Linwood Dyer Collection – Part 13
By Don Taylor
This week, for Photo Friday, I tried to identify the people in five more photos from the Linwood Dyer Collection. This collection includes hundreds of photos, documents, and genealogies of people who lived in Scarborough, South Portland, and Cape Elizabeth, Maine. I desire to reunite the photos with family members who may have never seen the image. The originals in this collection are held by the Scarborough Historical Society.
Linwood Dyer, 1983
The photo identifying information includes:
- [No photographer or studio was noted.]
- Lynwood [sic] Dyer – Director – Choreographer – Set Designer.
- Gypsy – Portland Lyric Theatre – Feb 17-Mar 12, 1983.
Why I believe this to be the individual.
- When I first saw this photo, I was surprised. I’ve seen many photos of Linwood Dyer, but never of him sporting mutton chops. But yes, looking at his eyes and facial shape, it is definitely Linwood Dyer.
Family Search has profile G8D8-BBK for Linwood. I uploaded this photo to his Family Search Memories.
Lucy Libby, circa 1900.
The photo identifying information includes:
- The photographer is H.M. Smith, Portland, ME.
- Handwritten on the back it says, “Mrs. Lucy Libby, Portland, Maine.
Why I believe this to be the individual.
- The 1890 Portland City directory lists two “Mrs. Lucy E. Libbys”.
- One’s home is on Congress, beyond Broad, Stroudwater.
- The other lived at a boarding house at 104 Oak.
- However, it does not list H.M. Smith as a photographer.
- The 1900 Portland City Directory lists Howard M. Smith as a photographer. It also lists the two Lucy E Libbys.
- Lucy E., widow of Amos, h. 1532 Congress
- Lucy E., widow of Edmund P., h. 17½ Forest av.
- The 1900 US Census lists
- Lucy E Libby living at 1532 Congress with her brother-in-law, Lewis Skillin. His wife is Hattie. Lucy is 63 years old.
- Lucy E Libby living at 17½ Green Street. She is 66 years old, widowed, and living with her is her 46-year-old son, Augustus.
- Lucy A Libby, wife of Samuel Libby, living at 5 Prospect Street. She is 66 years old.
- Another Lucy E Libby, age 22 is boarding at 108 Federal. She is married and her apparent husband is Walter H Libby.
- Other findings:
- Find a Grave lists, Lucy Ellen (Trickey) Libby (1836-1917), whose husband was Corp Amos Libby (1834-1861) and whose sister was Harriet “Hattie” Trickey Skillin.
- US Marriage records indicate that Lucy E Winslow married Edmund P Libby on 3 July 1853.
- Lucy Ann Hunnewell married Samuel Libby on 21 November 1860. The couple lived at 5 Prospect Street in Portland in 1900. Both she and Samuel died in 1902. Both are buried in Scarborough, Maine.
I believe this photo is of either Lucy (Trickey) Libby or Lucy (Winslow) Libby taken some time about 1900, although it is possible it is a photo of Lucy (Hunnewell) Libby. Without seeing any comparison photos of Lucy I cannot determine which Lucy Libby this is a photo of. I uploaded this photo to Dead Fred. Hopefully, a family member of either Lucy Libby will be able to confirm a positive identification of the woman in this photo.
Unknown Man.
The photo identifying information includes:
- The front says McKenney, 12 Market Sqr. Portland.
- The card is about 2.5” x 4.0,” with rounded corners at the bottom, suggesting it is a carte-de-visits from about the 1870s.
What I learned while researching this photograph.
- The 1880 Census lists Albert M McKenney, a photographer, residing at 12 Market Square. He is 60 and his 39-year-old wife is Louisa J. The 1881 Portland City Directory indicates A.M. McKenney’s studio and residence were both at 12 Market Square.
- Albert was 60 in 1880, indicating he was born about 1820. The man in this photo appears to be younger than 46, so I am quite sure this is not Albert McKenney. Rather this is just the manner Albert indicated his studio’s name and location.
If you know this person’s identification and would like a higher-quality image than the web-sized image here, let me know using the comment form below.
(Probably) John Pillsbury of Boston, MA
The photo identifying information includes:
- The photographer is Conly, 465 Washington St., Boston
- Handwritten on the back is “John? Pillsbury”
What I learned when researching this photo:
- The 1880 US Census indicates there were two John Pillsbury’s living in Boston.
- John C. Pillsbury was born about 1856.
- John D. Pillsbury was born about 1851.
- A John H. Pillsbury also lived in Boston; he died in 1869 at the age of 35.
This photo could easily be any one of the three John Pillsbury mentioned above. Also, the name written on the back has a question mark by “John” suggesting the person making the identification wasn’t certain of the identification.
I have not identified the individual in this photo sufficiently to upload to either Family Search or Dead Fred, so I only include the individual’s photo here. If you are interested in a higher-quality image, please let me know through the comments below.
George Bird Talbot, circa 1890.
The photo identifying information includes:
- The photographer is Partridge.
- Handwritten on the back is “George Talbot.”
Why I believe this to be the individual.
- William Partridge had a photography business in Boston by 1878, left for a few years then returned to Boston and had his studio there from 1886 to 1914.
- I have researched George Talbot previously. (See George Bird Talbot in my “Morse (née Milliken) & Talbot” post.
I am quite certain this photo is of George Bird Talbot (1889-1973) taken when he was about one (c. 1890). I uploaded this photo to his Family Search Memories.
Conclusion
- I identified two of the five individuals. They have Family Search profiles, so I uploaded their images to their Family Search Memories.
- One is likely one of three different Lucy’s. I uploaded her image to Dead Fred.
- One is possibly one of two different John Pillsbury’s.
- Finally, I was unable to identify one individual. He remains unknown.
I’d 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 and Dead Fred have a higher quality image than those linked here.
