Photo Friday – Paquette (later Raymond), Paradis, & Parker (née Wright).

By Don Taylor

This week, for Photo Friday, I identify the people in five more envelopes from the Ethel Wight Studio Collection[i]. The envelopes typically contain the name of the person who paid for the photos, not necessarily of the individual portrayed in the image. As such, it is vital to analyze the pictures and information to identify the individual therein.[ii] Ultimately, my goal is to reunite the photos with family members who may have never seen the image.

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Pauline Paquette, Nurse, circa 1934.

This negative envelope says, “Miss Pauline Pauquette, ME Eye & Ear Infirmary #236.”

Why I believe this to be the individual.

• The 1935 Portland City Directory lists Pauline Paquette, a student nurse at 79 Bramhall (Maine Eye & Ear Infirmary) and residing at 804 Congress.
• Maine Marriages indicate that Pauline Paquette of Portland, ME, married Kenneth Raymond of Rangeley, ME, on 24 December 1937.
• The 1940 US Census indicates that 26-year-old Massachusetts-born Pauline Raymond was a trained nurse at a public hospital.
• Ancestry Public Trees suggests this is Pauline Paquette, born on 13 June 1912 in Lynn, Massachusetts.

Ancestry has 13 public trees that refer to Pauline Paquette (later Raymond). Family Search has profile GSM6-B1W for Pauline Paquette. I have uploaded one photo of Pauline to her Family Search Memories.

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Marina Paradis, circa 1935.

The envelope this negative was in says, “Miss Marina Paradis, 21 Belmont St, #822.”

What I tried to identify this individual.

• Like my search for Anna Paradis last week (Part 110), I didn’t find Marina Paradis in any of the Portland City Directories. In 1935, Carl K Ross lived at 21 Belmont St. Carl and his wife, Ruth, lived at that address from 1930 to 1940 and beyond. In 1940, they had a servant, Doris Hatch. In 1930, they lived at the same address with a servant, Isabel Carter.

In a second photo package, there is a photo of Misses Anna & Marina Paradis. In it, the address for Anna was given. (See Ethel Wight Collection – Part 110.) I believe that in 1935 Anna was a servant in the household of Philip M Libby.

I believe that Anna and Marina came to Portland in about 1934. They both got jobs as live-in servants less than a mile apart. Sometime before 1940, both left the Portland, Maine, area. I suspect they are sisters. Both appear to be in their late teens or early twenties, suggesting they were born between 1910 and 1920.

My search for a Marina (or Marie) Paradis with a sister named Anna and visa-versa failed to discover either person. As such, I think it will take more research into all of the Paradis family as part of a surname.

According to Ancestry.Com, Paradis as a surname comes from Old French pareis, meaning “Paradise.” Most Paradis families were found in Canada in 1911. In 1920, 22% of the people with the Paradis surname lived in Maine. It is possible their surname became Angelized to Paradise. In any event, It might take a surname study to determine precisely which Paradis women these are.

I uploaded a photo of Marina Paradis to Dead Fred. I also uploaded a second photo of Marina to my Flickr Photostream.

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Anna and Marina Paradis, circa 1935.

This negative envelope says, “Misses Anna & Marina Paradis, 35 Woodmont St, #823.”

I have tried to identify Anna and Marina Paradis before without success. (See Ethel Wight Collection – Part 110 and above.

I uploaded a photo of Anna and Marina to Dead Fred. I also uploaded a second photo of them to my Flickr Photostream.

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Kenneth Parker, circa 1935, age 3.

This negative envelope says, “Mrs. Allison G Parker, 45 Sawyer St, Woodfords #791.”

Why I believe this to be the individual.

• The 1935 Portland City Directory lists Allison G (Anne B) Parker as living at 45 Sawyer.
• The 1940 US Census lists Allison and Anne Parker, still at 45 Sawyer, with their son, Kenneth Parker, age 8.

I believe this is Kenneth Parker, son of Allison George and Anne (Pinkham) Parker.

I have not found Kenneth in Ancestry trees. However, I have found his father, Allison George Parker, in 20  public Ancestry trees. Family Search does not appear to have a profile for Kenneth Parker. I uploaded a photo of Kenneth photo to Dead Fred. I uploaded a second photo of Kenneth to my Flickr Photostream.

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Lula Parker (née Wright) circa 1936.

This negative envelope says, “Ms. Lula Parker, 766 Westbrook St, Thorton Heights #1011.”

Why I believe this to be the individual.

• Thorton Heights is a neighborhood in South Portland, Maine.
• The 1940 US Census lists Lula Parker, a 59-year-old widow living at 766 Westbrook St in South Portland.
• The 1925 Portland City Directory lists Ellie L and Lula M Parker living at 766 Westbrook, South Portland.
• Ancestry Public Trees suggest Ellsworth Parker married Lula M Wright on 22 May 1902.

I am sure this is a photo of Lula M Parker (Née Wright), born in October 1882 in Lewiston, Maine, who married Elsworth Parker.

Ancestry has 11 public trees that refer to Lula M Wright (1882-1962). Family Search has profile LKNM-T4W for Lula M Wright (1882-1962). I have uploaded two photos of Lula to her Family Search Memories.

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Conclusion

• I identified all five individuals. Two of them have Family Search profiles, so I uploaded their images to their Family Search Memories.
• Three individuals did not have Family Search profiles, but I feel they are named, so I posted their images to Dead Fred.

If any of these photos are of your family member, I would love to hear your reaction. 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, Dead Fred, and Flickr have a higher image quality than the images linked here.

For all postings of the Ethel Wight Collection, please see here.

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Endnotes

[i] The Wight Studio was in Portland, Maine. Many thanks to Ethel Wight’s family for access to and permission to use the collection of their great aunt.

[ii] These images were converted to positives using a lightbox, a Nikon camera and computer software.