Photo Friday – Shuft & Silke

Ethel Wight Collection – Part 132
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. 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.

Alicia Silke, circa 1934.

The envelope this negative was in says, “Miss Alicia Silke, 37 Smith St #293.”

Alicia Silke, circa 1934

Why I believe this to be the individual.

• The 1935 Portland City Directory lists Alicia J Silke living at 37 Smith. Also at that address was Catherine, Widow of John W Silkie (who died 8 Aug 1934). Kathleen M Smith was also at that address. She was a clerk at the same place as Alicia (518 Congress).
• The 1930 US Census listed the John W and Catherine Silke family living at 37 Smith Street. With them are three children; John E, age 24; Kathleen, age 20; and Alicia Silke, age 16.

I am confident this is a photo of Alicia J Silke (later McCarthy) taken in 1934 when she was about 21 years old. Alicia was born in Portland, Cumberland County, Maine, on 16 Jun 1913.

Ancestry has 11 public trees that refer to Alicia. Family Search has profile LY9W-Z83 for her. I have uploaded two photos of Alicia J Silke to her Family Search Memories.

Kathleen M Silke, circa 1934.

The envelope this negative was in says, “Miss Kathleen Silke, 37 Smith St #291.”

Kathleen M Silke, circa 1934.

Why I believe this to be the individual.

• The 1935 Portland City Directory lists Kathleen M Silke living at 37 Smith. Also at that address was Catherine, widow of John W Silkie (who died 8 Aug 1934). Kathleen M Silke was also at that address. She was a clerk at the same place as her sister Alicia (at 518 Congress).
• The 1930 US Census listed the John W and Catherine Silke family living at 37 Smith Street. With them are three children; John E, age 24; Kathleen, age 20; and Alicia Silke, age 16.

I am sure this is a photo of Kathleen M Silke (later Murray) taken in 1934 when she was about 25 years old. Kathleen was born in Portland, Cumberland County, Maine, on 25 Aug 1909.

Ancestry has five public trees that refer to Kathleen M Silke, daughter of John and Catherine (Fitzpatrick) Silke. Family Search has profile G667-JP3 for Kathleen. I have uploaded a photo of Kathleen to her Family Search Memories.

Donald Silke, circa 1935 (age 1).

This negative envelope says, “Mrs. John B Silke, 112 Sheridan St (Donald) #682.”

Donald Silke, circa 1935 (age 1).

Why I believe this to be the individual.

• The 1935 Portland City Directory lists John B and Doris E Silke living at 112 Sheridan.
• The 1940 US Census shows John and Doris Silke living at 131 Bolton. With them are three children, Mary F (age 7), Donald H (age 5), and Robert B (age 9/12). The three children were all born in Maine, and the family lived in the “Same Place” in 1935.

Because the envelope said “Donald” and that a child of the right age was in the household, I am confident this is a photo of Donald. Donald Herman Silke, the son of John Bernard and Doris (Anderson) Silke, was born in Portland, Maine, in 1934.

I have not found Donald in Ancestry trees. However, I have found his father, John B Silke, in 20 public Ancestry trees. Family Search does not appear to have a profile for Donald either, so I uploaded this photo of him to Dead Fred.

Confirmed to be Don by a nephew.

Mary Frances Silke, circa 1935 (age 3).

This negative envelope says, “Mrs. John B Silke, 112 Sheridan St (Mary Frances) #681.” Note: This photo was taken on the same day as the photo of Donald Silke (above).

Mary Frances Silke, circa 1935 (age 3).

Why I believe this to be the individual.

• This photo envelope indicates the photo is of Mary Frances.
• The 1935 Portland City Directory lists John B and Doris E Silke living at 112 Sheridan.
• The 1940 US Census shows John and Doris Silke living at 131 Bolton. With them are three children, Mary F (age 7), Donald H (age 5), and Robert B (age 9/12). The three children were all born in Maine, and the family lived in the “Same Place” in 1935.

I am confident this photo is of Mary Frances Silke, born 20 May 1932 in Portland, Maine, to John B and Doris (Anderson) Silke about 1935, when she was about three years old.

Ancestry has eight public trees that refer to Mary Frances Silke (later Core). Family Search does not appear to have a profile for Mary Frances, so I uploaded this photo of her to Dead Fred.

Confirmed to be Mary by a son of Mary.

Daughter of Ruth Shuft (?), circa 1934.

This negative envelope says, “Ruth Shuft, 207 Congress St #299.”

(Probably the) daughter of Ruth Shuft, circa 1934.

What I learned.

• The 1933, 1934, and 1935 Portland City Directories do not list a Ruth Shuft or any similar name I’ve found.
• Also, the 1933 and 1934 Portland city directories list Charles Leventhal, Mrs. Anna Knudsen, and Walter Horne living at 207 Congress Street—No Ruth.

I have failed to identify her or this child; although the photo is likely Ruth’s daughter, I’ve included a copy of the envelope text. If your view of the name differs from mine, I’ll be happy to look at whatever name you suggest it might be.

Negative envelope showing name & address. Can you help me read this? 

Conclusion

• I identified four of the five individuals in this photo set. Two have Family Search profiles, so I uploaded their images to their Family Search Memories. Two did not, so I uploaded their photos to Dead Fred.
• I could not identify the mother or child in the fifth photo set. As such, I only uploaded the image here.

I will 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 Family Search, Dead Fred, and Flickr have higher quality than those linked here.

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

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.