Linwood Dyer Collection – Part 058
Hod, Wright, JPD, Liz, Others Album (2024.13.50)
By Don Taylor

The Linwood Dyer Photo Collection at the Scarborough Historical Society contains a photo album labeled “HOD WRIGHT JPD LIZ OTHERS.” While some photos are identified, others are not. I am trying to positively identify and then share these historical photos with the descendants of the people pictured, offering families a chance to see unknown images of their ancestors.

The original materials, including this album (Accession number: 2024.13.50), are carefully preserved at the Scarborough Historical Society, serving as part of the broader Linwood Dyer Photo Collection’s enduring legacy.

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Alice (Dyer) Johnson, c. 1922.

This photo is labeled “Alice (Dyer) Johnson. Alice Leslie Dyer married Harold Kenneth Johnson. Alice was born in 1905. She appears to be about 17 years old, so I date this photo about 1922. Alice is Nellie Plummer’s half-niece.

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Elizabeth “Betsy” (Libby) Moody, circa 1880.

This photo of an elderly woman is labeled “Grandmother Betsy Moody.” The photographer was Conant Artistic Photographer, 478½ Congress St., Portland. Conant’s photography operated at 478½ Congress from 1877 to 1884, suggesting the photo was taken about 1880.

I am confident this is a photo of Nellie Plummer’s great-grandmother, Betsy Moody.

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White School Students including Howard & Alice Dyer, circa 1913.

This photo is of a school class. I believe the school is the White School. The image from page 35 of the album is labeled “Howard Dyer in baseball suit., Alice Dyer, 2nd row, 8th to right.

Photo of students, probably White School in Scarborough, Maine, students about 1913.

Howard Osgood Dyer was born in 1900, and his sister, Alice Leslie Dyer, was born in 1905. Howard appears to be about 13 in the photo, suggesting a date of about 1913.

I’m not confident about the year of the photo. It could be ± a couple of years.

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Conclusion:

This is my last look at the “Hod, Wright, JPD, Liz, & Others” album (2024.13.50). The remaining photos are either unlabeled or of people for whom I can find no information.

Family photos hold an extraordinary power to connect us across generations, offering glimpses into the lives, personalities, and experiences of those who came before us. The discovery of an unseen photograph of a beloved ancestor can be a profoundly moving experience that collapses the distance of time and allows us to see our family members as they once were, perhaps in the full bloom of youth or childhood. If any of these images have helped you recognize an ancestor, I would be deeply grateful to hear your story and learn how these photographs have enriched your understanding of your family’s history.

For those interested in accessing the highest-quality versions of these historical photographs for genealogical research, please note that the full-resolution images are available through Ancestry and Family Search platforms due to technical constraints. These photographs are shared freely for your family history research and documentation, with the simple request that you acknowledge their source with the citation: “Photo Courtesy: Scarborough Historical Society.” By sharing and properly attributing these images, you help maintain the vital connection between these historical materials and their custodians, ensuring that future generations can continue to discover and learn from these precious visual records of our shared past.