Soule, Stacy, Stanley, & Star Photos

Ethel Wight Collection – Part 136
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. Analyzing the pictures and information is vital to identify the individual therein.[ii] Ultimately, my goal is to reunite the photos with family members who may have never seen the image.

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Miss Carolyn Stanley, circa 1934.

The envelope this negative was in says, “Miss Carolyn Stanley, 164 Dartmouth St #359.”

Why I believe this to be the individual.

• The 1935 Portland City Directory lists Chester C and Bernice B Stanley living at 164 Dartmouth.
• The 1930 US Census lists Carolyn M Stanley as the 11-year-old daughter of Chester C & Bernice B Stanley.
• Ancestry Family Trees suggest this is Carolyn Marion Stanley, born 26 November 1918 to Chester and Bernice (Tribou) Stanley.

Ancestry has 18 public trees that refer to Carolyn Stanley. Family Search has profile GMQR-BR5 for Carolyn. The only photograph in this photo package contains an image that is “immodest” and cannot be uploaded to Family Search. As such, I have cropped it and uploaded the cropped photo to her Family Search profile. Family members who want a copy of the original image should contact me directly.

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James G. Stanley, circa 1934.

This negative envelope says, “Mr. James Stanley, 34 Columbia RD, #52 (DHS).”

Why I believe this to be the individual.

• The 1940 US Census lists James G Stanley, the 26-year-old son of Arthur and Clarice Stanley, living at 34 Columbia Road.
• Ancestry Family trees suggest this is James Getchell Stanley, son of Arthur Caldwell and Clarice Pearl (Getchell) Stanley. James was born on 3 February 1914 in Bangor, Maine.

Ancestry has 14 public trees that refer to James Getchell Stanley. Family Search does not appear to have a profile for James. I uploaded a photo of James photo to Dead Fred. I also uploaded four additional images of James to my Flickr Photostream.

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Mary Stacy, circa 1935.

This negative envelope says, “Mrs. Mary Stacy, 22 Norwood St #927.”

Why I believe this to be the individual.

• The 1937 Portland City Directory lists Mary C Stacy, the widow of Frank J Stacy, living at 20 Norwood.
• The 1935 Portland City Directory lists Mary C, the widow of Frank J Stacy, and Frank S Stacy, a butcher, residing at Elmer C Robinson Running Hill Rd, South Portland.
• The 1937 Portland City Directory reports that Frank S Stacy, a butcher, moved to Fairfield.

I have not found Mary C Stacy, Frank J Stacy, or Frank S Stacy in the 1930 or 1940 US Census records. So, I can’t fully determine her identity. I am sure this is Mary Stacy, the wife of Frank J Stacy, and likely the mother of Frank S Stacy.

I uploaded a photo of Mary Stacy photo to Dead Fred. I also uploaded two additional photos of Mary to my Flickr photostream.

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William A Soule, Jr., circa 1935 (age 11)

This negative envelope says, “Mrs. William A Soule, 38 Westminster Av #815.”

Why I believe this to be the individual.

• The 1935 Portland City Directory lists William A and Edla C Soule living at 38 Westminster Av. William is a purchasing agent at CCP & L Co.
• The 1940 US Census Lists William A Soule with his wife, Ella C, and son, William A. Soule, Jr. William Jr. is 15 years old and was born in Maine.
• This photo was taken in 1935, when William A Soule, Jr., was about 11 years old. So I’m sure this photo is of William Alfred Soule, born 17 Apr 1924 in Portland, Cumberland County, to William Alfred and Edla C. Soule.

Ancestry has one public tree that refers to William Alfred Soule (1924-1990). Family Search does not appear to have a profile for William, so I uploaded this photo to Dead Fred.

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Ida Star, circa 1934.

This negative envelope says, “Mrs. Ida Star, 46 Kellog St. #173.”

Why I believe this to be the individual.

• The 1935 Portland City Directory lists Max and Ida Star living at 46 Kellogg.
• The 1937 Portland City Directory lists Max Star living along at 46 Kellogg.
• Find-a-Grave indicates that Ida Star died on 22 February 1936 at age 49. She is buried next to Max Star, who died in 1953).

I am sure this photo is of Ida Star, taken in 1934 when she was about 47.

I have not found Ida Star in Ancestry trees nor determined her maiden name. Neither does she appear to have a profile at Family Search. Consequently, I have only uploaded her photo to Dead Fred.

Conclusion

• I identified all five individuals. Only one person has a Family Search profile, which I could upload her image to Family Search. The other four do not have Family Search profiles, so I uploaded their photos to Dead Fred.

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

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[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.