Ethel Wight Collection – Part 106

Posted on November 11, 2022 by Don Taylor

Photo Friday – Neal, Neales, & Neily

By Don Taylor

Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.This week, for Photo Friday, I identify the people in five more envelopes from the Ethel Wight Studio Collection[i]. The envelopes typically contain the name of the person 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.

Nurse Lora Gertrude Neal, circa 1935.

This negative envelope says, “Miss Lora Neal, New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Conn – 350 Congress Ave – #449.”

Why I believe this to be the individual.

  • Lora Gertrude Neal, circa 1935.

    The 1934 New Haven City Directory lists Lora G Neal as a nurse at NH Hospital and residing at 350 Congress av.

  • Delaware Death Records indicate Lora Gertrude Neal, a 29-year-nurse, died on 1 May 1936 of “Sarcoma of Stomach.”

I am confident this photo is of Lora Gertrude Neal (1906-1936), about 1935.

Ancestry has three trees that refer to Lora G Neal. Family Search has profile LRHQ-9P5 for Lora Gertrude Neal. I have uploaded this photo of Lora to her Family Search Memories. 

Nurse Lora Neal (Circa 1930)

This negative envelope says, “Lora Neal Copy – 1942.”

Why I believe this to be the individual.

  • Nurse Lora Neal (Circa 1930)

    This photo package contains a photo of a photo. The reproduction was done, per the envelope, in 1942. The picture is the same Nurse Lora Neal I looked at before. She appears a bit younger in this photo than she looked in the 1935 photo. So, I’ll date it circa 1930.

I am confident this photo is of Lora Gertrude Neal (1906-1936), probably about 1930.

Ancestry has three trees that refer to Lora G Neal. Family Search has profile LRHQ-9P5 for Lora Gertrude Neal. I have uploaded this photo of Lora to her Family Search Memories.

Rupert E Neily, circa 1934.

The negative envelope says, “Mr. E Rupert Neily, 562 Congress St – #40.”

Why I believe this to be the individual.

  • Rupert E Neily, circa 1934.

    The 1933 Portland City Directory lists Rupert E Neily as a treasurer and music teacher at 562 Congress, Room 517, and home at 48 Drew rd, South Portland. Rupert’s wife is named Anne.

  • The 1930 Census lists Rupert Neily, a 54-year-old music teacher living at 8 Stony Brook Road, Cape Elizabeth. With him are his 38-year-old wife, Ann, and his 12-year-old son, Rupert. Rupert (senior) was born in Nova Scotia.
  • Ancestry Trees suggest this is Rupert E. Neily, born 8 Feb 1876 in Williamstown, Nova Scotia. He married Fay Anne McAdams and had two sons, including Rupert E Neily, Jr.

I am confident this photo is of Rupert E. Neily, born 8 Feb 1876.

17 Ancestry public trees refer to Rupert E. Neily. Family Search has profile 9VV7-11C for Rupert E. Neily. I have uploaded two photos of Rupert to his Family Search Memories. There were five images of good quality of Rupert, so I also uploaded three photos of him to my Flickr Photostream.

Donald Neal, circa 1935 (age 5)

The envelope this negative was in says, “M. Donald Neal, Wilmington, Del, 433 Geddes St #451.

Why I believe this to be the individual.

  • Donald Neal, circa 1935 (age 5)

    The 1940 US Census lists Arthur M & Ruth C Neal living at 433 Geddes St, Wilmington, Delaware. Their ten-year-old son, Donald A Neal, is living with them.

  • This photo was taken about 1935 when Donald was about five years old.

This photo is of Donald Alfred Neal, born on 28 Nov 1929.

Ancestry has five public trees that refer to Donald Alfred Neal. Family Search does not appear to have a profile for the son of Arthur Morrison Neal and Ruth Evelyn Capstack. I uploaded this photo of Donald to Dead Fred.
 

Bert Edward Neales, circa 1936 (age 2).

This negative envelope says, “Mrs. Edmond Neales, 87 Franklin St #1020.”

Why I believe this to be the individual.

  • Bert Edward Neales, circa 1936 (age 2).

    The 1935 Portland City Directory lists six individuals with the Neales surname.

    • Ellen F Neales residing at 151 Franklin
    • James E, Rosa A, and James E jr. residing at 15 Smith.
    • John C and Jennie W, whose home was 82 Beckett.
    • At 87 Franklin, no Edmond or Neales were listed
  • The 1936 Portland City Directory lists James E Neales living in the Colby Apartments, 87 Franklin St. Apt 36.
  • The 1940 US Census lists two James E Neales living in Portland.
    • 54-year-old James E, his wife Rose, and his mother Mary live at 103 Lancaster Street.
    • 30-year-old James E jr., his wife Ellen, and four children live in Portland. The oldest, Bert E, is five years old.
  • Ancestry family trees suggest this is Bert Edward Neales, born 22 Jul 1934 in Portland, Cumberland County, Maine, to James E and Ellen F (Hight) Neales.

I believe this to be a photo of Bert about 1936 when he was about two years old.

Ancestry has four public trees that refer to Bert Edward Neales, born on 22 Jul 1934. Family Search does not appear to have a profile for Bert Edward Neales. However, his father, Edward James Neales, Jr, appears as profile GWQ4-72W. I uploaded a photo of Bert photo to Dead Fred.

 Conclusion

  • I fully identified all four individuals from five photo envelopes. Two of them have Family Search profiles, so I uploaded their images to their Family Search Memories. The other two did not have Family Search profiles but did appear in Ancestry trees, so I posted their pictures to Dead Fred.
  • One individual had five images in the package, so I uploaded three photos to my Flickr Photostream.

If any of 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.

Posted in Ethel Wight Studio, Faces from the Past | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

50.ii. – Quick Bio – Emily Ann (Swayze) Davis McCarty

Posted on November 8, 2022 by Don Taylor

Part 2 of 2 – Margaret Ann Swann – Do Over

Darling Research
By Don Taylor

(Part 1 is here.)

The second source I want to examine is the Genealogy of the Swasey Family: Which Includes the Descendants of the Swazey Families of Southhold, Long Island, New York and the Descendants of the Swayze Families of Roxbury, Now Chester, New Jersey, by Benjamin Franklin Swasey.

Several other researchers have used the book as a source to defend their application to the DAR and the source has not been debunked. The book is available to view and search via Google Books.

In the book, Person #63, Amos Swayze (1739-1813) (my person #200) and his wife, Ida ___ (c. 1741-___) are the people I wanted to begin with. I extracted 156 facts from the seven pages that document Amos’ descendants.

Amos & Ida had ten Children: Matthias, my ancestor #100—David Swayze (1762-1838), Amos, Jeanette, Elizabeth, Mary, Aaron, Elijah, William, and John.

According to the book, David (1762-1838) (and his wife Alice (née Mulligan) had nine children, including my ancestor #50—David Swayze (1796-1850), who is my wife’s 3rd great-grandfather. He and his wife, ancestor #51—Catherine Ann Dent Walter (abt 1790-1868), had eight children, including #25 Elizabeth Jane Swayze (1818-1881), who married #24 Rufus Holton Darling. Going through all of Amos Swayze’s descendants in the book, I was able to add 11 new people. The Genealogy of the Swasey Family is worth carefully going through for Swasey/Swayze descendants.

While looking at Emily, I cleaned up my sources for her facts. In doing so, I deleted one source and attached, detached, or added 32 citations to the facts of Emily’s life.

Quick Bio – Emily Ann (Swayze) Davis McCarty

Public Domain, Link

Emily Ann Swayze was born on 21 January 1820 in Fairfield County, Ohio, the second of eight children of David Swayze and Catherine Ann Dent Walter.

In the 1830s, the family moved from Ohio to Kalamazoo, Michigan. There she was one of the first students at Kalamazoo College.

In 1846 she married Samuel N Davis and had a child, Lucy Jane, in 1847. Samuel Davis died in 1848.

DuPage County and Kane County Illinois incorporated and unincorporated areas Aurora highlightedIn 1853, she married Samuel McCarty. They settled in Aurora, Kane County, Illinois. She and Sam had eight children. Samuel McCarty died in 1889. Sometime before 1900, Emily (Swayze) Davis McCarty began living with her daughter, Eva, and her husband, Hiram Johnson.

Emily died on 19 January 1908 in Aurora. She is buried at Spring Lake Cemetery.

For my sources of these facts, please see Emily Ann Swayze in my Ancestry Family Tree.

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Donna Darling Collection – Part 93

Posted on November 6, 2022 by Don Taylor

Treasure Chest Thursday
By Don Taylor

Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.I’m looking at a page from the Donna Darling Collection for this week’s Treasure Chest Thursday. It consists of five images, four photos and one newspaper clipping. I only cropped the clipping. I cropped, gently edited for brightness and contrast, and made three of the four photos black and white. One I left as is.

The Clipping

Key features:

  • The venue is the Rivoli Theatre. It is at “Washington near W Park) and is under the Direction of Pacific Northwest Theatres, Inc.
  • The show includes the Donna Darling Revue with Sammy Clark.
  • Also on bill
    • The movie is Gene Stratton Porter’s “Laddie.”
    • Four other acts
  • Coming attraction:
    • Williams’ Midgets

Analysis

The Saturday, November 6th, 1926, edition of the Morning Oregonian advertises the same theater and shows starting that day.

Photo 1 – Sammy by Palm Tree

Photo of Sammy Clark by palm tree.

Sammy by Palm Tree, circa 1926.

Next is a photo of Sammy (Clark Amsterdam) by a palm tree. He is holding an animal. I’m unsure if it is a rabbit, cat, or dog.

Photo 2 – Three men and a woman

Photo of 4 unknown people from the Donna Darling Collection.I don’t know who these folks are. The woman clearly is not Donna. The man in the center appears in several other photos, but I haven’t identified him yet. I

Photo 3 – Sammy and an unknown man with a two-tiered domed building in the background.

Photo of Sammy Clark (Amsterdam) and another man by railing.

Sammy and another man by railing.

I am sure this is a photo of Sammy (Clark Amsterdam) and a second man about 1926. In the distance is a two-tiered domed structure. I’m not sure who the second man is.

Photo 4 – Two women and a man.

Three unidentified people.

I think the woman and the man are the same two people as the woman and the center man in Photo 2 above. However, the photo is so damaged that I can’t tell.

Conclusion

One additional clipping to add to Donna’s vaudeville career is always nice, as are two new photos of Sammy.

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Ethel Wight Collection – Part 105

Posted on November 4, 2022 by Don Taylor

Photo Friday– Lowell, Nappi, Nason, Navaro, & Neal (née Capstack)

By Don Taylor

Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.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.

James Nason, circa 1935.

This negative envelope says, “Mr. James Nason, 329 Cumberland ℅ “My Lunch” #624.”

Why I believe this to be the individual.

  • James Nason, circa 1935.

    The 1935 Portland City Directory lists James A Nason as a cook at 39 India.

  • The 1936 Portland City Directory lists James Nason and James Nason Jr. living at 9 Chapel. According to the 1936 Portland City Directory, My Lunch was at 390c Cumberland.
  • The 1940 US Census lists James Nason, Sr., as a 71-year-old widowed lodger living in Portland.
  • The 1930 US Census lists James A Nason, the 61-year-old head of household with his 48-year-old Wife, Annie, and 14-year-old son, James living in Limington, York County, Maine.
  • Ancestry Family Trees suggest James Austin Nason, the son of James Austin and Annie F (Hutchins). Nason was born on 27 October 1915 in Limington, York County, Maine.

I believe this photo is of James Austin Nason, circa 1935, when he was about 20 years old.

Ancestry has 25 public trees that refer to James Austin Nason, born on 27 October 1915. Family Search has profile L256-CC3 for James Austin Nason. I uploaded one photo of James to his Family Search Memories

Mary Nason, circa 1935.

The envelope this negative was in says, “Miss Mary Nason, 290 Baxter Boulevard, #826.”

Why I believe this to be the individual.

  • Mary Nason, circa 1935.

    The 1934 Portland City Directory has Mrs. Mary Nason (wife of Paul A Nason) living at 11 Hancock. However, the 1934 Portland City Directory does have a Mrs. Mary A McCandless living at 290 Baxter Blvd, Apt E 1.

  • The 1935 Portland City Directory still has Mary and Paul Nason living at 11 Hancock and Mary McCandless at 290 Baxter.
  • The 1936 Portland City Directory still has Mary and Paul Nason living at 11 Hancock. Mary McCandless is no longer at 290 Baxter; instead, William L Baldwin is in Apt E 1.
  • The 1930 US Census has no Miss Mary Nason listed in Cumberland County. There are 13 listed in Maine.
    • Marie K Nason, age 36, wife of Albert.
    • Mary E Nason, age 17, servant, Wiles family of Palmyra, Somerset County.*
    • Mary E Nason, age 59, married but housekeeper for Frank J. Graffam
    • Mary E Nason, age 61.
    • Mary E Nason, age 79.
    • Mary F Nason, age 39, wife of Fred W Nason.
    • Mary F Nason, age 5, Saco, Maine
    • Mary H Nason, Age 52.
    • Mary Lord Nason, age 65.
    • Mary Nason, age 54.
    • Mary Nason, age 57, wife of Norriss Nason.
    • Mary S Nason, age 88.
  • The Maine Marriage Index indicates that Mary H Nason married Maurice E Cobb on 31 Dec 1936. Both lived in Portland, Maine. The 1930 US Census lists the 19-year-old as Helen M Nason.
  • Mary Helen Nason was born on 2 April 1911 in Maine and lived in Portland from before 1930 until after 1948.

I believe this is likely Mary Helen Nason, who later married Maurice Cobb in 1936.

Ancestry has 17 public trees that refer to Mary Helen Nason. Family Search has profile GWY8-XX1 for Mary Helen Nason. Because I am not 100% certain of this identification, I only uploaded the photo of Mary Nason to Dead Fred. 

A granddaughter of Mary Helen Nason indicates that this is not a photo of her grandmother, “They don’t look at all similar.”

Further research is needed to determine which Mary Nason this is. 

Jessie Navarro, circa 1935.

This negative envelope says, “Mrs. Jessie Navarro, 4 Congress Place, #896.”

Why I believe this to be the individual.

  • Jessie Navarro, circa 1935.

    The 1936 Portland City Directory lists Carmine and his wife, Jessie E. Navarro, living at 4 Congress Place.

  • The 1940 US Census lists Carmon and Jessie Navarro Living in Chatham, Columbia, New York. However, in 1935 they lived in Portland, Maine. Carmon is 47 and was born in Italy; Jessie is 29 and was born in Ohio.
  • US World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942, identifies Carmine Sabasteano Navarra, born 6/21/1892. Jessie Navarro will always know his address om Chatham, New York.

I am sure this photo is of Jessie Navarro/Navarra about 1935, when she and Carmine lived in Portland, Maine. I have been unsuccessful in finding Jessie’s birth surname.

I have not found Jessie Navarro/Navarra born, who was born in Ohio about 1911, in Ancestry trees or on Family Search. Carmine Navarra/Navarro was born 6/21/1892
I uploaded a photo of Jessie photo to Dead Fred.

Joan Nappi & Donald Lowell, circa 1936.

This negative envelope says, “Mrs. M J Nappi, 195 Pearl St #1003.”

Why I believe this to be these individuals.

  • Joan Nappi & Donald Lowell, circa 1936.

    The 1937 Portland City directory lists Michael J and Georgia Nappi living at 175 Pearl.

  • The 1940 US Census lists Michael and Georgia Nappi living in Canandaigua, Ontario County, New York. Living with them is his six-year-old stepson, Donald Lowell.
  • Ancestry Trees suggest Michael Joseph Nappi had a daughter, Joan Josephine Nappi, with Lydia Josephine Zezotarski on 3 September 1930 in Portland, Maine. In 1940, she lived with her aunt and uncle Antonio and Antoinette Scala at 28 Dalton Street, Portland, Maine.
  • Ancestry Trees also suggest that Georgia Mae Nappi (née Gregory) had been married to Ernest W Lowell. They had a son, Donald William Lowell, on 21 November 1933.

I am sure these photos are of Joan Josephine Nappi (b. 3 Sep 1930) and her step-brother, Donald Lowell, about 1936, before Michael, Georgia, and Donald moved to New York.

Ancestry has one public tree that refers to Joan Josephine Nappi and six public trees that refer to Donald William Lowell. Family Search does not appear to have a profile for Joan Josephine Nappi. However, Family Search does have profile GQDW-FPZ for Donald William Lowell (1933-1994). I have uploaded one photo of the two of them to Donald’s Family Search Memories and a different picture of them to Dead Fred.

Ruth Neal (née Capstack), circa 1934.

This negative envelope says, “Mrs. Arthur Neal, Wilmington, DE, 433 Geddes St #450.”

Why I believe this to be the individual.

  • Ruth Neal (née Capstack), circa 1934.

    The 1940 US Census Lists Arthur M. Neal living at 433 Geddes, Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware. Arthur is 37 years old and was born in Massachusetts. Living with him is his 33-year-old wife, Ruth C, who was born in Ohio. Also living with them is Arthur’s sister-in-law, Betty J Capstock.

  • Ancestry Family Trees suggest that the woman is Ruth Evelyn Capstack, born on 24 September 1906, married Arthur Morrison Neal on 11 May 1929, and died on 8 August 1961.

I believe this is Ruth Evelyn Neal (née Capstack) circa 1934.

Ancestry has six public trees that refer to Ruth Evelyn Capstack.    Family Search has profile LRH7-6J3 for Ruth Evelyn Capstack. I have uploaded two photos of Ruth to her Family Search Memories.

Conclusion

  • I fully identified five of the six individuals. Four of them have Family Search profiles, so I uploaded their images to their Family Search Memories
  • One individual did not have a Family Search profile but did appear in Ancestry trees, so I posted her image to Dead Fred.
  • One individual did not have a Family Search profile and did not appear in any Ancestry trees. I uploaded her image to Dead Fred.

If any of 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.

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“Chin Chin” – Majestic Theatre, Kankakee, IL – 2 Nov 1919

Posted on November 2, 2022 by Don Taylor

By Don Taylor

Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.Donna’s playing at the Majestic in Kankakee reminds me that not everything is online. In this case, I learned that “Chin-Chin” played in Kankakee only because the St. Anne Record (Saint Anne is about 5 miles southeast of Kankakee – 14 miles driving) had a short note on 6 November that said:

            Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Sprimont, Russell Dumontell, and Ruth Paradis drove to Kankakee last Sunday and saw Chin Chin at the Majestic.

Newspaper Search

Chronicling America has a U.S. Newspaper Directory Search feature. A search for all newspapers published in Kankakee, IL, results in four items returned.

The Progressive Era – 19??-19??.

  • The description is based on Volume 13, no 14 (9 May 1936). That suggests that the paper started about 1923, three years after “Chin-Chin” played at the Majestic.

Semi-weekly Kankakee County Democrat – 1895-1895.

  • The description indicates there was only one issue, 12 November 1895.

Semi-weekly Democrat – 1895-1???

  • The description indicates there were at least ten volumes, as Vol 10, No. 26 was published on 15 November 1895.
  • Holdings indicate that the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library only has one issue, the 15 November 1895 issue.

Semi-weekly Democrat – 1???-19??

  • The description indicates there were at least 19 volumes, as volume 19, No. 57, was published on 20 January 1905.
  • Holdings indicate that the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library only has scattered issues from 1905 to 1908.

So, it appears that none of the Library of Congress associated libraries include issues of interest.

Then, I contacted the Kankakee Historical Society. They had a copy of the October 31st paper that mentioned “Chin Chin” playing at the Majestic Theatre on November 2nd[I]. It read,

“Chin Chin”

Kankakee Daily Republican – 31 October 1919. Image courtesy Kankakee Historical Society.

In the production of “Chin Chin” the producer, Charles Dillingham, is providing a glorious festival of fun and spectacular attractiveness. Demonstrations of grotesque acrobatic specialties and dancing are numerous through this merry musical concoction.

Those who heard “The Pink Lady”, “The Little Café”, cannot fail to appreciate with pleasure the prospect of hearing further gems in “Chin Chin” from the gifted composer, Ivan Caryll.

Charles Dillingham long ago established a reputation for good taste in his productions so far as color, light, groupings, music and expression go to make up an ensemble. In the company are clever comedians, talented singers and dancers, besides plenty of beautiful, radiant women. The production in its original New York entirety will be seen at the Majestic, Sunday November 2, Matinee and Night.

Majestic Theatre, Kankakee, Illinois.

The 1921 Julius Cahn—Gus Hill theatrical guide and moving has a brief entry for Kankakee:

    • Population., 16,721. Majestic Theatre. L. C. Whealen, Mgr. S. c., L.F., 1,400.

The 1913 Julius Cahn—Gus Hill Theatrical Guide reports:

    • Kankakee is 56 miles SW. of Chicago. Theatre burned past season but understand same will be rebuilt. No details at hand.

Majestic Theatre, Kankakee, IL, circa 1939
Photo courtesy mred8 via Cinema Treasures

The Kankakee Majestic Theatre opened as the Remington Theatre in 1912 and burned the same year. It was rebuilt, and it reopened as the Majestic theatre in 1915. “Chin Chin” played there in 1919. The theatre remained open until 1957. It was developed into the Majestic Mall and reopened as the Town Theatre in 1970. The theater was restored again from 2009 to 2012 when it reopened once more, this time as the New Majestic Art and Conference Center.[ii]

Today

Endnotes

[i] My thanks to the folks at the Kankakee Historical Society for their assistance in this endeavor.

[ii] Cinema Treasures – New Majestic Arts and Conference Center, 150 N. Schuyler Avenue, Kankakee, IL 60901. https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/10158/photos/318299

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