Duddy, Dunbar,  Durgin, Dugan, & Duran

Photo Friday
By Don Taylor

This week for Photo Friday, I look at identifying five more negatives from the Ethel Wight Studio Collection[i]. The names on the envelope are of the individual who paid for the photos, not necessarily of the individual portrayed in the image. As such, it is crucial to analyze the pictures and information to identify the individuals therein positively.[ii]

Clara A. Dunbar (1917-1998)

The envelope this negative was in says, “Miss Clara Dunbar – 94 Morning St., Portland #26.”

Miss Clara Dunbar

The 1933 Portland City Directory shows Harry S and his wife Eva J Dunbar living at 94 Morning Street. Also living there were Harold A Dunbar and Maurice P Dunbar.  Living nearby, at 85 Morning, was Lawrence E and Nettie I Dunbar.

The 1930 Census does a great job of showing the Dunbar relationships.  Harry and Eva are the parents. Maurice and Harold are sons and Elizabeth and Clara are daughters. Clara was 13 years old during the 1930 Census. So, if this photo were taken in 1933 or 1934 (when the Dunbar’s were living at 94 Morning Street), Clara would have been about 15 or 16 years old, which fits nicely.

Clara has a profile on Family Search — LYSD-2J3. She was born on 25 March 1917 and died on 19 May 1998. I uploaded two photos of Clara to her Family Search profile.

Dorothy M. Durgin (1911-2006)

The envelope this negative was in says, “Miss D. Durgin – ME Eye & Ear Infirmary, Portland – #633.”

Nurse Dorothy Durgin

The 1937 Portland City Directory lists Dorothy Durgin, a student nurse at 79 Bramhall and residing at 804 Congress. The directory also lists the Maine Eye and Ear Infirmary at 79 Bramhall and the nurses’ homes included 804 Congress.

The 1930 Census for Portland, Maine, lists Dorothy M. Durgin as the daughter of Morris B. and Albena T. Durgin. Dorothy was born on 13 July 1911 and would have been about 26-years-old in this photo. I am confident this is a photo of Dorothy.

Family Search has a profile for Dorothy May Durgin with an ID of L5FT-GCD.  I uploaded two photos of Dorothy to her Family Search profile. I also uploaded one additional photo of her to my Flickr page.

Helen M. Duddy (1914-2004)

This negative envelope says, “Miss Helen Duddy – 184 Congress St, Portland #220.”

Helen Duddy

Last week, I analyzed photo #219 of Anna Toomey Duddy. Photo #220, being the next photo in order, appears to me that two sisters came in to be photographed simultaneously. Sure enough, Anna had a sister, Helen M. Duddy, who lived at Anna’s same address. Clearly, this is her.

On Family Search, Helen M. Duddy’s profile is RMS-HJL. I uploaded two photos to her profile there including this one.

Marion (Platt) Dugan (1906-___)

This negative envelope says, “Miss Marion Dugan – 32 Crescent St. Portland #566.”

Marion (Platt) Dugan

The 1937 Portland City Directory lists Marion G. Dugan as the wife of ironworker John P. Dugan living at 32 Crescent.

The 1940 Census finds Marion and John living with Marion’s mother, Lillian Platt. Lillian is married to Frank J Platt. Living with them are Marion, Ella M. (a sister), and Marion’s two children, Shirley and Richard.

Marion and John were married in Portsmouth, Rockingham, New Hampshire, on 17 December 1932. Lillian’s maiden name was Cleveland.

Marion Gertrude Platt has a profile on Family Search, ID: L556-WSV. Marion was born on 4 September 1906, so this photo was taken when she was about 31. I uploaded two pictures of Marion to Family Search. I also added one additional photo of Marion to my Flickr page.

Mrs. Audry (Loyne) Duren (1910-1992) & daughter, Eleanor Duran (1929-2013)

The envelope this negative was in says, “Mrs. Audry Duren, 4 Horton Place, Portland – #650.”

Audry Duren

The 1935 Portland City Directory lists Mrs. Audry L. Duren residing at 4 Horton Place.

The 1930 Census for Portland identifies Audrey Duren, Dean R. Duren’s wife, and a daughter Eleanor, age 0.

Dean R. Duren and Audrey T. Loyne married on 24 February 1929 in Rochester, New Hampshire. Audrey’s parents were Fred P. and Elena (Thompson) Loyne.

Audrey Thomson Loyne was born 8 January 1910 with a Family Search profile of GQ9Q-XX5.

Audrey & Eleanor Duren

Audrey’s daughter did not appear to have a profile on Family Search. However, other records indicate Eleanor Lou Duran died on 14 November 2013. So, I created a profile, GHVN-P9F, for Eleanor. I uploaded a photo of Audrey to Audrey’s profile and a picture of Audrey and Eleanor together to both profiles. I also uploaded one additional photo of Audrey to my Flickr account.

Conclusion

Wow. This is my first time to have 100% identification. Actually, it was 120% identification, as I identified six individuals in five photos and uploaded all six images to Family Search.

Final Note

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

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 tracing box, a Nikon Coolpix camera, and Adobe Photoshop Elements.