Busby (Busbee) – Surname Saturday

Posted on January 20, 2024 by Don Taylor

Howell-Vincent-Busby Line
By Don Taylor

Name Origin[i]

Family Search indicates that Busby is a habitational name from Busby in North Yorkshire or possibly a habitational name in Leicestershire. According to Ancestry, it could also be a Scottish habitational name from the lands of Busby in Carmunnock (Renfrewshire).

Busbee is a variant of Busby. Other variants include Busbey, Bushby, Buzbee, & Buzby.

Geographical

According to ForeBears, there are about 31,000 people with the Busby surname. Approximately 21,000 of them live in the United States. The greatest incidents of the Busby surname occur in Texas, California, and Alabama, which account for nearly a third of the Busbys in the US. Mississippi has the greatest frequency of the Busby surname (1 in 2,272). My Busby line came from Virginia and North Carolina.

My Busby Ancestors

  • 2nd Great-grandmother:  Elnora Busby – (c.1818 – bef.1900)
  • 3rd Great-grandfather: [Tentative] William Busby (c. 1800-____)[ii]

My Busbys in History

1880 – ForeBears indicates there were no Busby’s in North Carolina and only about 50 in Virginia, where Elnora was born.

1860s – Civil War – I have not found evidence that either Elnora or her husband, John Vincent, served during the Civil War. Likewise, it appears that none of her children served either, although I do need to do more research on her children.

1840 – Genealogy Bank suggests there were only 14 families in Virginia and one in North Carolina with the Busby surname.

Locations of my Busby Ancestors

Virginia – Born c. 1824, went to North Carolina before 1849.

Famous Busbys

The most famous people with the Busby surname include:

  • Matt Busby (1909-1994) – Football (Soccer) Player & Manager.
  • James Busby (1802-1871) – Governor General of New Zealand.
  • Steve Busby (1949- ) Baseball Player.
  • Busby Message Boards

A search for Busby on genealogy.com resulted in over 6,000 posts and over 8,000 messages on Ancestry Message Boards (formerly Rootsweb).[iii]

My Direct Busby Descendants

Some researchers suggest that Elnora’s father is William Busbee (1800-___). I am yet to confirm that. I’m reasonably confident that Elnora had a sister, Eliza, but I know of no people with the Busby surname/ 

Assuming Elnora’s father is William Busby, I have 147 known descendants of William in my tree: 45 Howell, 16 Boseman, and 13 Vinson/Vincents. I have previously written about three of them in nine postings.

Sources:

Endnotes

[i] Common surname origins include:

  • Occupations (such as “Farmer”
  • Physical characteristics (such as “Short”)
  • Places or landmarks (such as “Hill”)
  • Patronymics, derived from father’s name (such as Johnson from ”son of John”).

[ii] I have not had the opportunity to personally research these individuals. As such, their names and dates are tentative and/or speculative.

[iii] Something I should review in the future.

Posted in Busby, Howell, Surname Saturday, Uncategorized, Vincent | Leave a comment

Photo Friday – Gray, Potter, & Strout.

Posted on January 19, 2024 by Don Taylor

Linwood Dyer Collection – Part 006
By Don Taylor

For Photo Friday, I identified two people in five photos from the Linwood Dyer Collection this week. This collection includes hundreds of photos, documents, and genealogies of people who lived in Scarborough, South Portland, and Cape Elizabeth, Maine. I desire to analyze the images and reunite the photos with family members who may have never seen the picture. The Scarborough Historical Society holds the originals in this collection.

Henry Staples Potter (1870-1920), 1873.

Henry Potter, 1873

The photo identifying information includes:
H S Potter, Jr., April 10th, 1873, 2 years.

Why I believe this to be the individual.

  • In Linwood Dyer Collection, Part 4, I examined an 1893 photo of Henry Staples Potter.
  • I am confident this is a photo of Henry, taken on 10 April 1873, when He was two years five months old.

I added this photo of Henry to my Ancestry Tree.

Arthur E Strout of Individual

Photo of Arthur E Strout
Arthur E Strout

The photo identifying information includes:
Yours Truly | Arthur [? – “A,” “C,” “E,” or “P”] Strout

What I learned while researching this photo:

  • First, I researched the monument. I found that it is the World War I Monument at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine.[i]
  • Next, I learned that Arthur E Strout attended Bowdoin College from 1953 to 1957. My review of the 1954 Bowdoin College yearbook[ii] suggested this is the same person as in the photograph.
  • A 2009 “Interview with Arthur Strout by Mike Hastings” at Bowdoin Digital Commons revealed that Arthur was born on 6 September 1935 to Alfred Meserve and Olive Mabel (Edwards) Strout. He grew up in Thomaston, Maine.

I feel confident this photo is of Arthur E Strout, circa 1955.

I added Arthur E Strout to my Ancestry tree and included this photo with that tree.

John Gray (unidentified)

The photo identifying information includes:
John [?] Gray | Grays Farm | Antigua | B W I

Photo of John Gray in costume.

What I learned while researching this photo:

  • A review of Ancestry public trees for “John Gray” in Antigua failed to yield useful results. There is a John Gray b. 1825 in a private tree. But this cannot be that person, as the photo is too new.
  • A review of Family Search yielded five John Grays:
    • John Gray (1783-1863),
    • John Gray (1785-1870),
    • John Gray (1816-1880),
    • John Gray (1843-1900),
    • John Gray (1846-1900)

Because the photo style and format appear to be from the mid-20th century, this photo cannot be of any of these John Grays. This photo may be of some other John Gray visiting Grays Farm, Antigua, British West Indies.

Photo Not Identified.

Mr. Sawyer[?], c. 1890s.

The photo is a small (2.5” x 4”) cabinet card.
The photo identifying information includes: Mr [“S” or “D”] wyer.

Name Written on back of photo.
Photo of Mr. Sawyer

What I learned while researching this photo:

  • Reading the name written on the back is very difficult. I believe the writing says, “Mr Sawyer,” which was overwritten at some time.
  • My Google search for the image resulted in no viable copies of the same photo.

There is insufficient information to identify the individual. Sawyer is a common name in the Dyer genealogy material, so it is possible I may find another image of this person in the remaining material.

“Victoria”

Photo of Victoria holding a tray of strawberries.

The photo identifying information includes writing on the back that says,
“Victoria with tray of wonderful strawberries at the door leading into the patio.”
Below that is a stamp saying “MINICAN | Av. Juarez Num. 71 | Mexico D. F.”

There isn’t enough information to identify the woman in this photo. Possibly, I’ll find another picture of Victoria with more details as I review the Linwood Dyer Photo collection.

Conclusion

I identified two individuals and included their photos in my Ancestry Tree.

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

Endnotes

[i] Wyvern Almon Coo…’s name on the monument gave me the clue to determine the monument’s location. See the University of Southern Maine Digital Commons, Maine WWI Memorial Inventory. https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/cumberland/13/

[ii] Ancestry.Com – U.S. School Yearbooks, 1900-2016 – Maine – Brunswick – Bowdoin College – 1954 – “Beta Theta Pi – Freshmen (Image 74 of 168).

Posted in Linwood Dyer Collection, Photo Friday | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Busby (Busbee) – Surname Saturday

Posted on January 13, 2024 by Don Taylor

Howell-Vincent-Busby Line
By Don Taylor

Busby Surname Origin[i]

Family Search indicates that Busby is a habitational name from Busby in North Yorkshire or possibly a habitational name in Leicestershire. According to Ancestry, it could also be a Scottish habitational name from the lands of Busby in Carmunnock (Renfrewshire).

Busbee is a variant of Busby. Other variants include Busbey, Bushby, Buzbee, & Buzby.

Geographical

According to ForeBears, there are about 31,000 people with the Busby surname. About 21,000 of them live in the United States. The greatest incidents of the Busby surname occur in Texas, California, and Alabama, which account for nearly a third of the Busbys in the US. Mississippi has the greatest frequency of the Busby surname (1 in 2,272). My Busby line came from Virginia and North Carolina.

Direct Busby Ancestors

  • 2nd Great-grandmother:  Elnora Busby – (c.1818 – bef.1900)
  • 3rd Great-grandfather: [Tentative] William Busby (c. 1800-____)[ii]

My Busbys in History

1880 – ForeBears indicates there were no Busby’s in North Carolina and only about 50 in Virginia, where Elnora was born.

Civil War – I have not found evidence that either Elnora or her husband, John Vincent, served during the Civil War. Likewise, it appears that none of her children served either, although I do need to do more research on her children.

1840 – Genealogy Bank suggests there were only 14 families in Virginia and one in North Carolina with the Busby surname.

Locations of my Busby Ancestors

Virginia – Born c. 1824, went to North Carolina before 1849.

Famous Busbys

The most famous people with the Busby surname include:

  • Matt Busby (1909-1994) – Football (Soccer) Player & Manager.
  • James Busby (1802-1871) – Governor General of New Zealand.
  • Steve Busby (1949- ) Baseball Player.

Busby Message Boards

A search for Busby on genealogy.com resulted in over 6,000 posts and over 8,000 messages on Ancestry Message Boards (formerly Rootsweb).[iii]

My Direct Busby Descendants

Some researchers suggest that Elnora’s father is William Busbee (1800-___). I am yet to confirm that. I’m reasonably confident that Elnora had a sister, Eliza, but I know of no people with the Busby surname/  

Assuming Elnora’s father is William Busby, I have 147 known descendants of William in my tree: 45 Howell, 16 Boseman, and 13 Vinson/Vincents. I have previously written about three of them.

Ancestor Photographs

Photo of Clarence Fletcher Howell
Clarence Fletcher Howell
James Dallas Howell

Sources

Endnotes

[i] Common surname origins include:

  • Occupations (such as “Farmer”
  • Physical characteristics (such as “Short”)
  • Places or landmarks (such as “Hill”)
  • Patronymics, derived from father’s name (such as Johnson from ”son of John”).

[ii] I have not had the opportunity to personally research these individuals. As such, their names and dates are tentative and/or speculative.

[iii] Something I should review in the future.

Posted in Busby, Surname Saturday | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Photo Friday – Bakeman, Morse (née Milliken), & Potter

Posted on January 12, 2024 by Don Taylor

Linwood Dyer Collection – Part 005
By Don Taylor

For Photo Friday, I tried to identify the people in four photos from the Linwood Dyer Collection. This collection includes hundreds of photos, documents, and genealogies of people who lived in Scarborough, South Portland, and Cape Elizabeth, Maine. I desire to analyze the images and reunite the photos with family members who may have never seen the picture. The Scarborough Historical Society holds the originals in this collection

Daniel Frederick Bakeman (1759-1869)

Photo of Daniel Frederick Brakeman

The information on the photo says:

DANIEL FREDERICK BAKEMAN,
The Last Revolutionary Soldier, One Hundred and Nine old
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the Year 1868 by A. D. Cross in
The Clerks Office of the District Court of Massachusetts.

  • Wikipedia has an article about Daniel F. Bakeman (1759-1869) and his being the last survivor receiving a veteran’s pension for service in the Revolutionary War. The article includes this same Wikimedia photo.

Calista (Milliken) Morse with her children, Dorothy & Donald – 1897.

Photo of Calista (Milliken) Morse with her children Dorothy & Donald, - 1897.
Calista (Milliken) Morse with her children Dorothy & Donald, – 1897.

The photo identifying information indicates the studio was Philbrick, Biddeford, ME. The back indicates:

Taken April 6, 1897
Aunt Kitty Morse
Dorothy Morse
Donald Morse

Why I believe this to be the individual.

  • A search of Ancestry Dorothy Morse (age ≈ 5), with a brother of Donald Morse (age ≈ 2) living in Maine, found Dorothy Martha Morse (1893-1974), who was born in Saco, Maine. Her brother, Donald Curtis Morse, was born on April 6, 1896. So, this photo was taken on Donald’s 1st birthday. Dorothy, born 16 Nov 1893, would be about 3½. The children’s mother, Calista Eunice (Milliken), was the wife of Frank Edward Morse. Calista was born in Scarborough, Maine, on 3 January 1873, so she would be 24 years old in this photo.

Henry Potter (1799-1876).

Sometimes, the back of a photo gives you everything you might hope to find. Such is this photo of Henry Potter. The back of this photo says:

The back of the Henry Potter photo containing much Genealogical information.
Back of the Henry Potter (1799-1876) photo.

Henry Potter
May 12, 1799 Concord, Mass.
March 30, 1876 Cambridge, Mass.
Aug 15, 1843
Abigail Livermore Giles
Feb 10, 1810, Beverly, Mass
Jan 25, 1896 Cambridge Mass
——— . ———-
Pres. Cambridge R.R. Co.
  “      “ Gas Light Co.
  “      “ Water Works
  “      “ Mayket[???] Bank
  “      Harvard Mfg. Co.
  “      Potter & Dennuar Co., Boston
——— . ———-
Son of Caff Jacob & Lucy (Brooks) Potter of Concord & Cambridge, Mass.
Father of H Staples Potter who m[arried] Grace Robbins …..

Photo of Henry Potter (1799-1876)
Henry Potter (1799-1876)

What a treasure trove of information. I don’t know who wrote the information on the back, but it is a tremendous help. I reviewed a photo of Henry Staples Potter previously. This photo is of his grandfather.  

The information on the back of this photo coincides with Ancestry Trees showing Henry Potter (1797-1896).

[FNU] Bertha [Will/Webb/?]

Photo of a young woman standing by a padded chair.

The photo identifying information includes the photographer on the front, M.F. King, and a name on the back: Palop Berta Will (?)

I learned that M.F. King was a photographer in Portland, Maine. That suggests that the woman in the photo might be from Portland.

The name on the back is tough to read. I have not been successful in determining this young person’s name. I can’t tell what the surname is, “Will,” “Webb,” or something else altogether. Likewise, I really can’t determine her first name. I’d love to hear from you if you can read this handwriting. If I hold it with the light just right, this is the best I can see:

photo of the name written on the back of the photo.

Conclusion

  • I identified five of the six individuals in these photos. I would love to hear your reaction if any of these photos are of your family member. Especially if this photo is of a loved one for whom you hadn’t seen this photograph before.
Posted in Linwood Dyer Collection, Photo Friday | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Donna & Griffin’s Theatre – In the News

Posted on January 6, 2024 by Don Taylor

Donna Darling at Griffin’s Theatre, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, January 7th, 8th, & 9th, 1926.

Donna in the News
98 Years Ago
by Don Taylor

“Donna in the News” is my reporting of newly found newspaper articles and advertisements regarding my grandmother, Donna Darling (aka Donna Montran and Madonna Montran). I am always excited when I find a new venue for my grandmother’s exciting show business career of the 1910s and 1920s. 

This week, I learned from the St. Catharines Standard (St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada) newspaper, dated January 6, 1926, that Donna played at Griffin’s Theatre in St. Catharines.

Four Acts at Griffin’s

Jewel Box Revue – Richard Dix and Esther Ralston in “Womanhandled.

Another four-act programme of unequaled vaudeville is announced for presentation at Griffin’s tomorrow, Friday and Saturday, the double headline programme intact jumping from Detroit where it was presented at Miles Orpheum Theatre all last week.

Donna Darling and Girls in her brilliant Jewel Box Revue, is a supreme achievement in music, song and dance, twelve numbers being introduced during the presentation of this elaborate twenty-two minute offering, which introduces the evolution of a bathing suit from 1860, 1900, 1926, besides National dances of France, Holland, Hawaiian and American. The offering is in two scenes.

Weston’s model D’Art….

Because of those newly available online articles, I was able to add TWO new venues for Donna’s exciting vaudeville career.

New information added to her career list:

(Tentative) December 28, 1925- January 2, 1926 – Miles Orpheum Theatre, Detroit, MI – “Jewel Box Revue.”

January 7-9, 2026 – Griffin’s Theatre, St. Catharine, Ontario, Canada – “Jewel Box Review.”

Endnotes

My thanks to Newspapers.com for providing access to this clipping.

98 years ago, my grandmother, “Donna Darling,” was in the news for being at Griffin’s Theatre in St. Catharine, Ontario, Canada.”

Posted in Donna Darling and Girls, In the news | Tagged , | 1 Comment