Photo Friday –O’Toole, Paige (née Guilbault), Paquette, & Paradis.
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.
This week, for Photo Friday, I identify the people in five more envelopes from the Ethel Wight Studio CollectionJohn O’Toole, circa 1934 (age 12).
This negative envelope says, “Mr. John O’Toole, 37 Pleasant St #110.”
Why I believe this to be the individual.
- The 1935 Portland City Directory lists Frank (Helen) as a longshoreman living at 37 Pleasant. Also at that address is Francis O’Toole residing at 37 Pleasant.
- The 1940 US Census lists Frank, his wife Ellen, 17-year-old son John, and two other children, including Francis, living at 22 High Street.
- Ancestry Family Trees suggest this is John Joseph O’Toole, born on 10 October 1922 in Portland, Maine, to Frank and Ellen Flaherty (Coyne) O’Toole.
I believe this photo is of John Joseph O’Toole, circa 1934, when he was about 12 years old.
Ancestry has 15 public trees that refer to John Joseph O’Toole. Family Search has profile LBZN-JX8 for John Joseph O’Toole I. I have uploaded a photo of John to his Family Search Memories. I uploaded a second photo of him to my Flickr PhotoStream.
Anna Paige (née Guilbault) circa 1935.
This negative envelope says, “Mrs. Anna Paige, 1124 Forest Ave #726.”
Why I believe this to be the individual.
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The 1935 Portland City Directory lists Leslie E and Anna M Paige living at 1111 Forest Ave. Also at that address is Frank E Lane. At 1124 are Napoleon Wentworth and Alonzo Holmes. There is no other “Mrs. Anna Paige” listed in the directory.
Anna Paige (née Guilbault) circa 1935.
- New Hampshire Marriage records indicate that 21-year-old Anna M Guilbault married Leslie E Paige in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on 2 September 1933. Her parents were Mitchell and Philomena (Marcotte) Guilbault.
I’m sure this is a photo of Anna Paige (née Guilbault) circa 1935.
Ancestry has 14 public trees that refer to Anna Marie Guilbeault, the wife of Leslie Everett Paige. Family Search has profile GS7F-3X7 for Anna Marie Guilbault. I have uploaded two photos of Anna to her Family Search Memories.
Yvette Paquette, circa 1935.
Why I believe this to be the individual.
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The 1935 Portland City Directory lists Yvette K Paquette residing at 72 Waterville. At the same address is Mathew J Paquette, a superintendent at 585 Congress.
Yvette Paquette, circa 1935.
- The 1930 Census reports Yvette Paquette, the 19-year-old daughter of Matthew J Paquette, living at 72 Waterville.
Based upon FamilySearch, I believe this is Catherine Yvette Antoinette Paquette, daughter of Mathew J and Mary (Coughlin) Paquette. She was born on 19 February 1911.
Ancestry has six public trees that refer to Catherine Yvette Antoinette Paquette. Family Search has profile LRYC-38J for Catherine Yvette Antoinette Paquette.
I have uploaded two photos of Yvette to her Family Search Memories.
Anna Paradis, circa 1934.
The envelope this negative was in says, “Miss Anna Paradis, 35 Woodmont St #138.”
What I have discovered about several Anna Paradis.
Anna Paradis, circa 1934.
The 1934 Portland City Directory does not list an Anna Paradis. At 35 Woodmont lives Philip M Libby. Likewise, the 1935 Portland City Directory does not list an Anna Paradis and has Philip M Libby living at 35 Woodmont St.
The 1940 Census lists an Anna Paradis, the 27-year-old wife of Herbert Paradis, Living in Skowhegan, Maine. Although the age is about right, the Anna in this photograph is identified as “Miss,” so this is probably not the correct Anna Paradis. The 1932 Waterville City Directory list Anna and Herbert as married, living in Waterville.
The 1940 Census lists a 51-year-old Marie Anna Paradis living with her husband Ferdinand in Winslow, Maine.
On 16 January 1933, an Anna Paradis, of Presque Isle, ME, married Cyrille Boutote of Ft. Kent. Because the photo was taken about 1934, this is unlikely the same Anna Paradis. Anna was 25 during the 1940 Census and lived in Fort Kent in both 1935 and 1940.
On 20 October 1936, an Anna Paradis married Louis Coulomb. Anna lived in Ft. Kent and Louis in New Canada, Maine. Twenty-five-year-old Anna and her husband Louis lived in New Canada in 1940, and Anna lived in Fort Kent in 1935.
On 16 February 1937, an Anna Paradis, of Caribou, ME, married Reuben Saunders, also of Caribou. In 1940, Rubin and 25-year-old Anna Saunders lived in Caribou and lived in the same place in 1935.
The 1930 US Census lists Philip M Libby living with his wife, Florence Libby, at 35 Woodmont. Living with him is a servant, Julia Hall, and a nurse, Dorothy Haskell. The 1938 Westbrook City directory indicates that Philip and Florence lived in Westbrook but wintered in Portland.
My speculation
I believe this photo is of Anna Paradis, taken about 1934. I think she was likely either a servant or nurse in the household of Philip M and Florence Libby. Based on this photo package, I cannot determine which of several Anna Paradis women she is.
I uploaded a photo of Anna Paradis to Dead Fred and another picture of her to my Flickr Photostream.
Anna Paradis, circa 1935.
This negative envelope says, “Miss Anna Paradis, 35 Woodmont St #821.”
Anna Paradis, circa 1935.
What I discovered about Anna Paradis.
- This photo is clearly of the same Anna Paradis as I researched before and was unable to fully identify about a year later.
I have uploaded Anna’s photo to Dead Fred and a second photo of her to my Flickr PhotoStream.
Conclusion
- Although there were five photo-negative packets, there were only four individuals. I believe I’ve identified all four individuals. Three of them have Family Search profiles, so I uploaded their images to their Family Search Memories
- I identified one individual only by name, so I uploaded two photos of her 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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