Ethel Wight Collection – Part 106

Photo Friday – Neal, Neales, & Neily

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 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.