Laurel Cottage Genealogy
Genealogy Services, Old Photos, Postcards, Trade Cards, Etc.

Ucilious Calvert Sterquell

Posted on June 12th, 2017 by

A male given name we hadn’t encountered yet:  Ucilious. From research for the Necks To Nothing post, Ucilious Calvert Sterquell was married to Mary Louise Henley. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1891, was a veteran of WWI and died in Waco, Texas in 1947. How many others were found named Ucilious? From a brief search online at Ancestry, all entries are for the man himself, other than another gentleman with Ucilious as a middle name. This is proving to be an interesting sideline…the unusual first names category. Probably we could keep going forever, for in looking for one person you come across others…

Source:  Find A Grave. Memorial #54015646. Find A Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi.

Tags:
Categories: Unusual First Names

Shenandoah V. Gray

Posted on June 12th, 2017 by

Our “Unusual First Names” category has been a little neglected….so, here’s an entry for a beautiful given name, found on the 1920 Federal Census, Pittsburgh, PA:

Shenandoah….

Curiously, no other records were found for Shenandoah V. Gray, who was born in Virginia, about 1870, and married to Charles D. Gray sometime before the 1920 census was taken. Possibly she went by her middle name, but even so, nothing was located, though a more exhaustive search could definitely be made.

Source:  Year: 1920; Census Place: Pittsburgh Ward 4, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Roll: T625_1519; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 378; Image: 1059. (Ancestry.com)

Tags:
Categories: Unusual First Names

The Dewey Post Card Co.

Posted on June 12th, 2017 by

The Dewey Post Card Company was a postcard publisher out of Dewey, Oklahoma, according to our Grand River Dam card. And there may be non-digitized info out there somewhere, as in city directories, that would shed more light on the company, and certainly one would presume that other postcards from them must have survived. (Nothing showing at the moment.) The one thing we did find though, is the publisher’s connection to the photo chronicles of one of the most important events in Waco, Texas history, and a slight glimpse into downtown happenings maybe a month or two afterwards:

From The Waco News-Tribune. (Waco, TX) July 22, 1953.

The storm referenced above was the devastating F5-strength Waco Tornado that tore into (descended on – an even better description – from the Teardrop Memorial) the city on May 11th,1953, resulting in the tragic loss of 114 lives, as well as injuries to around 600 and property loss valued at the 1953 rate of over 50 million….The hail before the tornado had become as big as baseballs….From the sound of the ad, Dewey was one of several (?) enterprises set up at the “Waco storm photo stand” downtown at 5th and Austin, downtown being one of the worst hit areas. (Was it still mostly rubble at this point?) See the links below for detailed information and photos.

Sources:  “Notice!” Dewey Post Card Co. Ad. The Waco News-Tribune, July 22, 1953, Wednesday, p. 15. (Newspapers.com).

1953 Waco tornado outbreak. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Waco_tornado_outbreak. (accessed June 11, 2017).

Simmons, Brian M. “The Most Horrible Storm: A Firsthand Account of the 1953 Waco Tornado.” May 8, 2012. Baylor University’s The Texas Collection. (http://www.baylor.edu/lib/texas/) Accessed June 11, 2017.

Tags: , ,
Categories: Disasters and Weather, Publishing Companies - D

Grand River Dam And Lake, Northeastern Oklahoma

Posted on June 12th, 2017 by

Divided back, unused postcard. Publisher:  Dewey Post Card Co., Dewey, Oklahoma. Printer:  Curt Teich. Genuine Curteich – Chicago. “C. T. American Art.” No. or series:  2B88 – N. Circa 1953.

Price:  $5.00

“Length of dam 5680 ft., height 150 ft., length of lake 60 miles with 1000 miles shoreline. A playground of four states. Power plant capacity 200,000,000 KWH. Four 20,000 h. p. turbines, four 16,000 KVA generators.”

There’s a few similar-view-of-the-dam linen postcards that we see online, however none at the moment by this publisher, the Dewey Post Card Co. Per the publisher research we’re estimating the date of this postcard at 1953.

The Grand River Dam is an a.k.a. for the Pensacola Dam, in Northeastern Oklahoma, which is the longest multiple-arch dam in the world. Construction was started in 1938 and completed in 1940.

Source:  Pensacola Dam. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pensacola_Dam (accessed June 12, 2017).

Tags: ,
Categories: Lakes, Linens, Postcards, Postcards Unused, Waterfalls, Dams and Locks

Rocky River Bridge, Cleveland, Ohio

Posted on June 9th, 2017 by

Divided back, used postcard. Postmarked June 7, 1913 from Cleveland, Ohio. Publisher:  Wm. Frank, Cleveland, OH. Number or series:  1361 – 5.

Price:  $7.00

The publisher logo is eye-catching and worth cropping to highlight below.

The card appears to be addressed to:   “Mr. Ernest Hain, 312 West 24th St., New York.”  Though no records were found under this name or Haim, Hamm etc. that might fit for location and time frame.

The sender, whose name we’re guessing to be Edgar, wrote in french:   “Ca va bien mais seulement il fait très sec dans la journée. les salutations de ton ami Edgar.” 

“Everything’s going well but it’s very dry during the day, regards from your friend Edgar.”

Five of six…

As for the subject on the front of the postcard, the Rocky River Bridge or Detroit Rocky River Bridge (1910 – 1980) was the fifth (of six) bridges to be built at this location that crosses the Rocky River, connecting the Ohio cities of Rocky River and Lakewood. It was replaced in 1980 by its current structure. The old bridge in the postcard was a record-holder for a time:  When it was completed in 1910, it was,  “the longest stretch of unreinforced concrete in the world”  at 208 feet.

Source:  The Cleveland Historical Team, “Detroit Rocky River Bridge.” (clevelandhistorical.org). Accessed June 9, 2017.

Tags: , , ,
Categories: Bridges, Postcards, Rivers

Hugh Ester Bayles

Posted on June 2nd, 2017 by

Divided back, unused with writing and/or photographer stamp. Three Real Photo Postcards of Hugh Ester Bayles, taken in San Jose, CA, by photographer Enrico Bambocci. Circa 1913 and 1918. Solio stamp box.

Availability Status:  SOLD

So, we’re a little late with this military-related post, for the prior Memorial Day, but nevertheless….three wonderful RPPCs of Hugh Ester Bayles. Hugh was the son of Levi Bayles and Lydia Mitchell, and was born August 21, 1892 in Paxico, Kansas (still a small town today). The 1910 Federal Census shows Hugh, his parents, and his siblings, Charles, Ruth and Homer, living in Mokelumne, Calaveras Co., CA. At the time of the first World War draft registration, he was living at 918 Harliss Ave., San Jose, CA, and working as a truck driver for the Raisch Co.[?] located on Auzerais Ave. He enlisted April 30, 1918. He was married to Bessie Irene Way, prior to 1939. He died November 30, 1982 at age 90.

At age 21, about 1913, San Jose, California. The photographer props at this time include an animal skin (uggh) of….is that a badger? (poor guy) and a vase holding geraniums.

Hugh, age 21. Different day, as he is wearing a different (pin-striped) suit and a wider tie.

In uniform, at about age 26, circa 1918.

Sources:  Registration State: California; Registration County: Los Angeles; Roll: 1544322. Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918.

The National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; World War II Draft Cards (4th Registration) for the State of California; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System, 1926-1975; Record Group Number: 147. (Ancestry.com)

Paxico, Kansas. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paxico,_Kansas (accessed May 30, 2017).

Ancestry.com. U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010.

Year: 1910; Census Place: Mokelumne, Calaveras, California; Roll: T624_73; Page: 13B; Enumeration District: 0011; FHL microfilm: 1374086. (Ancestry.com)

State of California. California Death Index, 1940-1997. Sacramento, CA, USA: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics. (Ancestry.com)

Find A Grave Memorial# 140189413 for Bessie I. (Way) Bayles

Tags: , , , ,
Categories: Flowers, Hats, Lace and Crochet Work, Military, Photos With Names, Postcards, Postcards Unused With Writing, Real Photo Postcards, WWI

Samuel W. Kirvan, Pilot, Game Warden, Publisher…

Posted on May 29th, 2017 by

Sault Saint Marie, Michigan…

If ever a guy was game (just a happy coincidence with the pun) to try new things, it seems that Sam W. Kirvan, was one such guy. S. W. Kirvan, the publisher of the Old American Locks postcard in our prior post, was also at various times, a pilot, fishing guide, fish and game warden, vaudeville theater partner, store and restaurant owner. Not surprisingly then, but luckily, as we can see from the ad below, he was also a very good self-promoter. (In the world of antique postcards it’s uncommon to find a likeness of the actual publisher.)

Samuel W. Kirvan was born in Ontario, Canada, November 15, 1862, and died December 26, 1937. He was the son of Irish immigrants, Martin and Ellen Jane Kirvan. The 1871 Federal Census shows Samuel at about age 6, with his family in Arran Township, Bruce County, Ontario. On October 3, 1886 he married Margaret Ann Harper, in Cheboygan, MI. It’s not clear how long he may have published postcards. The 1893 date comes from a snippet book result that shows up on another site with a later estimated date for the same four-page publication, and the American Locks postcard is 1906, though there may have been later ones. There don’t seem to be too many of S. W. Kirvan’s postal cards that survived. In any case, his name can be found numerous times in the Sault Ste. Marie Evening News, as well as in census records and city directories. The following is an occupational timeline with rough date estimates:

1892 – Fruit and confectionery store bought from T. A. Campbell

Pilot and fishing guide – 1893 – ? 18 years experience as a pilot per ad

Deputy game warden – June 1893 – ?

Publisher of tourist views and postcards – 1893 – 1906?

Fruit and candy tent sales – May 1894

Restaurant at 59 Portage Ave. W. – 1898

Fur dealer – 1900 Federal Census

Dealer in Indian curios – 1900 – 1905

Opening vaudeville theater with Mr. Devine – 1906

Bought the Gerrish Cafe on Portage Ave, Sault Ste. Marie – about April 1906

Hotel manager – 1920 Federal Census

Owner of cigar store and billiard room – 1922 – ?

Owner of decorating store – 1930 Federal census

Some clippings below from the Sault Ste. Marie Evening News….

Notice of appointment to Chippewa County deputy game and fish warden, dated June 3, 1893.

Tent sales mention

A clip from a December 20, 1905 article, with Samuel Kirvan later in the article making the distinction that,  “We will allow nothing that parents cannot conscientiously take their children to witness.”

An April 1921 snippet, remembering 1906.

United Cigar Store ad, December 16, 1922. The cigar store is mentioned in a later article as being a cigar store/pool hall.

_________________________________________________________________________

Sources:  Year: 1871; Census Place: Arran, Bruce, Ontario; Roll: C-9937; Page: 6; Family No: 16. (Ancestry.com)

Kirvan, S.W. Brook Trout and Black Bass Fishing: Tourists and Others While Visiting Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. .. S.W. Kirvan. Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library. (http://brbl-dl.library.yale.edu/vufind/Record/4099601).

“Souvenir of the Soo: Scenes Around La Saut De. Ste. Marie, Michigan.”  (1893) Google.com snippet view. (accessed May 28, 2017).

R. L. Polk & Co.’s Sault Ste. Marie Directories for 1895, 1898, 1900, 1902 and 1905. (Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995).

Original data: Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867–1952. Michigan Department of Community Health, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics. (Ancestry.com)

Year: 1910; Census Place: Sault St marie Ward 3, Chippewa, Michigan; Roll: T624_641; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 0247; FHL microfilm: 1374654. (Ancestry.com)

Year: 1920; Census Place: Chippewa, Chippewa, Michigan; Roll: T625_761; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 21; Image: 49. (Ancestry.com)

Year: 1930; Census Place: Superior, Chippewa, Michigan; Roll: 980; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 0025; Image: 1052.0; FHL microfilm: 2340715. (Ancestry.com)

Death Records. Michigan Department of Community Health, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics, Lansing, Michigan. (Ancestry.com)

“Deputy Warden Kirvan.” Sault Saint Marie Evening News. June 3, 1893, Saturday. (GenealogyBank.com)

Tent sale. Sault Saint Marie Evening News. May 5, 1894, Saturday. (GenealogyBank.com)

“To Open Theatre.” Sault Saint Marie Evening News. December 20, 1905, Wednesday.

“15 Years Ago.” Sault Saint Marie Evening News. April 4, 1894, Monday           . (GenealogyBank.com)

United Cigar Stores. Sault Saint Marie Evening News. December 16, 1922, Saturday.      (GenealogyBank.com)

Tags: , ,
Categories: Birch bark motif, Publishing Companies - K

Old American Locks, Sault Ste. Marie

Posted on May 28th, 2017 by

Undivided back, used postcard. Postmarked July 29, 1906 from Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan. Publisher:  S. W. Kirvan. No. 1820. Made in Germany.

Price:  $12.00

The addressee, “Miss Ada” of # 89 Second Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, was not found in census records or city directories. What’s her surname? Hmmm. Dempsey? And 89 could have been only an apartment number, and maybe Ada was a middle name. Still she wasn’t located. So, moving on to some other points of interest….It’s a beautiful card, nice colors, slightly heavier than many postcards, but about the description:  It must have been a misprint, and should read as:  Old American Locks, 1855 to 1881, Sault Ste. Marie.

S. W. was Samuel W. Kirvan, found as such in a Google book snippet for “Souvenir of the Soo: Scenes Around La Saut De. Ste. Marie, Michigan” described as four pages, for which Kirvan was author and publisher. More on the publisher in the next post.

Sources:  Soo Locks. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soo_Locks (accessed May 28, 2017).

Kirvan, S. W. “Souvenir of the Soo: Scenes Around La Saut De. Ste. Marie, Michigan.” (1893) Google.com snippet view. (accessed May 28, 2017).

Tags: , ,
Categories: Postcards, Postcards Used, Undivided Back, Waterfalls, Dams and Locks

Indian Post Souvenirs, Algonac, Michigan

Posted on May 28th, 2017 by

Divided back, unused, Real Photo Postcard. Circa late 1940s – early 1950s. EKC stamp box.

Price:  $25.00

What is revealed…

There’s a lot to take note of in this vintage RPPC of the Indian Post souvenir shop, Algonac, Michigan:  First and foremost, the two men posing for the photo, one in full headdress; then the address on the building of 717 – this may have been Michigan St. or St. Clair River Dr; the hand-painted artwork on wood of the Indian maiden (love it); the “Railway Express Agency – Packages Received Here” sign, the striped folding deck chairs on the lawn, and how about the very cool window silhouette of the guy on our right? Then there’s the small sign behind him that we can’t read – that looks like part of a wing there; the U.S. souvenir-type flag in the window, and little plastic “windmills” – maybe this was taken around Memorial Day or Fourth of July. And, we impart this fact to you, the readers – this postcard was made from a photo that had some folds in it. The card itself is in great condition, but note the three vertical creases at the top, in the image.

Probably in 2022……no, we didn’t have to wait till then

If it’s of great import (for sure, why not?) the shop owner’s name will probably turn up on the 1950 Federal Census, but that won’t be out till April of 2022. City directories for the area were not found online; maybe they exist at a local library. But in moving over to search Newspapers.com we hit the jackpot with a full page spread on Algonac (Chris-Craft enthusiasts you already know the connection) in Port Huron’s, The Times-Herald, (the River Section) dated July 21, 1950, with the photo below…..Thanks to readers that commented the man in the full headress is Maxim “Max” Ouimet.

Proprietor in “chief”

The Times-Herald photo showing the Post’s owner with two potential buyers, and displaying some of the baskets the store was known for. Our shop owner then, who we now know is Max Ouimet, is the man on our left in the postcard image. We also now know that the Indian Post was situated between two buildings. The Railway Express sign is still up, visible just next to the 5-story birdhouse…..and as for that particular item for sale, who bought it, is it still happily in use, and if so where?…Picturing the now grown-up kid contacting us with a great story to tell….the day he met the “chief” and his parents bought the bird condo. Stranger things have happened!

Two clippings from the article

Algonac, Michigan on the Saint Clair River

Sources:   “Color A-Plenty Awaits Visitors In Lovely Algonac.”  The Times-Herald (Port Huron, MI) Wednesday, July 21, 1950. p. 90. (Newspapers.com)

Algonac, MI 48001. Google.com map. (accessed May 25, 2017).

Further reading:  Walpole Island First Nation. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walpole_Island_First_Nation (accessed May 25, 2017).

Bkejwanong. Walpole Island. http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ksands/Warpole.html. (accessed May 28, 2017).

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories: Chairs, Feathers, Indians, First Nations, Alaska Natives and Other Indigenous Peoples, Postcards, Postcards Unused, Real Photo Postcards

Picking Flower, Near Mississippi Headwaters, Minnesota

Posted on May 21st, 2017 by

Divided back, unused, Real Photo Postcard. Circa 1950s.

Price:  $15.00

This Real Photo Postcard is one of (at least) four that we see that had been taken, circa 1950s, of an Indian woman named Picking Flower. The other three vintage cards are currently on ebay:  One shows a very similar view to the photo taken for this card, and the other two show Picking Flower standing at the Headwaters of the Mississippi River, Minnesota, with captions. My guess is that she’s Chippewa, a.k.a. Ojibwe or Ojibwa, and it’s possible she might have been a member of the Mississippi River Band Chippewas, but of course, that is mere speculation. The artwork of flowers and leaves that she’s working on (or more likely it was some finished work that was used for the photo shoot) and that which adorns her dress, is very distinctive to Chippewa beadwork design (not to mention stunningly beautiful). Here’s a quick screen shot of a Google search for examples (note the similarity in the top right design to that in the postcard.)

And, if you enlarge the postcard image, you’ll notice the little pair of moccasins that’s attached to the dress (on her left) and the shells interspersed in the shoulder areas. Always the case, we get to wondering about the circumstances surrounding a photo session, about the person themselves, how they felt at the time, what the rest of their life was like. I think Picking Flower is maybe in her 50s, from the graying hair we note, and she looks like she was squinting a little from the sun, when the photo was taken.

Sources:  Mississippi River Band of Chippewa Indians. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi_River_Band_of_Chippewa_Indians (accessed May 21, 2017).

“Images of Chippewa beadwork”  Google.com search. (accessed May 21, 2017).

Tags: , , , ,
Categories: Flowers, Indians, First Nations, Alaska Natives and Other Indigenous Peoples, Leaves, Photos With Names, Postcards, Postcards Unused, Real Photo Postcards