Photo Friday – White, Whitehead, & Whittemore

Ethel Wight Collection – Part 98

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.

 Laura White, circa 1935

The envelope this negative was in says, “Laura White, 218 Park Ave #735.”

What I found – Surname:

• 

  Laura White, circa 1935

  The 1935 Portland City Directory lists Laura M White, the wife of Elmer M White, living at 96 Cumberland Ave.

• The 1933 Portland City Directory lists Mrs. Laura White as a waitress residing at 19 Parris.
• The 1932 Portland City Directory lists Mrs. Laura White, the wife of Frank White, residing at 101 Danforth, Apt 5. It also lists Laura as the wife of Elmer, living at 185 Cumberland.
• The 1931 Portland City Directory lists Laura E White, the wife of Frank A White, residing at 11 Casco.
• The 1930 Portland City Directory lists Laura, wife of Frank, living at 336 Brackett.

Address:

• The 1935 Portland City Directory indicates that 218 Park Ave was “The Albert Apartments.” There were 12 individuals listed. None named Laura nor non with the White surname.
• The 1936 Portland City Directory available at Ancestry is missing pages 1201, 1202, and 1203, which would show the residents at 218 Park Ave.
• The 1937 Portland City Directory lists no one with the name Laura nor the surname White living at 218 Park Ave.

I failed to connect the Laura White in this photo to the address cited. Thus, I can’t determine which of the several Laura Whites who lived in Portland, Maine, during the 1930s this is a photo of. So, I uploaded her photo to Dead Fred. 

Mrs. Charlotte White, daughter of Mrs. Alice J Lamar

This negative envelope says, “Mrs. Charlotte White, 278 Veranda St (Mrs. Lamar’s Daughter) #99.”

What I found in my searches for this individual.

Lamar Search

• 

  Mrs. Charlotte White, daughter of Mrs. Alice J Lamar

  The 1935 Portland City Directory lists Mrs. Alice J Lamar living at 278 Veranda.

• The 1927 Portland City Directory lists Arthur Lamare and his wife Alice J Lamare living at 278 Veranda.
• The 1924 Portland City Directory lists Arthur Lamar and his wife, Alice J Lamar, living at 278 Veranda. He was a theatrical manager and Alice was an actress.
• The 1 May 1928 issue of The Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, FL) reported that “Theater Man Dies – Portland, Maine, April 30,— (ap)—Arthur Lamar, 62, theatrical promoter and business manager for prominent stage artists, and manager of the original Peck’s Bad Boy company, died here Saturday [28 April].
• The 1930 US Census lists Alice J Lamar and her sister, Charlotte M Lawton, living at 278 Veranda Street Alice is 60 and Charlotte was 54. Both were widows who were born in Massachusetts, while their parents were born in Maine. Alice was a theatrical actress.
• No Lamar’s are listed in the 1923 Portland Directory.

White – Charlotte, wife of Philip P White.

• Charlotte M White appears in the 1940 US Census. She is the 59-year-old wife of Philip P White. She is the apparent mother of Donald White (Age 26) [Born c. 1914]. They live at 36 Pleasant. They have another son, Clifford, who doesn’t live in the household. All three were born in Maine and lived in Portland in 1935.
• Ancestry Trees suggest that Philip Prescott White was born on 5 March 1881 in Portland. He married Charlotte May Murch (1881-1957). They had several children, including Donald and Clifford. Charlotte’s parents were Francis H and Effie M (Cotton) Murch.

White – Charlotte, wife of Harvey A White.

• Alternately, Charlotte White, the 40-year-old wife of Harvey A White (age 39), appears with her two sons, Robert (14) & Kenneth (11). All were born in Maine.
• Ancestry Trees suggest that Harvey Allen White married Charlotte Mary Webber in 1936. Charlotte Mary Webber’s parents were Charles and Hannah (Sweeney) Webber.

Lawton – Charlotte, sister of Alice J.

• The 1927 Portland City Directory indicates that Mrs. Charlotte Lawton moved to Jacksonville. The 1926 Directory is not available. The 1925 Directory does not include a Charlotte.

I have not determined which Charlotte White this is in either Ancestry trees or Family Search. I uploaded her photo to Dead Fred.

Allen White, circa 1934 (age 2)

This negative envelope says, “Mrs. Wm White, Son Allan, 81 Morning St. #12.”

Why I believe this to be the individual.

• 

  Allen White, circa 1934 (age 2)

  The 1932 Portland City Directory lists William C and Ruth E White living at 81 Morning. William is president at 18½ Custom House wharf.

• The 1935 Portland City Directory lists William C and Ruth E White in New London, Connecticut.
• The 1940 US Census lists William C. and Ruth E White living at Groton, New London, Connecticut. He is a Government worker; living with them is a daughter, Althea (see Ethel Wight Collection – Part 97), and an 8-year-old son, Allen C White.
• This photo was taken about 1934 when Allen was about two years old.

I am pretty sure this is Allen C. White, son of William C and Ruth E White, about 1934.

I have not found Allen on Family Search or Ancestry Public Trees. However, his parents are in seven Ancestry Public Trees. I uploaded his photo to Dead Fred.

Edward Whittemore, circa 1934 (Age 1).

This negative envelope says, “Mrs. J. C. Whittemore, 32 Fellows St. #149.”

Why I believe this to be the individual.

• 

  Edward Whittemore, circa 1934 (Age 1).

  The 1935 Portland City Directory lists John C and Elizabeth P Whittemore living at 32 Fellows.

• The 1940 Census lists John C Whittemore, his wife Elizabeth, and five children. Two daughters and three sons. Edward is six years old and would have been about one when this photo was taken in 1934.

I am confident this photo of Edward Payson Whittemore, born on 26 May 1933, was taken about 1934.

Ancestry has nine public trees that refer to Edward Payson Whittemore. Family Search does not appear to have a profile for Edward, so I uploaded his photo to Dead Fred. 

Confirmed to be Edward by a niece.

Mrs. Whitehead’s Grandchildren

This negative envelope says, “Mrs. Whitehead’s Grandchildren, Whitney Ave, #510.”

What I looked at:

• The 1934 Portland City Directory lists Charles W Whitehead & wife Florence M, living at 183 Dartmouth.
• The 935 Portland City Directory lists Charles & Florence with no change, but a new entry Lorimer E (Harriet E) Whitehead, lived at 89 Newton.
• The 1936 Portland City Directory list Charles & Florence without change, but Lorimer & Harriet are now at rear 905a Forest Ave.
• In 1937 Lorimer & Harriet lived at 361 Woodford. Reviewing various Ancestry Family trees suggested that Lorimer was born in 1898 and Harriet was born in 1903. Both would be too young to have had adult grandchildren in 1935.
• I was unable to associate any Whiteheads with Whitney Ave. Thus unable to identify any of the seven females in this photo.

I have only uploaded the photo of them to my Flickr photostream.

 Conclusion

This is possibly the worst day of identifying photos I’ve encountered. I uploaded four pictures to Dead Fred. Eight unidentified individuals and no uploads to FamilySearch made a bad day.

If 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.