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.
Grace Phelps, 1938
The envelope this negative was in says, “Miss Grace Phelps – May 28 – 1938.”
Why I believe this to be the individual.
- This photo appears to be of a woman in her 20s.
- The date of the photo, May 28, 1938, suggests it was taken at Ethel Wight’s Ocean Park (Old Orchard Beach, ME) studio and not her Portland studio, as most of the photos in this collection were taken.
- In 1946 Miss Grace Phelps of Old Orchard married Lloyd G Drinkwater, of Belfast, in a ceremony performed at her parent’s home in Waite, Washington County, Maine. Her parents were Mr. & Mrs. George Phelps.
- The 1930 US Census reports George and Addie Phelps of Waite, Maine had three children, one son and two daughters, Grace H, age 17, and Alice M, age 13 (born c. 1912 & 1916, respectively).
- In 1940, a Grace Phelps was a 27-year-old servant in the home of Ida Larkin in New York City. She lived in Rural Cumberland County, Maine, in 1935.
I believe this is Grace Phelps, born on 11 March 1913 in Waite, Maine.
Ancestry has 28 public trees that refer to Grace H Phelps (1913-1981). Family Search has two profiles for Grace H Phelps. GDQP-1L3 refers to her as the daughter of George and Addie (Smith) Phelps. GW4S-1V6 refers to her as the wife of Lloyd George Drinkwater. A family member should merge these two profiles. I uploaded two photos of Grace to her Family Search Memories. I have four additional 1938 photos of Grace in this collection available to family members if requested.
Grace Phelps & Friend, May 1939
This negative envelope says, “Miss Phelps & Friend – May 24 – 1939.”
What I learned about this photo.
- This photo is clearly of Grace Phelps, about a year later than the previous photo. The man in the picture is only identified as a “friend.”
- In 1946 Miss Grace Phelps of Old Orchard married Lloyd G Drinkwater, of Belfast, in a ceremony performed at her parent’s home in Waite, Washington County, Maine.
- In May 1939, Grace Phelps was 26 years old; however, her future husband, Lloyd George Drinkwater, was only 21. The man in this photo appears to me to be older than Grace, so I don’t believe it is Lloyd. Instead, this is likely another “friend” of Grace.
Because I already posted two photos of Grace on her Family Search profile, I didn’t post this photo there. I have five additional photos of this couple in my Ethel Wight Collection of photos that I’ll make available to family members if requested.
If you can positively identify the man in this photo, I would love to hear from you.
Grace Helen Phelps & Alice Maude Phelps – Sisters.
This negative envelope says, “Grace Phelps Sisters,” without a date or location.
Why I believe this to be the individual.
- I feel confident about my previous identification of Grace Helen Phelps (1913-1981).
- The 1930 US Census reported that Grace had a younger sister, Alice M Phelps.
- Alice Maude Phelps, sister of Grace, was born on 28 April 1916 in Waite, Washington County, Maine.
- Like her sister, 23-year-old Alice lived in New York City in 1940 but lived in Maine in 1935.
I am confident that this photo is of Grace and Alice, probably before 1938. Although I suspect that Grace is the sister on the left, I am not confident which sister is which in the photograph
See above for other photos of Grace. Ancestry has 12 public trees that refer to Alice Maude Phelps (later Hofbauer). Family Search has profile GDQ5-36T for Alice M Phelps. I only included the individual’s photo here.
Nurse Anne Phair, circa 1935
This negative envelope says, “Miss Phair, St Barnabus Hospital #946.”
This photo appears to be of a young woman in her late teens or early 20s. She is in a student nurse’s uniform.
What I learned while researching this individual.
- The 1936 Portland City Directory lists Anne Phair as a student nurse at 231 Woodford (St Barnabus Hospital), residing at 20 Norwood. She is the only Phair in the directory.
Alternate Individuals.
- The 1940 US Census lists three Anne Phairs.
- 65-year-old Anne Phar, the wife of Michael Phair.
- A 47-year-old Annie Phair lives with her nephew, Walter Trehan, in Boston. She is a naturalized immigrant from Ireland and lived in Boston in 1935.
- Anne E Phair is the 19-year-old daughter of Henry S & Elizabeth A Phair, living in North Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts. She lived in the same place in 1935 and was new to working in 1940.
- The 1930 US Census lists only one Anne Phair, the 32-year-old wife of Philip A Phair.
None of these appear to be the correct Anne Phair. Additionally, my review of marriages from 1935-1945 and my review of immigration from 1930 to 1935 failed to yield any additional candidates for the Anne Phair in this photo.
I feel confident this photo is of Anne Phair, but I haven’t found any additional identifying information regarding her. So, I uploaded her photo to Dead Fred.
Louise Adelaide Tucker, circa 1935
This photo appears to be of a woman in her late teens or early 20s.
Why I believe this to be the individual.
- The 1937 Portland City Directory lists Edward M and Beryl B Phee living at 109 Gilman.
- The 1940 US Census lists Edward and his 40-year-old wife still living at 109 Gilman. With them is Edward’s 18-year-old stepdaughter, Louise Tucker.
- Maine Birth records indicate that Louise Adelaide Tucker was born on 21 August 1921 to Ralph G and Beryl Bradbury Tucker.
The person in this photo appears to be much younger than Beryl was, so I’m pretty sure this is Louise Tucker about 1935, when she was about 15 years old.
Ancestry has six public trees that refer to Louise Adelaide Tucker. Family Search has profile GM9M-NYT for Louise Adelaide Tucker. I have uploaded a photo of Louise to her Family Search Memories.
Conclusion
- I fully identified all four individuals in five envelopes. Three of them have Family Search profiles, so I uploaded their images to their Family Search Memories.
- I failed to determine precisely who one individual was, so I posted her image 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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