April | 2025 |

Monthly Archives: April 2025

Another Teacher of Peter Clancy

Posted on April 17th, 2025 by Annieoakley

Miniature Round Photo on rectangle matting, 1899. Photographer: F. J. Walsh, Trenton, New Jersey.

Price: $5.00 Size: 1 ½ x 2 ¼”

We’ll put up more from the Clancy Family of Minnesota shortly. (And, see the prior post: Peter Clancy’s Favorite Teacher.)

A pretty young woman, and it almost looks like the photo’s been damaged somehow – that dark portion running across the bottom. But click twice to enlarge and you’ll see it’s just an illusion stemming from the dress style. I’ve never come across this particular type, though I’m no historical fashion expert. And, pretty rewarding – doing a “lens” search on Google actually does bring up a couple of similar styles of high-necked lace set off by dark, turned-down fabric. In ours it’s turned-down triangles at the bodice, and for the fabric over the shoulders.

Photographer, F. J. Walsh, was Francis “Frank” J. Walsh, born in Ireland. Here’s more about him in our subsequent post. His Trenton, New Jersey street address differs from the prior photo. This one shows: “No. 353 Perry Street.”

Categories: Mini Photos, People, Photos Without Names, Women

Christine Ness, Peter Clancy’s Favorite Teacher

Posted on April 17th, 2025 by Annieoakley

Miniature Photo, oval on rectangle matting. 1902. Photographer: F. J. Walsh, Trenton, New Jersey.

Price: $10.00 Size: 1 ½ x 2 ¼”

A beautiful young woman – she is said to be Christine Ness, and described as, “Peter Clancy’s favorite teacher.” On the reverse, is also written, “Rock Creek, 1901.” Okay, so whoever wrote that didn’t notice the 1902 date on the front. Rock Creek is not showing up on a New Jersey map, and since this mini photo is from a small collection we found for the Clancy Family of Minnesota (more later on them) they’re likely referring to Rock Creek, Minnesota. There is a photo of a Christina Ness (teacher) in MN, on an Ancestry family tree, though I’m not completely convinced that photo and ours are the same person. It’s possible that whoever wrote on the back of ours was incorrect. (I’ll reach out to that tree owner.)

The photographer, F. J. Walsh, was Francis “Frank” J. Walsh, born in Ireland. His studio address shows: “No. 120 Perry Street, Trenton, N. J.”

But why would a Minnesota teacher have a photo taken in New Jersey? Likely her photo was sent, along with her students’ photos, to be turned into miniatures. See our post on Frank J. Walsh, Photographer for more.

Tags: early photographers in Trenton NJ, high-necked women's blouse styles early 1900s, Ness family of Minnesota family photos, women's clothing and hair styles 1900

Categories: Mini Photos, Old Photos, People, Photos With Names, Women

A Main Street Somewhere Circa 1920s

Posted on April 16th, 2025 by Annieoakley

Real Photo Postcard, unused. Publisher unknown. Circa 1920s.

Price: $4.00

This one may be interesting to anyone looking for old photos of cars made by the Oakland Motor Car Company, though we’re looking at it from a distance, so it’s definitely blurred. Said to be a 1920 or ’21 Oakland, according to the answer to my query on Antique Automobile Club of America’s forum. Here’s the insert:

The postcard scene itself – this is one of those – you can’t tell till you get it home and scan it, whether you’ll be able to read the signage (for clues to location). This falls into the category of tantalizingly close – not quite able to read. (I’m looking at the vertical drug store sign or theater sign in the distance, on the left-hand side of the street.) And is that a mountain we see in the hazy distance? Really hard to tell. Darkening the image doesn’t help. Lot of activity on this street – a downtown scene somewhere, for sure.

Source: Oakland Motor Car Company. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland_Motor_Car_Company (accessed April 16, 2025).

Tags: architecture, downtown street scenes in old postcards 1920s, Greek columns, old photos of conical roofs on turrets, old postcard backs and reverses design

Categories: Automobiles Buses Trucks, Postcards, Postcards Unused, Real Photo Postcards, Town Views

Postcard For Fred Rothert of Elmore, Ohio

Posted on April 11th, 2025 by Annieoakley

Divided Back postcard. Postmarked June 26, 1930 from Port Byron, New York. Publisher: Geo. V. Millar Co., Scranton, PA. Series or number 1814.

Price: $4.00

Watkins, New York and Seneca Lake

Addressed to: “Fred Rothert, R. D., Elmore, O.” The R. D., of course, stands for Rural Delivery, and the “O” was the standard abbreviation for Ohio.

Frederick Rothert, the son of Henry Rothert and Elizabeth Steinkamp was born in Clay Township, Ottawa County, Ohio on August 29, 1876. He married Katie M. Croll on November 28, 1901 in Clay Township. His WWI Draft Registration Card shows the address on the postcard, and that he was a self-employed farmer. There is no shortage of records appearing online for him and his family, so we’ll stop there on that part.

The sender, who’s initials appear to be KWS, wrote:

“6/25/30. Were at the ‘Glen’ yesterday. Will meet my parents in Syracuse Saturday and head for Quebec. KWS.”

The “glen” is the spectacular gorge (with waterfall) which runs through the town of Watkins, which was renamed Watkins Glen in 1926. I had found one account online which indicated the town was first named Jefferson and another account stating it was first named Salubria. Which was it? According to a 1917 account from the State of New York:

“Dr. Watkins was the son of John Watkins, an owner of extensive lands on Jochem Pieter’s Hills before the Revolution. (Riker 819.) He is a particularly interesting figure to the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society, because the village of Watkins at the head of Seneca lake, and Watkins Glen (which latter was made a State Reservation at the instance of this Society) are named after him. The village of Watkins was first known as the Dr. Flint Purchase. Dr. Flint sold it to John W. Watkins, brother of Dr. Samuel Watkins, but about 1820 John W. became financially embarrassed and in 1828 Samuel went there from New York to help him. Samuel laid out the village and named it Salubria, but it was incorporated April 11, 1842 under the name Jefferson. Hence the references to Dr. Watkins as being ‘of Jefferson.’ He died in April, 1851, and in 1852 the village was named Watkins in his honor.”

Below, the reason I bought the postcard – the very charming publisher’s logo:

Note the two figures that appear to be making their way toward the bridge. Did you do a double-take? I think the one is supposed to be a cow, though, to me, he looks more like a mythical beast that walks upright. (We’ve entered a nice fantasy world. 😉 )

Sources: Ancestry.com. Ohio, U.S., Births and Christenings Index, 1774-1973.

Ancestry.com. Ohio, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1774-1993.

Registration State: Ohio; Registration County: Ottawa County. (Ancestry.com).

Twenty-second Annual Report of the Scenic and Historic Preservation Society. Documents of the Assembly of the State of New York, No. 51. May 3, 1917. Page 760. (books.google.com).

Tags: Finger Lakes region of New York, old and vintage postcards of Watkins Glen and Seneca Lake New York, old postcard publisher logos with bridges, Rothert and Croll family Elmore Ohio

Categories: Bridges, Lakes, Postcards, Postcards Used, Rivers, Town Views

Miss Sophie Nebinger

Posted on April 3rd, 2025 by Annieoakley

Divided Back, Real Photo Postcard. VELOX stamp box. Circa 1907 – 1914.

Price: $15.00

The beautiful, Sophie, hand on hip – in a white, high-neck lace blouse, dark skirt, a long beaded necklace of some sort and with her dark hair pinned up. Since no other matches were found, she is very likely the same person as noted in the following records:

From the passenger list dated March 7, 1907, sailing on board the steamer, Neiuw Amsterdam, from Rotterdam to New York, she was born in Balbronn, Germany (now a part of France), about 1885 and her last known residence was Alzey, Germany. Single, described as about 5’1″, brown hair, brown eyes, she had paid her own passage and was going to stay with an uncle in New York City.

Sophia married Fred Muessig on March 21, 1914 in Richmond, New York, though their marriage license, dated a few days prior, was recorded in Manhattan. They had a son, George F. Mussig (the “e” was dropped in the surname) born in New Jersey, 1918. The 1920 Federal Census shows the family living in Newark, New Jersey, with Fred working as a silversmith.

Sophie and Fred’s headstone photo appears on Findagrave.

Sources: The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC, USA; Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1897-1957; Microfilm Serial or NAID: T715; RG Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; RG: 85.

Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Extracted Marriage Index, 1866-1937.

New York City Municipal Archives; New York, New York; Borough: Manhattan. (Ancestry.com).

SS Nieuw Amsterdam (1905). n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Nieuw_Amsterdam_(1905). Accessed April 3, 2025.

Year: 1920; Census Place: Newark Ward 13, Essex, New Jersey; Roll: T625_1037; Page: 17A; Enumeration District: 248. (Ancestry.com).

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/211875991/sophie-mussig: accessed April 3, 2025), memorial page for Sophie Mussig (1884–1972), Find a Grave Memorial ID 211875991, citing Hollywood Cemetery, Union, Union County, New Jersey, USA; Maintained by NotYourTime (contributor 47318863).

Tags: Alsace-Lorraine emigrants to the United States, German emigrants to the U. S., VELOX RPPCs with diamonds in 4 corners of stamp box, women's hairstyles and fashion early 1900s

Categories: People, Photos With Names, Postcards, Postcards Unused With Writing, Real Photo Postcards, Women