Photo Friday – Larson, Leland, Lord, McKeen, & Mills

Linwood Dyer Collection – Part 020
By Don Taylor

This week, for Photo Friday, I identified the people in five 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 like analyzing the images and trying to reunite the photos with family members who may have never seen the picture. The Scarborough Historical Society holds the originals in the Linwood Dyer Photo Collection.

---

Nurse Inez L. Mills of Belgrade Lakes, circa 1900.

This 5.25 by 7.125 inch cabinet card includes the following information:

• Photographer: Hanson Studio – 12 Monument Sqr., Portland, ME
• Handwritten on the back: “Miss Mills, nurse.”

What I learned while researching this photo:

• The 1899, 1903, 1904, & 1905 Portland City Directories list Miss Inez L. Mills as a nurse at 597 Congress. The 1905 Directory indicates she moved to Eastport.
• The 1920 US Census lists Miss Inez Mills as a 47-year-old registered nurse, lodging at 684 Congress.
• On Wednesday, October 11, 1944, the Biddeford-Saco Journal reported, “Miss Inez Mills, World War Nurse, Dies at Beach.” Miss Mills:
  • She died Tuesday at a local hospital.
  • She was a veteran of World War I and was well known in central and southwestern Maine.
  • In recent years, she resided with her brother Everard H Mills, 78 Union Ave., Old Orchard Beach.
  • She was born at Belgrade Lakes and is the daughter of Melville and Abbie (Gordon) Mills.
  • Her internment was to be in the family lot at Belgrade.

I added this photo to my Linwood Dyer Collection family tree at Ancestry.

---

Robert McArthur Leland of Ottawa, IL, circa 1897.

The photo identifying information includes:

• Photographer: M. H. Cole – Ottawa, Ill.
• Handwritten on the back:
  • Robert McArthur Leland Died at Springfield, Ills. May 16, 1898, at 22 yrs of age.

What I learned while researching this photo:

• The 1929 Illinois Roll of Honor lists Robert M Leland as having served in the Spanish-American War.
• The Illinois Statewide Death Index, Pre-1916, lists Robert M Leland, who died 1898-05-16 in Springfield at the age of 21 years.
• The Margaret Dunham Family Tree on Ancestry shows a photo of Robert McArthur Leland (1876-1898) that is a photo of the same young man, a few years younger than in this photo.
• Robert McArthur Leland was born on 12 July 1876 to Sherman Edwin Leland and Euphemia Louise Foote.

I gently touched up this photo to remove some foxing and added it to my Linwood Dyer Collection family tree at Ancestry.

---

John McKeen of Scarborough, ME, circa 1951

This is a photo of a boy holding a basketball and wearing a jersey saying “SGS.”

• Handwritten on the back: John McKeen.
• (SHS Accession #) 2023.02.54.

What I learned while researching this photo:

• The 1950 US Census indicates the home environment of John McKeen.
  • Ernest H Dyer – Head – age 72
  • Josephine P Dyer – Wife – age 67
  • Howard O Dyer – Son – age 49 – an “electrical” in the iron work industry.
  • Thelma E McKeen – Daughter – age 40
  • Johan S McKeen – Granddaughter – age 14
  • John McKeen – Grandson – age 12.
  • Linwood D Dyer – Grandson – age 24 – a theatrical entertainer.
  • George Stacy – lodger, age 21.

I added this photo to my Linwood Dyer Collection family tree at Ancestry.

---

Augusta M. Larson, July 1899

The photo identifying information includes:

• Photographer: Bryan & Howard – 338 F Main St. – Galesburg, Ill.
• Handwritten on the back: To Daisy – In remembrance of joys and sorrows shared at 4923 Washington Ave. Chicago Ill, Augusta M. Larson, July – 1899

What I learned while researching this photo:

• Galesburg is a city about 150 miles southwest of Chicago.
• The 1900 US Census lists:
  • 39-year-old (born Jun 1860) Gusta S Larson, Marie L Larson’s daughter, lives in Galesburg.
  • 21-year-old (born Aug 1878) Augusta Larson, the wife of C. M. Larson, lived in nearby Walnut Grove, IL. She had been married for five years. Further research found that Augusta Chestmina Schmidt married Carl (Charles) Magnus Larson in 1895 and lived in Walnut Grove in 1900.
• Neither of the Knox County Augustas appear to be candidates for this photo.
• The 1900 US Census lists over 30 Augusta/Gusta Larson/Larsens living in Chicago. Many of these could be candidates.
• A finding aid for the Howard Van Doren Shaw Buildings in and around Lake Forest indicates that c. 1897, the Morton D. Hull residence at 4923 S. Blackstone Ave was originally 4923 Washington Ave. The 3,300 sq ft, four-bedroom home was built in 1887. My search for people living at 4923 Washington Ave failed to yield Augusta Larson or anyone with the given name of Daisy.

I can not fully identify the individual in this photo without further identifying information. So, I uploaded it to Dead Fred.

---

J. A. Lord, Jr., July 1914.

The photo identifying information includes:

• Handwritten on the front: J.A. Lord Jr., So. Duxbury, July 1914 [maybe L.A. Lord, Jr.].

What I learned while researching this photo:

• South Duxbury is south of Boston on the Massachusetts coast, across Cape Cod Bay from Provincetown.
• My search for anyone with the surname Lord living in the South Duxbury area from 1910 to 1920 failed to yield any results with a father & a son (Sr. & Jr.).

I believe this is probably someone who lived away and was vacationing or summering in South Duxbury. Because I failed to the individual in this photo, I only included the photo here and in my Flickr Photostream.

---

Conclusion

I would 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 Ancestry, Dead Fred, or Flickr have higher quality than those here. Feel free to use these photos in your genealogical activities. Please cite “Photo Courtesy of the Scarborough Historical Society.”