Selberg, Semple, Severence, & Severino

Ethel Wight Collection – Part 131
Photo Friday 
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. 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 Josephine Severino, circa 1935.

The envelope this negative was in says, “Miss Josephine Severino, ME Gn Hospital #843.”

Nurse Josephine Severino, circa 1935.

Why I believe this to be the individual.

• The 1935 and 1936 Portland City Directories list Josephine Severino as a student Nurse at 22 Arsenal (Maine General Hospital).
• The 1934 Portland High School Directory lists Josephine “Jo” Nancy Severino as a Senior whose college preference was Maine General Hospital School of Nursing. The photo appears to be of the same young woman.
• The 1939 Portland City Directory lists Josephine Severino as a nurse who married James A Maiorano.
• Ancestry Trees indicate that Josephine Nancy Severino was born on 30 October 1916 and married James Anthony Maiorano on 18 September 1938.

Ancestry has 16 public trees that refer to Josephine Nancy Severino, daughter of Agrippino and Maria (Olivetta) Severino. Family Search does not appear to have a profile for Josephine. I uploaded a photo of Josephine to Dead Fred.

Phyllis Semple, circa 1935 (high school photo).

This negative envelope says, “Miss Phyllis Semple, 31 Kellogg St (P. H. S.) #1094.”

Phyllis Semple, circa 1935.

Why I believe this to be the individual.

• The 1936 Portland High School Yearbook shows the same photo of this girl as Phyllis Mae Semple “Jimmie.”
• New Hampshire Certificate of Marriage shows that Phyllis Mae Semple, of South Portland,” married Russell Alfred Oates on 30 September 1938. Phyllis was 20 years old, the daughter of Samuel James and Ethel (Thornton) Semple.
• Ancestry Public Trees indicate this is Phyllis Mae Semple, born on 20 January 1918 in Portland, Maine.

Ancestry has six public trees that refer to Phyllis Mae Semple (later Oates). Family Search has profile LVHC-B1Q for Phyllis. I have uploaded a photo of Phyllis to her Family Search Memories. I also uploaded three additional pictures of Phyllis to my Flickr PhotoStream.

Inga Selberg, circa 1934.

This negative envelope says, “Miss Inga Selberg, 66 Devon St #162.”

Inga Selberg, circa 1934.

Why I believe this to be the individual.

• The 1936 Portland City Directory lists Inga E Selberg living at 62 Devon. Also at 62 Devon are Hilda E, Peter G, and Robert W Selberg. Ernest and Katherine Selverg live at 66 Devon.
• The 1935 Deering High School Yearbook lists Inga E Selberg. The school photo appears to be of the same young woman as is in this photo.
• Ancestry Family Trees suggest this in Inga Fredericka Selberg, born 31 March 1917 in Portland, Maine. Note that although the yearbook and city directory indicate her middle initial is “E,” it appears her middle name was Fredericka.

Ancestry has 18 public trees that refer to Inga Fredericka Selberg. Family Search has profile LYQB-8XR for Inga. I have uploaded two photos of Inga to her Family Search Memories.

Eileen Severence, circa 1936 (age 5)

This negative envelope says, “Mrs. C. I. Severance, 176 Danforth St, #1013.”

Eileen Severence, circa 1936 (age 5)

Why I believe this to be the individual.

• The 1936 Portland City Directory lists Charles F and Helen L Severance living at 176 Danforth. Also at that address is Harry J. Severance.
• The 1935 Portland City Directory lists Charles and Helen D Severence living at 12 Gray. No other Severances are listed living at 12 Gray (or Danforth).
• The 1939 and 1940 Portland City Directories list Charles F and Helen B Severance as living at 24 May. A Charlie L and Mary E Severance are residing at 12 Wescott.
• The 1934 Bangor City Directory lists Charles F and Helen D Severance living at 16 Broadway, Bangor. Also at 16 Broadway are Harry J and Ethel L Severance.
• Eileen Severance was born on 2 December 1931 in Lincoln, Penobscot County, Maine. Her parents were Charles F and Helen D (Lunt) Severance.
• This photo was taken in 1936 when Eileen would have been about five years old. The girl in the picture also appears to be between four and six years old, so I believe this photo is of Eileen Helen Severance (1931-2000).

Ancestry has two public trees that refer to _Eileen Severance, born 2 Dec 1931. Family Search has profile KW84-7GL for Eileen. I have uploaded one photo of Eileen to her Family Search Memories.

Three unidentified women.

Crop of envelope information.

This negative envelope says, “Mrs. Sherman – July 1941 – Mrs. L.E. Sherman, 317 Jostram St, Providence R I.”

What I learned.

My search for a Jostram or similarly named street in Providence failed to find such an address. The closest I could find was a Joslin street. The written address provided doesn’t fit that street.

Three unidentified women.

I did not find a Mr. L. E. Sherman in Providence from 1940 to 1942. There was a Loretta E Sherman, wife of Herbert W Sherman. In 1940 and 1942, they lived at 29 Desoto. Loretta was born about 1907, making her only 33 years old in 1940. Much younger than any of the women in this photograph.

So, I have not identified the individuals in this photos, so I only include the image here.

Conclusion

• I identified the people in four of the five photographs. Three have Family Search profiles, so I uploaded their images to their Family Search Memories. One did not have a Family Search profile, so I uploaded her photos to Dead Fred.
• I was unable to identify the three individuals in one photo. I uploaded that photo only here

I will love to hear your reaction if any of these photos are of your family member. 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 higher quality than those 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.