Photo Friday – Vye, Wakefield, Wallace, & Walsh

Ethel Wight Collection – Part 95

By Don Taylor

This week, for Photo Friday, I identify the people in five more envelopes from the Ethel Wight Studio Collection[i]. The envelopes contain the names who paid for the photos, not necessarily of the individual portrayed in the image. As such, it is vital to analyze the pictures and information to identify the individual therein.[ii] Ultimately, my goal is to reunite the photos with family members who may have never seen the image.

 Marion Vye, Student Nurse, circa 1935

The envelope this negative was in says, “Miss Marion Vye, State St. Hospital #859.”

Why I believe this to be the individual.

• The 1936 & 1937 Portland City Directories list Marion Vye as a student nurse at 62 State (State Street Hospital).
• In 1930, a Marion Helen Vye entered the United States. She was born in Lower Newcastle, NB, and was 17 years old. Her mother was Annie E.
• Marion Helen Vye married Bruno Karl Goetz on 12 April 1939 and lived in New York during the 1940 Census.

Alternate Individuals:

• There is a Marion L Vye, born 30 Jul 1923 in Auburn, Maine. She would have been 12 years old when this photo was taken. She is too young to be the person in this photo.
• There is a Marion Corrine Vye, burn 22 May 1899, in St. Cloud, Minnesota. She would have been 36 years old when this photo was taken. She is too old to be the person in this photo.

I’m confident this is Marion Helen Vye, born 9 September 1913, about 1935 when she was 22.

Ancestry has six public trees that refer to Marion Helen Vye. Family Search has profile KDSD-689 for Marion. I have uploaded a photo of her to her Family Search Memories. 

Lucille Wakefield, of  Mattawa, Ontario, Canada & an unknown nephew of Lucille Wakefield.

Image of negative envelope of Mrs Lucille Wakefield

This negative envelope says, “Mrs. Lucille Wakefield, Mattawa, Ont. Canada & Nephew #492.”

Mattawa is in the Nipissing District of Ontario.

Lucille Wakefield

What I tried:

• I reviewed the 1921 Canadian Census and failed to find any Wakefields living in Mattawa, Nipissing, Ontario, Canada.
• My review of several other databases also failed to find any Wakefields living in Nipissing or near Mattawa.

A Lucy Wakefield lived in Brantford, Ontario (about 300 miles south of Mattawa). She was 46 in 1921, so she would be about 60 in 1935 when this photo was taken. I believe the woman in this photo is younger than that, and the location is quite distant, so I don’t believe this is that Lucille Wakefield.

I failed to identify Lucille, so I couldn’t determine who her nephew might be. I uploaded the photo of Lucille to Dead Fred. The image of the nephew is only uploaded here.

Olive & Roy Wakefield, circa 1934. (Olive née Libby)

This negative envelope says, Mr. Roy Wakefield, 51 Woodlawn Ave #197.”

Why I believe this to be the individual.

• The 1934 Portland city directory lists Roy and Olive Wakefield living at 51 Woodlawn.
• The 1935 Portland City Directory lists Roy and Olive living at 395 Cumberland.
• The 1940 US Census indicates that Roy L and Olive M Wakefield live at 41 Anderson Street, Portland. With them are two sons, 4-year-old Stanley and 2-year-old Robert. Roy is 40 and Olive is 37. Suggesting that they would be 34 and 31 respectively when this photo was taken about 1934.
• The two people in this photo appear to be in their 30s.
• This photo appears to be of Roy Linwood and Olive Mildred (Libby) Wakefield about 1934 after their marriage (in 1933).

Roy L Wakefield appears in 38 Ancestry public trees. Olive Mildred Libby appears in 15 public Ancestry trees. Roy is ID L8S1-74Y, and Olive is ID LDMY-7L5 on FamilySearch. I have uploaded a photo of them to both their Family Search Memories.

Nancy Wallace, circa 1936, age 1.

This negative envelope says, “Mr. H. R. Wallace, 945 Forest Ave #1035.”

Why I believe this to be the individual.

• The 1935 Portland City Directory lists Herbert R & Lena M, Wallace living at 945 Forest Ave.
• The 1940 US Census lists Joseph Laporte living in Sanford, York County. His daughter Lena Wallace, granddaughter Nancy, and son-in-law Herbert live with him. Nancy is five years old. The Census also reports that the Wallace’s lived in Portland during 1935.
• Based upon the photo ID number (#1035), it was likely taken about 1936, when Nancy was 1 to 2 years old.

I am sure this photo is of Nancy M Wallace, born 23 November 1934 to Herbert R and Lena (Laporte) Wallace.

Ancestry has three public trees that refer to Nancy M Wallace.  Family Search has profile LBGR-RNG for Nancy Post [sic], the daughter of Herbert Ross & Lena (Laporte) Wallace. I have uploaded two photos of her to her Family Search Memories.

Mary Catherine Walsh, circa 1934.

This negative envelope says, “Miss Mary Walsh, 26 Adam St. #212 – DSCN4230P.”

Why I believe this to be the individual.

• The 1934 Portland City Directory lists Mary C Walsh living at 26 Adams.
• 1935, 1936, and 1937 Portland City Directories list Mary C Walsh as a clerk at 544 Congress and residing at 14 Mayo. There do not appear to be any other Walsh’s at 14 Mayo.
• Mary C Walsh is not listed in the 1938 Portland City Directory.
• Mary Catherine Walsh was born on 25 August 1911 in Portland, Maine. She married Joseph Caputo on 14 February 1938. Mary Catherine was the daughter of Martin & Delia (Duffy) Walsh.
• Mary W Caputo, the 27-year-old wife of Joseph Caputo, appears in the 1940 US Census, living in Stamford, Connecticut. She had lived in Portland, Maine, in 1935. She was a clerk at a drug store.
• The 1920 Census shows Mary living with her parents, Martin & Delia, at 42 Chestnut, in Portland (Ward 4), Maine. Martin and Delia were 40, and both were born in Ireland.
• The 1930 Census shows Mary living with her siblings at 26 Anderson Street in Portland.

I am sure this photo is of Mary Catherine Walsh, daughter of Martin & Delia (Duffy) Walsh, about 1934 when she lived on Adams Street.

I have not found Mary Catherine Walsh in Ancestry trees. However, I did find her father, Martin Walsh (father of Mary), in two public trees. I have not found Mary on Family Search, so I uploaded her photo to Dead Fred.

Conclusion

• I identified five of the seven Four of them have Family Search profiles, so I uploaded their images to their Family Search Memories
• I identified one individual that did not have a Family Search profile but did appear in Ancestry trees, so I posted her image to Dead Fred.
• I failed to identify two of the individuals. I have one name, so I uploaded her image to Dead Fred. The other individual is completely unknown; his image only exists here. I have a second image of him available if you contact me directly.

If any of these photos are of your family member, I would love to hear your reaction. Especially if this photo is of a loved one for whom you hadn’t seen this photograph before.

Due to software limitations, the images uploaded to Family Search, Dead Fred, and Flickr have a higher image quality than the images linked here.

For all postings of the Ethel Wight Collection, please see here.

Endnotes

[i] The Wight Studio was in Portland, Maine. Many thanks to Ethel Wight’s family for access to and permission to use the collection of their great aunt.

[ii] These images were converted to positives using a lightbox, a Nikon camera, and computer software.