Photo Friday – Libby, Plummer (married Wright & Dyer)

Linwood Dyer Collection – Part 051
 Hod, Wright, JPD, Liz, Others Album (2024.13.50)
Portland, Maine – Scarborough, Maine
By Don Taylor

The Linwood D. Dyer Photo Collection stands as a remarkable historical archive, encompassing hundreds of carefully preserved images, documents, and genealogical records that paint a vivid portrait of life in Scarborough and its surrounding communities. Among its treasures lies this particular photo album, its spine bearing the intriguing notation “HOD WRIGHT JPD LIZ OTHERS” – a cryptic reference to the faces and stories contained within. While many photographs in the album carry detailed labels that illuminate their subjects’ identities, others remain mysterious, their subjects waiting to be recognized and named. As a historian and curator, I have embarked on a meaningful mission to connect these historical photographs with descendants of the people they depict, offering families the profound experience of discovering previously unseen images of their ancestors. The original materials, including this album (Accession number: 2024.13.43), are carefully preserved at the Scarborough Historical Society, where they serve as part of the broader Linwood Dyer Photo Collection’s enduring legacy.

Annie & Ella Libby, c. 1896

Annie & Ella Libby, c. 1896

A captivating cabinet card, measuring 4¼ x 6½ inches, captures the portrait of two young women whose striking resemblance suggests a sisterly bond. The photograph bears an inscription identifying them as Annie and Ella Libby, and was taken at the prestigious Colpitts & Company studio at 514 Congress Street in Portland, Maine. Through careful research of Portland City Directories, we can establish that Colpitts & Company operated at this address between 1894 and 1898, before relocating to 559½ Congress Street – placing this image within a specific window of approximately 1896, plus or minus two years.

Historical records point to these women being Ella (born 1864) and Annie (born 1870), daughters of Samuel and Lucy Ann (Hunnewell) Libby. Their appearance in this album alongside “Aunt Liz (Plummer) Wright” provides a fascinating familial connection – they would have been nieces to the wife of Aunt Liz’s father, weaving an intricate web of family relationships typical of late 19th-century New England. However, this identification presents an intriguing puzzle: if photographed during Colpitts & Company’s tenure at the 514 Congress location, Ella and Annie would have been 28 and 24 years old, respectively. The subjects in the portrait appear noticeably younger, suggesting ages between 18 and 22. This discrepancy raises the possibility that this cabinet card might be a reproduction of an earlier photograph, a common practice in that era.

Given these uncertainties in precise identification, I have chosen to include this image only in my Linwood Dyer Collection family tree on Ancestry, where it can be further studied and verified by other genealogical researchers.

Liz (Plummer) Wright, c. 1894

Liz (Plummer) Wright, circa. 1894.

A beautifully preserved cabinet card reveals an intimate portrait of Sarah Elizabeth “Aunt Liz” Plummer Wright, captured by the renowned Portland photographer H.M. Smith at his 478½ Congress Street studio. Through careful examination of Portland business records, we can place this photograph within a specific historical window – Smith operated his studio at this address from 1890 to 1898, suggesting the portrait was taken around 1894, with a margin of approximately five years in either direction. The timing of this photograph takes on particular significance when we consider that it was likely taken during the period leading up to Sarah Elizabeth’s marriage to Albert E. Wright, which took place on June 3, 1896, in Scarborough, Maine.

Sarah Elizabeth Plummer’s life (1871-1943) was deeply woven into the fabric of late nineteenth-century Maine society. As the daughter of David O. and Alice (Stone) Plummer, she grew up alongside her siblings Walter, Susan, and Nellie Plummer, establishing the strong family connections that would later make her “Aunt Liz” to a new generation. Her marriage to Albert E. Wright (1865-1938) further expanded these family bonds, and her role as Great-Aunt to Linwood D. Dyer helped ensure the preservation of this remarkable photograph within his collection.

To facilitate ongoing genealogical research and family connections, this important visual document has been added to both the Linwood Dyer Collection family tree on Ancestry and Sarah Elizabeth’s Family Search profile (LT4J-QK3). These digital repositories ensure that this glimpse into the life of “Aunt Liz” remains accessible to future generations of researchers and family members.

Josephine Plummer Dyer, circa 1888

Susan Josephine Plummer (later Dyer), circa 1888.

This compelling cabinet card captures a poignant moment in Maine family history – a portrait of young Josephine Plummer Dyer, photographed at Charles W. Hearn’s prestigious Photographic and Art Studio in Portland. Hearn, who maintained his studio at 514 Congress Street (with an additional location at 655 Congress Street) from 1883 to 1889, was known for his artful portraiture of Portland’s families. The dating of this photograph can be established through multiple converging lines of evidence: the studio’s operational timeline places it within the period of 1886, plus or minus three years, while the physical appearance of the young subject – approximately six years old in the image – aligns perfectly with Josephine’s 1882 birth date, suggesting the portrait was taken around 1888.

Susan Josephine Plummer, as she was formally known, would later forge her own chapter in the family story when she married Ernest H. Dyer on June 20, 1900, beginning a lineage that would eventually include her grandson, Linwood D. Dyer. The photograph takes on particular historical significance as it captures the childhood of someone who would become a vital link in the family chain – Linwood’s paternal grandmother.

The confluence of the studio’s documented business timeline, Josephine’s known birth date, and the visual evidence of her age in the portrait provides compelling authentication that we are indeed looking at a childhood image of Susan Josephine (Plummer) Dyer, captured around 1886. This photograph serves as a remarkable window into late 19th-century childhood and stands as a testament to the practice of formal portrait photography that was becoming increasingly accessible to middle-class families during this period.

The photograph’s preservation and proper identification adds another valuable piece to our understanding of the Plummer-Dyer family history, offering modern viewers a rare glimpse of a future family matriarch in her childhood years.

Conclusion

Family photographs 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 – one 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 a member of your own family tree, 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 due to technical constraints, the full-resolution images are available through Ancestry, Dead Fred, and Flickr platforms. 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.