Hibbard, Hicks, Higgins, & Hight

Photo Friday
Ethel Wight Collection
By Don Taylor

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. 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.

Charles Edgar Hicks, circa 1934.

This negative envelope says, “Mr. C. E. Hicks, 71 Lawn Av #75.”

Why I believe this to be the individual.

• 

  Charles Edgar Hicks, circa 1934

  The 1934 Portland City Directory lists Charles E Hicks and his wife Dorothy E, living at 71 Lawn ave.

• The 1930 US Census lists Charles E. Hicks and his wife, Dorothy, at 71 Lawn. He was
• Based upon the photo pack number (#75), the photo was taken about 1934 when he was about 34 years old.

Family Search identifies Charles E. Hicks, born 1899 in Maine, as ID GCYK-1SL. According to Family Search, his parents are Herbert C and Jennie Hicks. Charles Edgar Hicks found in 12 Ancestry public trees.

I have uploaded a higher definition (300 x 300) photo of Charles to his Family Search Memories. 

Donald Merton Hibbard, circa 1936

This negative envelope says, “Mrs. Merton Hibbard, 102 Morning St #100.”

Why I believe this to be the individual.

• 

  Donald Merton Hibbard, circa 1936

  The 1935 Portland City Directory lists Merton T Hibbard and his wife Alberta living at 102 Morning.

• The 1940 US Census lists Merton Hibbert and his wife Alberta living at 126 North Street in Portland. Living with them are their two sons, 5-year-old Donald and 3-year-old Richard.
• Find-a-Grave lists Donald Merton Hibbard, son of Merton Thomas and Alberta Florence (Hall) Hibbard, born 23 August 1934.
• This photo appears to be of Donald about 1936.

Family Search identifies Donald Merton Hibbard, son of Merton Thomas and Alberta (Call) Hibbard, as ID 9M2C-FPQ and married to Barbara Louise Leavitt. Seven trees at Ancestry.Com refer to Donald M Hibbard, married to Barbara Louise Leavitt.

I have uploaded a higher definition (300 x 300) photo of Donald to his Family Search Memories.

Richard Hibbard, circa 1937 (age 1)

This negative envelope says, “Mrs. Merton Hibbard, 102 Morning St #731.”

Why I believe this to be the individual.

• 

  Richard Hibbard, circa 1937 (age 1)

  The 1935 Portland City Directory lists Merton T Hibbard and his wife Alberta living at 102 Morning.

• The 1940 US Census lists Merton Hibbert and his wife Alberta living at 126 North Street in Portland. Living with them are their two sons, 5-year-old Donald and 3-year-old Richard.
• Based upon the Photo ID number (#731), this photo was taken about 1937, probably when Richard was about a year old.

Family Search does not appear to have a profile for Richard Hibbard, son of Merton and Alberta Hibbard. Richard does not appear in any Ancestry Trees, but his father, Merton Thomas Hibbard, appears in 33 Ancestry Family Trees.

I have added a higher definition (300 x 300) photo of Richard to Dead Fred. 

Helen or Barbara Hight (?), circa 1937.

This negative envelope says, “Mrs. Harold Hight, 14 Mayo St #1019.”

Why I believe this to be one of these two individuals.

• 

  Helen or Barbara Hight, circa 1937.

  The 1937 Portland City Directory lists Harold A Hight, and his wife Ruby M, living at 14 Mayo.

• The 1940 US Census lists Harold A and his wife Ruby M, still living at 14 Mayo. Living with them are five children, Helen E (age 15), Harold B (age 10), Barbara J (age 8), Robert J (age 6), and Arthur R (age 3)
• Based upon the photo ID (#1019), the photo was taken about 1937. The child in the picture is clearly a girl. Helen was born 26 October 1926 and would have been about 11 years old; Barbara was born 28 February 1932 and would have been about 5 in 1937. The child in the photo looks to be about 8, so it could be either girl.

Family Search identifies Helen E Hight, daughter of Harold and Ruby (Hasey) Hight, as ID G98N-XCD. Barbara does not have a Family Search Profile. 9 Ancestry trees refer to Helen E Hight. 5 Ancestry trees refer to Barbara J Hight.

Because I have been unable to identify which girl is in the photos positively, I have one image here and a second photo I’ve uploaded to my Flickr photostream. Hopefully, a family member will identify which child it is definitively. 

Blair & Susanne Higgins, circa 1935.

This negative envelope says, “Mrs. Stanley Higgins, 216 Franklin St #152.”

Why I believe this to be these individuals.

• 

  Blair & Susanne Higgins, circa 1935.

  The 1935 Portland City Directory lists H. Stanley Higgins, and his wife Hazel, living at 216 Franklin.

• The 1940 US Census lists Henry S Higgins, and his wife Hazel, still living at 216 Franklin. Living with them are their two children, Blair (age 9) and Suzanne (age 7). All were born in Maine.
• This photo was probably taken about 1935, when Blair was about five and when Suzanne was about three.
• I am confident these photos are of Blair and Suzanne Higgins.

Family Search does not appear to have a profile for either Blair or Suzanne; however, Blair R Higgins is found in fourteen family trees at Ancestry. Suzanne Higgins is found in five family trees at Ancestry.

I have uploaded one photo of the children to Dead Fred and a second photo of them to my Flickr photostream.

 Conclusion

• I fully identified six individuals. Three of them have Family Search profiles, so I uploaded their photos to Family Search Three of them did not appear to have Family Search profiles, so I uploaded their pictures to Dead Fred.
• I failed to identify one photo. I believe it could be either of two girls; consequently, I only posted those photos here and to my Flickr Photostream.

For all of the Ethel Wight Collection analysis, please see here.

Final Note

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.

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.