Ethel Wight Collection – Part 141
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.
Jane Thomas, 1934.
This negative envelope says, “Mrs. H. A. Thomas, 5 Hamlet, #174.”
Why I believe this to be the individual.
- The 1934 Portland City Directory lists Harry A & C Jane Thomas living at 5 Hamlet Ave.
- The 1940 US Census lists Harry A and the 35-year-old, New York-born Jane Thomas living at 65 Packlett, Portland. They have a son, Robert, and a daughter Mary.
- Ancestry Family Trees suggest this is Clara “Jane” Thayer, wife of Harry Thomas and mother of Robert.
I am confident this is a photo of “Jane” Thomas, née Thayer, taken in 1934.
Ancestry has three public trees that refer to Clara “Jane” Thayer. Family Search has profile G2LH-9F9 for Clara Jane Thayer. I have uploaded this photo of Clara Jane to her Family Search Memories.
Alice Thurlow, Student Nurse at St. Barnabas Hospital, circa 1936.
The envelope this negative was in says, “Miss Alice Thurlow, St. Barnabas Hospital #1055.”
Why I believe this to be the individual.
- The 1936 Portland City Directory lists Alice Thurlow as a student nurse at 231 Woodford (St. Barnabas Hospital).
- The 1940 US Census shows nurse Alice E Thurlow living with her mother, Queenie, and stepfather Harold F Seal at 38 Bell in Portland. Alice was 24 and born in Maine, and Queenie was 47 and born in Canada.
This photo is of Alice Evelyn Thurlow, daughter of Howard Sylvester and Queenie Regina (Hathaway) Thurlow. She was born on 17 December 1915 in Falmouth, Maine.
Ancestry has 15 public trees that refer to Alice Evelyn Thurlow. Family Search has profile GMT6-YQQ for Alice. I have uploaded a photo of Alice to her Family Search Memories. I also uploaded a second photo of her to my Flickr Photostream.
Identification confirmed by a relative who has seen this photo before.
Fred Tice – circa January 1942
This negative envelope says, “Fred Tice – Jan 1942.”
Because this date is after Ethel Wight’s Portland, Maine, studio closed, the work must have been done in her Ocean Park studio. Ocean Park is a village in Old Orchard Beach, Maine.
Why I believe this to be the individual.
- The 1940 US Census lists Fredrick Tice boarding at 27 Adelaide Road, Old Orchard Beach. He was a 48-year-old, Massachusetts-born widower.
- World War I Draft Registration Cards include Frederick Tice, born Feby 2, 1892, in Granville, Massachusetts.
- Massachusetts Birth Records include Frederick Tice, born 2 Feb 1892 to Dustin and Joanna (Sullivan) Tice.
I am sure this is a photo of Fredrick Tice (1892-1967), taken about 1942, when he was about 49 years old.
Ancestry has 15 public trees that refer to Fredrick Belnap Tice. Family Search has profile LW8R-DJ9 for Fred, so I uploaded this photo of Fred to his Family Search Memories.
Barbara Tillotson, 1934.
This negative envelope says, “Miss Barbara Tillotson, 3 Tolman Place #118.”
What I learned about this individual.
- The 1934 Portland City Directory does not list any Tillotson, and it lists Mrs. Ethel E Pomroy with a lodging house at 3 Tolman Place.
- A 23-year-old Barbara Elizabeth Tillotson married Albert Clifford Brunell on 12 October 1935 in Groveton, New Hampshire.
- The 1930 US Census lists several potential Barbara Tillotsons.
The woman in this 1934 photo appears to be in her early 20s, so that she would have been born about 1914 ± 5 years (1909-1919). Although the photo of Barbara Elizabeth Tillotson in the 1929 Groveton High School yearbook appears to be the same young woman, I am not 100% certain it is the same young woman. Also, I could not find any link of Barbara Tillotson to Portland, Maine.
Ancestry has 17 public trees that refer to Barbara Elizabeth Tillotson (1911-1955). Although I believe this photo is likely of Barbara Elizabeth Tillotson (born 27 November 1911, I cannot positively identify her as such and only posted this photo to Dead Fred.
Confirmed to be Barbara by a Grandneice.
Serena Titcomb, 1934, Student Nurse at Maine General Hospital.
This negative envelope says, “Miss Serena Titcomb, Me Gen. Hospital #263.”
Why I believe this to be the individual.
- The 1935 Portland City directory lists Serena Titcomb as a student nurse at 22 Arsenal (Maine General Hospital).
- The 1940 US Census lists Serena Southard Titcomb as a nurse at the Eastern Maine General Hospital (Bangor). She was 25 years old. She indicated her residence in 1935 was Brewer, Penobscot County, Maine.
- Serena Southard Titcomb was born on 21 September in Brewer, Maine, the daughter of Vernon and Helen (Lord) Titcomb.
I am sure this photo is of Serena, taken in 1934 when she was a nursing student.
Ancestry has 23 public trees that refer to Serena Southard Titcomb. Family Search has profile LYC3-487 for Serena, so I uploaded this photo of her to her Family Search Memories.
Conclusion
- I identified all five individuals. Four 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 that photo 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
[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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This is definetly my Uncle Fred Tice! I remember going to see him in Maine from Massachusetts, althought I was very young. I have pictures of him in his WWI uniform and a whole family portrait of the Tice family as well. I was born on his birthday. Later in life he lived with his sister Retta Tice Tourgee in Springfield, MA. He was very serious about playing pitch for pennies when my brother and I stayed overnight. He was a great guy!