This installment of “Faces from the Past” continues with two photographs from my wife’s Howell family line. (Three additional images in this batch show people who are still living, so I’m setting those aside for now.)
Howell Family Event
Description: A large, multi-generational family portrait taken indoors, likely to mark a special occasion. The group is arranged in layers against a neutral wall, with a set of closed double doors in the background.
Howell Family Event (date unknown)
There are no notes or imprints on the back of the photo. Based on the fashions, hairstyles, eyeglasses, and photo quality, Gemini.ai estimates the photo was taken between 1976 and 1981.
Identification: My wife is fairly confident that the man in the second row, far right (#25), is her uncle Frank. She suspects the woman with the flowers in the middle (#22) may be her grandmother, Mary Lillian (Hobbs) Howell.
Research: Mary (Hobbs) Howell (1885–1963) died in 1963 — which conflicts with the estimated 1976–1981 date range. If she is indeed in the photo, the dating estimate is off; further research is needed to resolve the discrepancy.
If any of the unidentified individuals in this photo look familiar to you, I’d love to hear from you. Even a small detail can help fill out the family record.
Sara & Bookie — J.D. Howell’s Wife and Daughter
Description: A 3½” x 5″ photo of two smiling women standing together beneath a large, mature tree on a sunny day. Handwritten on the back: “Sara & Bookie — J D Howell’s wife and daughter.” A Kodak print imprint on the photo reads “Aug 77.”
Research: My wife’s uncle, James Dallas Howell, Jr., was married to Sara, and the couple had a daughter known as “Bookie.” I located Sara’s obituary — she lived to be 101. Sadly, “Bookie” died in 2014 at just 57.
Identification: In 1977, Sara would have been about 61 and “Bookie” about 20 — consistent with the apparent ages of the two women in the photo.
Sara McCarley (Nance) Howell (1916–2017) — FamilySearch ID: GZQ9-N6Y.
Sara “Bookie” Lee Howell (1957–2014) — no FamilySearch profile on record.
Conclusion
My continuing goal is to share these family images with the families and communities to whom they belong — ensuring they are preserved, understood, and passed down for future generations.
Endnotes
[i] All photos courtesy of the author’s personal collection.
Disclaimer: This article was researched and written by the author. ChatGPT was used to enhance the faded group photo and to create the line drawing. Claude.ai was used as a research and drafting aid, and Grammarly for editorial review and copyediting.
This installment of Faces from the Past turns to my own family’s photograph collection — five images from my wife’s Howell and Darling lines. Together they span more than half a century, from a 1909 photo of her great-grandfather to a 1964 snapshot of her parents’ home in Bridgton. Each image here is analyzed for what it can tell us: date, process, inscription, and the corroborating evidence that supports (or challenges) each identification. These photographs are being incorporated into my family trees on Ancestry as part of that ongoing work.
Rufus Harry Darling (1857–1917) — 1909
Rufus Harry Darling (1857–1917), photographed July 20, 1909. Inscribed “To Elizabeth from Daddy.”
Photo: 1909 Process/Type: Professional mounted photo
Description: A 1¾” x 3¾” full-length photo of a man standing on a grassy lawn with trees in the background. Handwritten beneath the photo is “To Elizabeth from Daddy — July 20, 1909.” Embossed beneath the photo is a swastika.
Research
This photo predates the Nazi Party’s adoption of the swastika by more than a decade. In 1909, the symbol most likely referred to good luck, or was simply a decorative design element common on card stock of the period.
Identification: The family has long identified this photo as my wife’s great-grandfather, Rufus Harry Darling. In 1909 he would have been 52 years old. The “Elizabeth” named in the inscription is certainly his daughter, Elizabeth Grace Darling, who would have been about 3 years old at the time.
Elizabeth (McAllister) Lane (1881–1944), c. 1934
Photo: circa 1934 Process/Type: Snapshot
Aunt Lizzie” — Elizabeth (McAllister) Lane (1881–1944), seated at center, with family members, circa 1934.
Inscription: On the back is written, “Center: Elizabeth Lane, (Aunt Lizzie), about 1934 — Katherine’s mother.”
Description: A family snapshot including ten people. Four figures in the back row are cropped off at the head; the remaining six include three men and three women.
Research
In 1934, “Aunt Lizzie” would have been about 53. Her husband, Harold Lane, was 54 and living, as were her three children: James (24), Frank (21), and Katherine (19). The young man seated in front might be one of her sons, James or Frank.
Identification: Based on the inscription and the apparent age of the woman seated at center, I am confident this is my wife’s second great-aunt, Elizabeth (McAllister) Lane (1881–1944), circa 1934. One of the two visible men may be her husband, Harold Lane (1880–1939).
Florence Wilma (Huber) Darling (1908–1934), c. 1924–1929
Florence Wilma Huber, later Darling (1908–1934), (center) circa 1924–1929.
Photo: circa 1924–1929 Process/Type: Snapshot
Inscription: On the back, “Florence Huber, center, & friends.”
Description: Three young women stand side by side outdoors, smiling at the camera. The composition is a casual, full-body group portrait with a relaxed, cheerful mood.
Research
The drop-waist silhouettes, mid-calf hemlines, and voluminous bobbed hairstyles are hallmarks of 1920s women’s fashion. Florence appears to be at least 16 in this photo, placing it no earlier than 1924. She married Robert Harry Darling around 1929, which suggests the photo predates that marriage.
Identification: Florence Wilma Huber, later Darling, circa 1924–1929.
Clarence “Pete” Fletcher Howell, c. 1954
Photo: 3½” x 3½” snapshot
Clarence “Pete” Fletcher Howell, Syracuse, New York, circa 1954.
Inscription: On the back, in handwriting: “Clarence ‘Pete’ Howell, Syracuse, NY est 1954.”
Description: A man with a pipe, seated on a couch, looking over some papers.
Research: This photo is a good reminder that a printed date along the edge of a snapshot marks when the photo was printed (or reprinted), not necessarily when it was taken. Although this print is dated May 1969, Shirley identified the photo as having been taken in Syracuse around 1954. Pete and his wife Shirley moved to Syracuse in April 1954, and moved again to Cortland, NY, by 1960. Personal knowledge and other photos confirm that Pete was a regular pipe smoker.
Identification: Clarence “Pete” Howell, c. 1954.
“Pete” & Shirley Howell’s House, between 1961 & 1964
Photo: Snapshot
Pete and Shirley Howell’s home in Bridgton, Maine, between 1961 and 1964.
Inscription: Printed date on the front reads “June 64.”
Description: A house with two people standing on the front porch.
Research: Personal knowledge holds that this is the Howell home in Bridgton, Maine. Maine Registry of Deeds records indicate that Pete and Shirley purchased the Bridgton house in 1961; this print is dated June 1964.
Identification: The Howell home in Bridgton, Maine, between October 1961 and June 1964. Pete and Shirley appear to be the two figures standing on the porch.
Conclusion
If any of the individuals shown but not identified here are familiar to you, I would be pleased to hear from you. Even a small detail may help restore a name or a story.
My continuing goal is to share family images with the families and communities to whom they belong — ensuring they are preserved, understood, and shared for future generations.
ENDNOTES
[i] All photos courtesy of the author’s personal collection.
Disclaimer: This article was researched and written by the author. Claude.ai was used as a research and drafting aid, and Grammarly for editorial review and copyediting.
This is a follow-up on Rufus Harry Darling, revisiting his story to see what new records have surfaced since he was last researched in 2014. I have made considerable progress on the Darling line in the intervening years, including learning the name of Rufus’s wife, Ida Ready, whom he married in June 1889, as well as many smaller details of his life. One recurring challenge has been keeping Rufus separate from two other men who share his name:
Rufus H. Darling, born in Canada about 1867, who married Florence Buck and had a son, Rufus W. Darling. The 1910 Census shows this Rufus Darling was a switchman living in Cook County, Illinois.
Rufus Darling, a brakeman for the Michigan Railroad, who broke his shoulder falling from an engine on March 5, 1887.
Background: What Earlier Research Established
Marker Rufus H Darling
Rufus Harry Darling was profiled as part of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks series in 2014, and family legend held that he was a riverboat man. Subsequent research, drawn from census and directory records, instead identified him as a railroad man who moved frequently. Besides Kalamazoo, Michigan, he is documented as having lived in Chicago, Kansas City, and the Pittsburgh area.
He and his wife, Hannah McAllister (married name Anna Darling), had two children — Elizabeth Grace Darling, born in 1906, and Robert Harry Darling, born August 18, 1907, in the Pittsburgh area. Rufus and Anna appear to have separated shortly after Robert’s birth. Anna died in 1913, when Robert was only five. Rufus himself died in 1917 and is interred at Mountain Home Cemetery in Kalamazoo.
The new research summarized below builds on that foundation and adds several previously unknown details about Rufus’s marriages, residences, and possible additional children.
New Findings (2026)
1. The 1880 Kalamazoo City Directory
The 1880 Kalamazoo City Directory lists Rufus H. Darling as an abstract clerk for the M.C.R.R. (Michigan Central Railroad), residing at 117 E. South Street.[1]
2. Marriage to Ida Ready and Their 1902 Divorce
Rufus married Ida Ready in June 1889. The couple divorced on September 8, 1902, in Kalamazoo, Michigan.[2]
3. A Kansas City Probate Record — Ethel M. Darling
A probate record was filed in Jackson County, Missouri (Kansas City), by Ethel M. Darling, identified as the widow of Rufus H. Darling. His listed assets included a Bible and commissions owed from S. F. Bowser & Co. of Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the amount of $254.57 ($6,665.02 in today’s dollars).
Missouri recognized common-law marriage at the time, so Ethel could have been a common-law wife; I have not yet found a formal marriage record for Rufus and Ethel.
Rufus is documented living in Kansas City in 1891, 1896, and 1898, so a wife there is plausible.
4. A Possible Previously Unknown Son — Arthur H. Darling
An Arthur H. Darling married Ethel Swan Joyce in 1913 at age 26. His marriage record lists his father as Rufus Darling (born in Michigan) and his mother as Anna Ritter. If accurate, this would make Arthur a previously unknown half-brother to Robert Harry and Elizabeth Grace Darling.
Arthur was born about 1887 in Ohio. Between 1887 and 1894, Rufus is documented living in Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, and Texas, so his residence was quite fluid during this period. It is plausible that Ohio should be added to that list of residences, placing Rufus there around the time of Arthur’s conception.
Working Assessment
Taken together, these findings suggest a tentative sequence to Rufus’s personal life: a possible relationship producing Arthur (Ohio, c. 1886), followed by his marriage to Ida Ready (1889–1902), a period with Anna/Hannah McAllister that produced Elizabeth Grace (1906) and Robert Harry (1907), and finally a relationship with Ethel M. Darling by the time of his death in 1917. This sequence is not yet confirmed. As the original research notes, it is plausible that Rufus fathered a son with another woman before marrying Ida, but this remains to be proven with additional records.
Search for a formal marriage record between Rufus and Ethel M. Darling in Missouri or elsewhere to confirm or rule out common-law status.
Trace Ethel M. Darling in the 1900, 1910, and 1920 censuses to learn her origins and what became of her after Rufus’s death.
Locate S. F. Bowser & Co. employment or commission records to help pin down Rufus’s residence dates and job history.
Find Arthur H. Darling’s birth record or an affidavit from Ohio, c. 1887, naming his parents.
Investigate Anna Ritter, named as Arthur’s mother, and determine whether any record ties her to Rufus’s known residences at that time.
Search 1887–1894 city directories and census substitutes for Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, and Texas to trace Rufus’s movements, and check for any Ohio residence.
Clarify whether “Anna Ritter” and “Anna/Hannah McAllister” are two different women, given the shared first name.
Look for newspaper coverage of the 1902 Kalamazoo divorce between Rufus and Ida Ready for additional detail.
Obtain the full Jackson County, Missouri probate case file to see how Ethel’s claim was resolved.
Search for a marriage record, descendants, or DNA matches connected to Arthur H. Darling and Ethel Swan Joyce to corroborate the family connection.
Determine whether Ida Ready remarried after the 1902 divorce and trace her subsequent life.
Look for additional M.C.R.R. (Michigan Central Railroad) employment records for Rufus beyond the 1880 abstract clerk listing.
Researched by the author, organized with the assistance of Claude.ai; Claude.ai also assisted in developing my research to-do list. The article was edited with the help of Grammarly.
This week, I continue with a box of 1930s movie stills from the Linwood Dyer Collection. Fascinating pictures of a bygone era portraying some very glamorous people. A few of the images have some identification on the front; others provide only the copyright information (year & studio), but most have no identifying information. None of these five has anything written or printed on the back. Today, I look at five of them, one from Paramount Pictures, two from RKO, and two unidentified. All appear to be original vintage photos, not reproductions.
Shirley Temple (1928-2014), 1935
Shirley Temple, 1935
This adorable vintage 1935 photo of Shirley Temple is so recognizable her name on the bottom was unnecessary. It features Shirley wearing her famous “duck dress” from her 1935 hit film, Curly Top.
Born Shirley Jane Temple on April 23, 1928, in Santa Monica, California, to George Francis and Gertrude Amelia (née Krieger) Temple.
She married John Agar in 1945.
She gave birth to Linda Susan Agar in 1948.
She divorced John Agar in 1950 on the grounds of mental cruelty.
She married Charles Alden Black in 1950.
She had two children with Charles, Charles Alden Black, Jr., and a daughter, Lorie Black, in 1954.
A Republican, she was appointed a delegate to the UN by Richard Nixon, Ambassador to Ghana by Gerald Ford, and Ambassador to Czechoslovakia by George H. W. Bush.
Shirley died on February 10, 2014, at the age of 85.
Buried in Alta Mesa Memorial Park, Palo Alto, CA.
Sylvia Sidney (1910-1999), 1935
Sylvia Sidney, 1935
This image shows Sylvia Sidney wearing a stylish “Pied Piper” from a fashion promotion showcasing a “Spring Wardrobe” of smart hat styles for women.
Sylvia was a prolific actress known for over 100 roles[ii]. I remember her from her role of Juno in Beetlejuice (for which she won a Saturn Award) and her appearance in many episodes of Fantasy Island.
Born Sophia Koskow on August 8, 1910 in Bronx, New York, to Victor and Rebecca (née Saperstein) Koskow.
Married Bennett Cerf in 1935 and divorced in 1936.
Married Luther Adler in 1938 and had one child, Jacob, who was born in 1940. She and Luther divorced in 1946.
Married Carleton Alsop in 1947 and divorced in 1951.
She died on July 1, 1999, at the age of 88.
Movie: On Such a Night
Still from “On Such a Night” Roscoe Karns (left), Grant Richards, and Karen Morley
This photograph features Roscoe Karns (left), Grant Richards, and Karen Morley from the 1937 Paramount Pictures production, “On Such a Night.” The film centers around a Mississippi River flood that intertwines the lives of a wrongfully accused man, his wife, and the killer a gangster who threatens the Karen Morley character’s life.
Roscoe Karns (1891-1970) was a prolific actor who appeared in nearly 150 films.[iv]
Was born on September 7, 1891, in San Bernardino, CA.
Married Mary Frass in 1920 and had two children Mary Karns (later Hart) and Rosco Todd Kerns, Jr.
Died on February 6, 1970, in Los Angeles, CA.
Grant Richards (1911-1963) performed in 18 films between 1936 and 1961. Wikipedia reports Grant Richards[vi]:
Was born Irwin Jaffe on December 21, 1911.
Married actress Joan Valerie in the 1940s, with whom he had a daughter. The marriage ended in divorce.
Also married Jean Stevens with whom the marriage ended in divorce.
Died on July 4, 1963, in Los Angeles, CA.
Karen Morley (1909-2003) signed with MGM which led to roles with them from 1931 until 1933. She left them in 1934. Wikipedia reports Karen Morley[vii]:
Was born Mildred Linton on December 12, 1909 in Ottumwa, Iowa.
Moved to Hollywood when 12 years old.
Married director Charles Vidor in November 1932, had a son, Michael Karoly Vidor, with him. They were divorced on March 2, 1943.
Married actor Lloyd Gough in 1943.
Was blacklisted in 1947 after refusing to answer questions about her alleged American Communist Party Membership.
Died of pneumonia on March 8, 2003, at the age of 93 in Woodland Hills, CA.
Movie: Conspiracy (1939)
This photo is from the 1939 RKO Radio Pictures political thriller, Conspiracy, set on the brink of World War II, staring Allan Lane and Linda Hayes.
Allan Lane (1909-1973), 1939. Wikipedia Reports Allan Lane[viii]:
Was born Harry Leonard Albershardt on September 22, 1908, in Mishawaka, Indiana.
Is best known for over 30 westerns he made as “Rocky” Lane and his faithful horse “Black Jack,” from 1947 to 1953 and as the Voice of Mister Ed in the 1960s.
Died on October 27, 1973, in Woodland Hills, CA.
Was interred at Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, CA.
Linda Hayes (1918-1995), 1939. Wikipedia reports that Linda Hayes[ix]
Was born Rachel Fern Mendenhall on October 11, 1918, in Sac City, Iowa, the daughter of Cox Mendenhall.
Married Lou Crosby in 1941; They had three children:
Linda Lou Crosby in 1943
Kathy Lee Crosby in 1944
Lucinda Crosby in 1952
Her husband Lou died in 1984.
Married Frank W. Walker in 1984; Frank died in 1986.
Died in December 1995 in Palm Desert, CA.
Movie: M’Liss (1936)
M’Liss staring John Beal, Barbara Pepper, and Anne Shirley, 1936
This RKO Radio Pictures promotional still is from the 1936 Western film M’Liss.The photo features John Beal, Barbara Pepper, and (behind the counter) Anne Shirley in the title role.
Born Marion Barbara Pepper on May 31, 1915, in New York City, NY.
She married Leon Janney in 1937; they divorced in 1939.
She married actor Craig Reynolds (aka Harold Hugh Enfield) in 1943; they had two sons, Dennis Michael Pepper and John Hugh Enfield Pepper. Craig died in 1949.
Died July 18, 1969, in Panorama City, CA, at the age of 54.
Born Dawn Evelyeen Paris on April 17, 1918, in New York City.
As a child she went by several stage names, including Lenn Fondre, Lindley Dawn, and Dawn O’Day.
Her first film was as a four-year-old child in the 1922 film The Hidden Woman.
She married John Payne in 1937; they had one child, Julie Payne. They divorced in 1943.
Although she had 67 credits to her name, she left acting in 1944, at the age of 26.
She married Adrian Scott in 1945, had one child, Michael Scott, with him. They divorced in 1948
She married Charles Lederer in 1948, he died in 1976
Died July 4, 1993, Los Angeles
Conclusion
These five stills offer a wonderful glimpse into the glamour of 1930s Hollywood, spotlighting both household names and faces time has mostly forgotten. From Shirley Temple’s unmistakable curls to the quiet drama unfolding in On Such a Night and Conspiracy, each photograph captures a small piece of the era’s craft and personality.
The original vintage prints featured above are available for purchase — $25 each, or all five for $100. If you’re interested in adding a piece of Hollywood history to your own collection, feel free to reach out. Stay tuned for Part 3 as I continue working through more stills from the period.
This is the fourth and last stop in the project that the Find a Grave 1776 Badge email started a few weeks ago — and since it lands on the Fourth of July, it felt like the right moment to close the loop on the whole series with one more patriot, plus a full accounting of everyone the search turned up.
This last one comes from my wife’s maternal Darling-Huber line, where there’s only a single confirmed Revolutionary War patriot: James Walter.
James Walter (1752–1838)
James Walter was born in Maryland in mid-February 1752 — the 16th or 17th, by most reckonings, though that date is calculated from his age at death rather than a contemporary record. He was the eldest of six children of John Walter and Ann Parker.
His military record is one of the more varied of the ten patriots in this series. Around 1777, in Virginia, he served as a Sergeant, for which he later received land. By the winter of 1782 he’d been reassigned south: muster records place him in an artillery detachment under Capt. Lt. Booker, 1st Regiment, at a camp near Bacon Bridge, South Carolina, with service recorded for January, February, and March of that year. At some point during his service he was also commissioned a Captain. For his various roles he was known, distinctively, as “Forage Master” — the officer responsible for keeping an army’s horses and draft animals fed, a job that mattered just as much as anything done on a battlefield.
In November 1783, he received a warrant for 400 acres of bounty land in Virginia for his service. He married Margaret Ann Swan after April 19, 1783 — “after the war,” as one family account puts it — and the couple settled in Frederick County, Virginia, where they raised at least seven children.
One detail stands out from later in his life: sometime before 1838, while still in Frederick County, James Walter freed the people he had enslaved. He eventually moved to Fairfield County, Ohio, and died on May 10, 1838, at the Lancaster-area home of his oldest daughter. He was originally buried at the old Lancaster City Graveyard, which is now defunct, and was later reinterred in Lancaster’s city burial plot — his Find a Grave memorial notes that the original marker no longer exists. He’s a recognized DAR patriot ancestor (A120153).
One of his daughters, Catherine Ann Dent Walter, married David Swayze and is herself #51 on the Darling-Huber ahnentafel — the link that carries James Walter’s line down through the Swayzes and into the Darling family, and eventually to my wife.
That Find a Grave email about the 1776 Badge sent me through all four of my and my wife’s family lines, and the running total came out to an even ten confirmed Revolutionary War patriots:
Brown-Montran (my maternal line)
Maj. Samuel Wolcott (1736–1802) — Massachusetts militia
Lieut. John Parsons Sr. (c. 1736–1821) — Massachusetts militia; served under Wolcott, whose daughter later married his son
Grover Buel (1732–1818) — New York militia
Wicks Weeks Rowley (1760–1826) — New York militia; married Buel’s daughter
John B Maben (1753–1813) — New York militia; Irish immigrant patriot
Roberts-Barnes (my paternal line)
Silas Taft (1744–1813) — Massachusetts militia, marched to Tiverton, RI
Reuben C. Sutherland (before 1755–1799) — New York militia; his daughter married Taft’s son
Howell-Hobbs (my wife’s paternal line)
William Rose Sr. (1733–1785) — North Carolina militia, Wagon Master
William Rose Jr. (1759–1801) — North Carolina militia; Sr.’s son
Darling-Huber (my wife’s maternal line)
James Walter (1752–1838) — Virginia and South Carolina; Sergeant, Forage Master, and eventually Captain
Looking back at all ten together, a few things stand out. Half of them served in some kind of support or logistics role — wagon master, forage master, militia pay — rather than in a famous battle, which is a good reminder of how much of the Revolution ran on unglamorous, essential work. And in three of the four family lines, the patriots turned out to be connected to each other by marriage within a generation or two, often without my having noticed the connection before pulling them together for this series.
Ten patriots is a good number to sit with on the Fourth of July. There are certainly more out there in collateral lines I haven’t chased down yet — but for now, these are the ten Find a Grave’s anniversary email sent me looking for.
This article was researched by me and drafted with the assistance of Claude.ai, with editing support from Grammarly.
