Hay, McKay, Merrill, Rowe, & “Little Eva”

Linwood Dyer Collection (Part 072)
By Don Taylor

This set of photos, from the Linwood Dyer Photo Collection, contains 18 photographs, all taken at Adams Studio located at 515A Congress Street in Portland. Today, I’ll look at five of them more closely. The pictures bear an imprint reading “Portland High School – ’18.” Most feature handwritten notes identifying the individual, and many confirm 1918 as the graduation year.

I initially searched for 1918 yearbooks but was unsuccessful in locating copies. However, The Portland Evening Express, dated June 24, 1918, lists the names of all 230 seniors who received diplomas from Portland High School that year. With this comprehensive graduation list, I can positively identify most of the students.

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Graduates Featured:

Lloyd Graham Hay, PHS Class of 1918.

• Photo Type: Graduation portrait (3” x 7”)
• Studio: Adams Studio, 515 A Congress Street, Portland, ME
• Imprint: Portland High School – ’18.
• Inscription: “‘Yours in the happy days of Room L.” Lloyd.
• Research Note: Only one person with the first name of Lloyd received a diploma from PHS in 1918. That was Lloyd Graham Hay.[i]

I posted this photo to his FamilySearch profile, LBDV-7SD.

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John Angus McKay, PHS Class of 1918.

• Photo Type: (3.5” x 4.5”)
• Studio: None, but in a photo holder from Adams Studio, 515 A Congress Street, Portland, ME.
• Inscription: “Sincerely, Angus McKay, ’18.”
• Research Note: This full-length photo was folded on both sides to create a 2.5” x 4.5” image. I confirmed that John Angus McKay graduated from Portland High School in June 1918.[ii]
  • The 1920 Census lists a 19-year-old Angus McKay living with his aunt and uncle, Sarah B. & Harry B. Mills. Angus was born in New York, and his parents were born in New York.[iii]
  • Pennsylvania Birth records list a John Angus McKay, born on February 12, 1900, in Scranton, PA, to Robert H and Anna (Holden) McKay.[iv]
  • Robert H McKay, who married Anna E Holden, had a sister, Sarah McKay, who married Harry Boyd Mills in 1913.
• I am sure this is John Angus McKay, son of Robert H and Anna (Holden) McKay.

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Lawrence Freeman Merrill, PHS Class of 1918.

• Photo Type: Graduation portrait (3” x 7”)
• Studio: Adams Studio, 515 A Congress Street, Portland, ME
• Imprint: Portland High School – ’18.
• Inscription:”  ‘To Sadie, Remembrance ’18, L, F. Merrill.”
• Research Note: I confirmed Lawrence Freeman Merrill received a diploma from PHS in 1918.[v]

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Ella Stacey Rowe, PHS Class of 1918.

• Photo Type: Graduation portrait (3” x 7”)
• Studio: Adams Studio, 515 A Congress Street, Portland, ME
• Imprint: Portland High School – ’18.
• Inscription: “‘I thought, I thought, I thought in vain, at last I thought I would write my name.’ Ella S Rowe.”
• Research Note: I confirmed Ella Stacey Rowe received a diploma from PHS in 1918.[vi]

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“Little Eva,” PHS Class of 1918.

• Photo Type: Graduation portrait (3” x 7”)
• Studio: Adams Studio, 515 A Congress Street, Portland, ME
• Imprint: Portland High School – ’18.
• Inscription:”  ‘That’s what cousin Harry says.’ Little Eva, Class Play ’18.”
• Research Note: I was unable to find anyone named Eva in the list of Portland High School graduates from June 1918.[vii]

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Conclusion

This project is about more than photographs—it’s about restoring connections across generations. These portraits capture moments of pride and promise, and for many families, they may be the only formal photo of a loved one at that pivotal time.

If you recognize someone in these images or they are part of your family history, I welcome your contact. I’d be happy to share the personal inscriptions found inside the folders—words written by the people themselves more than 60 years ago.

These portraits are available for personal genealogical use. Please credit – Photo courtesy Scarborough Historical Society, Scarborough, Maine.

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ENDNOTES

[i] Evening Express (Portland, Maine) · Mon, Jun 24, 1918 · Page 1, continued on page 6 – “Record Class Last to Graduate from Old P. H. S. Building.”
[ii] Ibid.
[iii] 1920 US Census; Census Place: Portland Ward 7, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: T625_640; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 50
[iv] “Pennsylvania, Births and Christenings, 1709-1950,” FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HH2B-D3PZ : 15 February 2020), John Angus McKay, 1900.
[v] Evening Express (Portland, Maine) · Mon, Jun 24, 1918 · Page 1, continued on page 6 – “Record Class Last to Graduate from Old P. H. S. Building.”
[vi] Ibid.
[vii] Ibid.