SHS Photo Collection – Part 001
By Don Taylor
The Scarborough Historical Society has an extensive collection of photos featuring various individuals. Today, I look at four pictures from that collection.
Eugene Allen – SHS Class 1938
Photographer: None
Inscription: Eugene Allen, SHS Class 1938.
Description: High school graduation photo of Eugene Allen
Research:
- The 1938 Four Corners yearbook confirms Eugene Woodbury Allen “Gene” was born on October 30, 1920.
- Ancestry Trees suggest Eugene died on May 25, 2003, in Hesperia, San Bernardino County, California.
I added this photo to SHS Photos – 2025 on Ancestry.com.
Carrie Blaine
Photographer: Choicenter, 62 Main St., Tauton, Mass.
Inscription: Don’t forget Monday Morning – September 11, 1899, Carrie Blaine.
Description: A middle-aged woman dressed in style common to the late 1890s.
Research:
- The 1880 US Census lists Caroline B Blain, the 24-year-old daughter of Jeanette H Blain, a widow.
- The 1892 Boston City Directory lists Carrie Blaine living at 16 Longmeadow. Also living at 16 Longmeadow is Mrs. Jeannette H Blaine. At 18 Longmeadow is James W. Blaine, a roofer.
- The 1900 US Census lists Carrie J.B. Blaine, a nurse living at 46 Pleasant in Taunton, Bristol County, Mass. She was single, age 42, born in March 1858 in Scotland. She immigrated to the US in 1861.
- The 1914 Taunton, MA City Directory lists Carrie Blaine boarding at 68 Dean.
- The 1930 US Census lists Carrie Blaine, living with her sister Jessie H Blaine, at 178 Westminister Ave, Arlington, Middlesex, Mass. She was 75 years old, Scotland born, and immigrated in 1860.
- The Boston Globe, October 20, 1949, reported that Caroline J Blaine, 97, a retired nurse, died on October 16th.
I am quite sure this photo is of Caroline J Blaine, taken in 1899. I added this photo to SHS Photos – 2025 on Ancestry.com.
Mr. & Mrs. John Bragdon & Orville Varney
Photographer: None.
Inscription: Mr. & Mrs. John Bragdon & Orville Varney.
Description: The man and his wife appear to be in their 50s to early 60s. The child appears to be 3 to 5 years of age. The clothing, furniture, & wallpaper suggest the photo was likely taken circa 1890-1905.
Research:
- Ancestry Trees identify Orvilla Linwood Varney, born 24 May 1895 in Scarborough, Maine.
- The 1900 Census list 51-year-old John Bragdon and his wife Georgianna living in Scarborough, Maine. John’s Daughter-in-law, Mamie E Trip lives with them. The next family on the page is Albert & Annie Varney, with their 5-year-old son, Orville L (born May 1895).
- Ancestry trees suggest the Bragdons and the Varneys are not related.
I am quite certain that this photo shows John and Georgianna Bragdon, along with the neighbor’s child, Orville Varney, about 1900. I added this photo to SHS Photos – 2025 on Ancestry.com.
House at High & Spring, Portland, ME, 1899 (Louise Armstrong in foreground
Photographer: None.
Inscription: Aug 16, 1899, SW cor High & Spring, Louise Armstrong.
Description: A young woman walking with a house in the background.
Research:
- The 1900 US Census lists 19-year-old Louise Armstrong living with her parents Walter & Charlotte Armstrong at 78 High Street, Portland, Maine. The house at the SW corner of High & Spring Street would have been about a block away from where she lived.
Since Louise’s face is not visible in this photo, I will only post it here.
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. Ultimately, my goal is to reunite the pictures with family members who may have never seen the image.
Sources
- The Four Corners (, 1938), Internet Archive, Eugene Woodbury Allen. https://archive.org/details/thefourcorners1938scarborohighschool/page/n13/mode/2up.
- Ancestry.com, 1900 United States Federal Census (Lehi, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004), Ancestry.com, Year: 1900; Census Place: Taunton Ward 3, Bristol, Massachusetts; Roll: 639; Page: 1; Enumeration District: 0223.
- Ancestry.com, 1940 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012), Ancestry.com, Year: 1940; Census Place: Arlington, Middlesex, Massachusetts; Roll: m-t0627-01601; Page: 20A; Enumeration District: 9-5.
- Ancestry.com, U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 (Lehi, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), Ancestry.com.
- Ancestry.com, U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 (Lehi, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), Ancestry.com.
Disclaimer
This post was aided by the use of ChatGPT and edited with Grammarly.
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