories can list what a student received their diploma in, what year they graduated, and their last known address. In other words, there are many clues to work with to Mind additional records. University Organizations Universities have many student and parent organizations that created records. A good place to look for them is at the university’s archives. World War I and World War II Draft Registration Cards If your male ancestor was a student at the time of Milling out his draft registration card, then his school information should be or could be listed. U.S. Passport Applications If your ancestor was a student at the time of applying for a passport, then his or her school information could be listed. Don’t forget that later applications have photos of the applicants on the back side. Obituaries Sometimes obituaries can reveal where your ancestor graduated high school and/or college. Farm Account Books Farm account books might seem like an unusual place to look for school-‐related information, but since everything that was bought and sold on a farm for every day of every year are listed in them, school-‐related information can be found in them. For example, in the Pointer family farm account books (which span the early 1900’s to the 1940’s), every year when school started Pearl
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(Williams) Pointer did back-‐to-‐school shopping for clothes, books, and supplies for her seven children. Not only is this information nice to compare to present day, but this can be very helpful in trying to determine approximately how far your ancestor went in their schooling. So is it worth looking for school-‐related records and ephemera? Will you gain anything from your search? Well, there are no guarantees in genealogy and family history research, but if you never try to look, how will you know? I know that I personally welcome any bit of information and artifacts that once belonged to my family. No matter how small and seemingly insigniMicant. It’s a tangible reminder of the people from whom I descend. It’s a link to the past that I yearn -‐ with every Miber of my being – to look at, to touch, and to possess. Sources/Credits for this article can be found at Shades Of The Departed at this link.
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my ilibrary BY DENISE BARRETT OLSON
It's not the Mlashiest app on my iPad -‐ or the most entertaining. But, next to my news reader, it gets the most use. "It" is my reference library. At the moment, I currently have more than two dozen reference books physically residing on my iPad ranging from a PDF version of Elizabeth Shown Mills' Evidence Explained to Digging
iAncestor
Into WordPress by Chris Coyier and Jeff Starr. If these or any of my other books were paper copies, they would be dog-‐ eared, covered in sticky notes and full of
comments in the margins. It's because they aren't paper that they get so much use. On the iPad they are weightless and I can take them with me wherever I go. Weight is not the only advantage. For me, search ranks number one. Every book in my iPad library is searchable so I can quickly Mind the information I need. Most of the book-‐reader apps I have installed also have some kind of note-‐taking feature which also comes in handy. Some even include those notes in their searches. This is very close to reference nirvana.
Sample annotations in GoodReader with the tools displayed. Screenshot by the author.
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In reality my library isn’t one app, but several. The actual books are spread across several book readers -‐ not by choice, but as a result of where they were purchased. I have found ebook editions of some very useful genealogy books at Kindle, Barnes & Noble and iBooks. However, most of my best reference books and material are PDF documents. My favorite PDF reader is Good Reader [iOS -‐ $4.99]. It can read PDF documents -‐ handling even large Miles with ease -‐ as well as OfMice and iWork Miles, web archives and text Miles. It offers both impressive Mile management and annotation systems, making it even more useful.
A look at the tools available in GoodReader’s file management facility. Screenshot by the author.
Thanks to Good Reader’s Mile management functionality, I don’t have to have my entire reference library on my iPad at all times. I can use cloud-‐based services like Dropbox to keep my complete collection within easy reach from anywhere I have Internet access. As a result, I have included scanned copies of society journals, published genealogies and even useful magazine and newspaper clippings as part of my library. I am now subscribed to the
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digital edition of Family Tree Magazine and most of the user guides and technical manuals for the software I use are also PDFs. The PDF copy of Evidence Explained I own is the Mirst edition of the book and was purchased at Footnote.com. Since that time the second edition has been published but I have not been able to Mind it in digital format yet. My reference library isn’t just books either. Internet Genealogy magazine is available as an app. The free Dictionary.com app also includes a thesaurus. Maps come alive on the iPad and both Google Earth [Free] and National Geographic Atlas HD [$1.99] are amazing. The default Maps app can help you Mind a speciMic address and even give you directions to get there. As a fan of both Wikipedia and cooliris, I Mind the free Discover app totally mesmerizing. You must be connected to use it, but it m a k e s M i n d i n g a s p e c i M i c Wikipedia topic so much easier and it will then connect with other articles related to it. I’ve found it to be both one of my most useful reference apps and
A look at a Wikipedia article as displayed in the Discover app. Screenshot by the author.
one of the most distracting. Pocket Reference [$3.99] is a searchable directory of links to a huge collection of publications, archives and databases. You must be online to use this app and it is a bit
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clunky, but even if you had the best bookmarking system in the world, you could not get to this many resources as fast as you can with this app. Another beneMit of the ebook explosion is the number of historical publications being digitized. These include genealogies and family histories, regimental histories, local histories and society journals. You can Mind these books at public domain libraries like Internet Archive [http://www.archive.org/details/ t e x t s ] o r P r o j e c t G u t e n b e r g [ h t t p : / / www.gutenberg.org]. My iPad is many things and its function as a reference library may not be the most exciting, but it is the most useful. It’s the primary reason.
Library Before The iPad
School Photo Souvenirs WHEN THIS YOU SEE REMEMBER ME
I
t was customary from the late
photograph for those cards that contained
1800s to the early 1900s for
one.
teachers to present their students with a small gift or token of
Advertisements like those contained in this
remembrance at the close of school. It was
article could be found in almost all
an expression of the teacher’s regard and
teacher’s magazines and school journals.
good wishes. Presentation of this gift was
The card price was 10 souvenirs for ninety
usually made a part of the Closing Day
cents with extras costing three and a half
Ceremonies.
cents each. In today’s money this would be
The souvenir was printed for each individual school. Some were in the form of booklets, some in the form of Cabinet Cards. Included were the name of the school, the district, the township, county, state, date, the name of the teacher, the school board and the students. The teacher provided a
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approximately $26.00 for ten souvenirs. Several examples follow, including a school photograph souvenir of a lovely little postcard made for the student to send to friends and relatives.
Preston School, Preston, WA
Advertisements for teacher souvenirs appeared in all magazines marketed to schools and teachers.
Missouri School Journal 1899
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Thomas Public School District No. 13 North Twp., Marshall County, Indiana Pearle Bondurant, Teacher 1907
School Is Out Student Post Card With Photograph 1916 T. C. Wilson
Cabinet Card Wendell Printing Co. known for the printing of Remembrance Cards. John A. Logan, Teacher, 1904
Reward of Merit To William C. Whitney - From M. J. Horner 1859
Produced By Fenner Brothers William & Charles Lima, Ohio Mary B. Goble, Teacher, 1901
Two 1899 Teacher Souvenirs, the oldest in my collection. Left: Nellie E. Brainerd Primary Room LaFayette, Illinois Right: Mary A. Jackson School District No. 55 West Carns Neb.
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The School Journal, 1910
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August 2013
Cops & Robbers
THE LAST PICTURE SHOW
s . Evan
an D Mr. Ev
Born: June 23, 1849, Myrthur Tydville, Wales Married: July 1873, Anna L. Reed Died: July 14, 1916, Erie, PA
Glenwood Hotel and Dancing Hall on Cayuga Lake, August 1910
Photographer Evan D. Evans was born in Wales but emigrated to the United States when he was twelve. He established a photography studio in Corning, New York, in 1874. In 1881, a devastating fire destroyed his gallery in Corning and he then moved to Ithaca and opened the University Art Gallery where, until at least 1901, he specialized in portraits of Cornell students. The "Evans University Art Gallery" became the official photographer for Cornell College class books and other college publications. Evans achieved renowned success for his portraiture work due to the many thousands of students who came from around the country to study at Cornell University. Outside of photography, Mr. Evans built and owned one of the finest summer hotels and grounds in Central N. Y., called the Glenwood Hotel. (See photo above.)