Photo Friday – Penney, Perkins, (née Bennett)
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.
Patricia Penney, circa 1936 (age 4).
This negative envelope says, “Mrs. E. C. Penny, 35 Pine St #1025.”
Why I believe this to be the individual.
- The 1936 Portland city directory lists Ernest C (Loretta L) Penney, a stock clerk at 622 Congress, residing at 35 Pine.
- The 1940 US Census lists Ernest Penney, his wife Loretta, and two daughters, Patricia (7) and Shirley (3).
- This photo was taken about 1936, before Shirley was born, and when Patricia was about four.
This photo is of Patricia Ann Penney, born on 26 May 1932 in Portland, Maine, to Ernest Clayton and Loretta (Barter) Penney.
Ancestry has nine public trees that refer to Patricia Ann Penney. Family Search has profile GZKM-KVJ for Patricia Penney, daughter of Ernest C and Loretta Farrell (Barter) Penney. I have uploaded this photo of Patricia to her Family Search Memories.
Patricia Penney, circa 1935 (age 3).
This negative envelope says, “Mrs. Loretta Penney, 182 Clark St (Patricia) #309.”
Why I believe this to be the individual.
- Based upon the photo ID number (#309), this photo was taken about one year before the other picture of Patricia Penny (above), the daughter of Ernest C and Loretta L. Penney
This photo is of Patricia Ann Penney, born on 26 May 1932 in Portland, Maine, to Ernest Clayton and Loretta (Barter) Penney.
Ancestry has nine public trees that refer to Patricia Ann Penney. Family Search has profile GZKM-KVJ for Patricia Penney, daughter of Ernest C and Loretta Farrell (Barter) Penney. I have uploaded this photo of Patricia to her Family Search Memories.
Georganna Perkins (later O’Hara) circa 1935.
This photo is from the Ethel Wight Studio, Portland, Maine.
The envelope this negative was in says, “Miss Georginna Perkins, 202 Hillside Ave Nutley, N. J. #89 – (Aug 19, 1935).”
Why I believe this to be the individual.
- The 1938 Nutley Directory (Belleville, NJ) lists Georgianna M Perkins, a student residing at 202 Hillside Ave. Also at that address are F Carroll & Elizabeth M Perkins. Mr. Perkins is a div supt NY (division superintendent, New York).
- I was surprised to see ten photos of Georgianna in the Ethel Wight Studio Collection—more than any other person I’ve seen. Until I found a March 9, 1939, article in the Biddeford Daily Journal that read, “Mrs. F. Carroll Perkins and daughter, Georgiana, of Nutley, N.J., are guests of Miss Ethel Wight of Fort Hill Avenue.” So, they must be good friends.
- A September 29, 1938, obituary for Henry B. Bennett mentions he was a selectman in Old Orchard Beach and was survived by two daughters, Mrs. Earl C. McAllister and Mrs. F. Carroll Perkins, and his granddaughters Georgiana and Priscilla Perkins.
- Ancestry Family Trees for Henry Babbitt Bennett indicate he and Georgianna had two children, Lilla Irene and Elizabeth Mildred “Bessie” Bennett. Elizabeth married Francis Carroll Perkins and had two daughters. One was Georgiana June Perkins (born on 23 Jun 1918 in Uutky, Essex, New Jersey. She married Harry Frank O’Hara on 30 August 1942.
These photos form a series of Georgianna from four different sittings from 1934 through 1936.
Ancestry has six public trees that refer to Georganna Perkins, born on 23 June 1918.
Family Search does not appear to have a profile for Georgianna, the daughter of Bessie M Bennett (1888-deceased).
I uploaded this photo of Georgianna to Dead Fred. I have also uploaded four more pictures of Georgianna to my Flickr Photostream.
Elizabeth “Bessie” Perkins (née Bennett), circa 1934.
This negative envelope says, “Mrs. F. C. Perkins, 202 Hillside Ave, Nutley, J. J. #17.”
Why I believe this to be the individual.
- The 1938 Nutley Directory (Belleville, NJ) lists F Carroll & Elizabeth M Perkins residing at 202 Hillside Ave.
- From a March 9, 1939, article in the Biddeford Daily Journal, I learned that “Mrs. F. Carroll Perkins and daughter, Georgiana, of Nutley, N.J., are guests of Miss Ethel Wight of Fort Hill Avenue.” So, Ethel and Mrs. Perkins must be good friends.
- A September 29, 1938, obituary for Henry B. Bennett mentions he was a selectman in Old Orchard Beach and was survived by two daughters, Mrs. Earl C. McAllister and Mrs. F. Carroll Perkins.
I am sure this is Elizabeth “Bessie” Perkins (née Bennett), circa 1934.
Ancestry has 11 public trees that refer to Elizabeth Mildred “Bessie” Bennett, wife of Francis Carroll Perkins. Bessie was born on 27 April 1885 in Portland, Cumberland County, Maine. Family Search has profile LVFW-GN8 for Elizabeth Mildred Bessie Bennett. I have uploaded a photo of Bessie to her Family Search Memories.
Priscilla Perkins, circa 1934 (age 10).
This negative envelope says, “Priscilla Perkins, Nutley, NJ #19.”
Why I believe this to be the individual.
- Based upon research on Georganna Perkins (See above), I am sure this is Priscilla Perkins. The photo ID number (#19) suggests it was taken about 1934 when Priscilla was about ten years old.
This photo is of Georganna’s sister Priscilla Perkins, circa 1934 when she was about ten years old.
Ancestry has one public tree that refers to Priscilla Perkins (1924-1988), the daughter of Francis Carroll and Bessie (Bennet) Perkins. Family Search does not have a profile for Priscilla, so I uploaded the photo of her to Dead Fred.
Conclusion
- I fully identified all four individuals. Two of them have Family Search profiles, so I uploaded their images to their Family Search Memories
- I identified two individuals that did not have Family Search profiles but did appear in Ancestry trees, so I posted their images to Dead Fred.
- One individual was photographed on four different occasions. I posted her additional to my Flickr Photostream. One other individual was photographed twice; I posted both of her images to Family Search.
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
[1] 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.
[2] These images were converted to positives using a lightbox, a Nikon camera and computer software.
