Faces from the Past – Bessey Graduates 1954, Dunstan Students, c.1952, Libby, & Wood.

SHS Photo Collection – Part 004
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.

---

Perley Britt Wood, c. 1902.

Photographer: Unknown
Inscription: On back – Perley Britt Wood b. Feb 13, 1886, son of Charles & Marjory Wood of Rockland, Maine, in July 30, 1934, lives at 376 Broadway, So. Portland, Bess his wife, Junior 10, Josephine 8, Patricia 4, John Marles  1 yr brother.
Description: The image is an oval vignette mounted on a cream-colored, matte card with notable foxing (brown age spots) typical of photographs from the turn of the 20th century. The young man appears to be in his late teens or early twenties. He is posed in a studio setting against a neutral background, looking slightly to the right of the camera.
Research: Ancestry Family Trees identified Perley Britt Wood, born 13 Feb 1886 in Rockland, Knox County, Maine. He married Marie Hortense Richards in 1908. She died in 1919. He remarried Bessie Marles in 1922. He and Bessie had four children: Perley (b. 1924), Josephine (b. 1927), Patricia (b. 1930), and John (b. 1933).

Estimated Date: Based on the hairstyle, clothing, and mount style, the photo was likely taken between 1898 and 1905.

I added this photo to the Linwood Dyer Collection on Ancestry.com.

---

Students line up at Dunstan School, early 1950s

Inscription: On back –Michael & Marcy Milliken @ foreground of Dunstan School
Description: The photo shows a large group of children and several adults gathered outside Dunstan Grammar School in the 1950s. The group appears to be lining up or entering the building, possibly at the start of the school day.
Research:

• The Dunstan School’s (brick building) first classes started in September 1945.
• Marcia Milliken graduated from SHS in 1961, suggesting the photo predates 1956.
• Michael Milliken was born in 1947, suggesting the photo was taken after 1952.

Since this photo focuses more on the school and the students than on Marcia and Michael, I’m only including it here and in the Scarborough Historical Society, Dunstan School photo collection.

---

Graduates – Scarborough High School – 1954

Photographer: Unknown
Inscription: On back – Robert Foley – Class Marshall
Description: About forty young men and women are arranged in two neat rows. The men wear dark caps and gowns; the women wear light-colored or white gowns and mortarboards. At the very front, kneeling at the center, is a person in a dark gown who appears to be the class marshal holding a staff. The building behind is Scarborough High School (Bessey School).

Research:

• Robert Francis Foley graduated from Scarborough High School in 1954. The yearbook indicates he was born on May 10, 1936, in Lawrence, Mass.

Since this photo focuses more on the school and the students than on Robert Foley, I’m only including the image here and in the Scarborough Historical Society’s Dunstan School photo collection.

---

Carol Libby, SHS Class of 1956.

Photographer: Unknown
Inscription: On back – Carol Libby
Description: The graduate stands confidently with her hands relaxed at her sides. She wears a white cap and gown and white shoes. The brick building behind her appears to be consistent with Scarborough High School (Bessey School) during the 1950s.
Research: Carol Ann Libby was a graduate of the 1956 Scarborough High School.

• She was born on 16 Oct 1938 in Portland, Maine
• The 1940 US Census places her living with her parents, Norman F and Eleanor R Libby, on Prouts Neck Road.

I added this photo to SHS Photos – 2025 on Ancestry.com.

---

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.