Linwood Dyer Collection – Part 011
By Don Taylor
This week, for Photo Friday, I identified the people in four photos from the Linwood Dyer Collection. This collection includes hundreds of photos, documents, and genealogies of people who lived in Scarborough and Saco, Maine. I desire to analyze the images and reunite the photos with family members who may have never seen the image. The originals in this collection are held by the Scarborough Historical Society.
The LaMontagne Girls, Philomène, Louise, Delvina, and Zélia.
The photo identifying information includes:
On the back it says,
- Winthrop, ME”
- 2 girls 3 ouzela & Marie best looking girls in Winthrop
- About 1908 or 1909
- Marie L Lefebrne, Delvena L Landry
- Lamontagne girls – their mother
- Philomene Thibodeau Lamontagne
There is also a return address label for:
- Grace P Curtis
- 28 Deer Hill Ave.
- Westbrook, ME 04092.
Who was the apparent owner (a relative?) of the photo sometime after 1962?
Why I believe this to be these individuals.
- A search of Family Search quickly found Marie-Rosalie Philomène Thibodeau, born in 1839 in Canada, lived in Winthrop, Maine in 1900, and Westbrook in 1920. It also indicates that she had eight children – five were daughters. Josephine died in 1878 leaving 4 other daughters. Her husband, André Lamontagne also died in 1878.
- Marie Georgina Lamontagne (1866-___) – There was no marriage or death information on Family Search regarding Marie Georgina.
- Marie Leonis Lamontagne (1869-1927) married Joseph M Lefebvre on 20 September 1886 in Westbrook, Maine.
- Delvina Lamontague (1873-1912) married Alfred Landry on 12 September 1892 in Maine.
- Marie Zélia Lamontagne (1874-___) – There was no marriage or death information on Family Search regarding Marie Zélia.
- Ancestry trees add some clarification.
- One Ancestry tree suggests Philomèna had a daughter, Zuzula (after 1875-___). There are no sources for that information. It also suggests she married Joseph Dostie. However, another Ancestry tree indicates Philomène’s daughter Zelia married Joseph Dostie. I believe Zélia and Zuzula are the same person.
- One ancestry tree suggests a Marie Leonis’s name was Louise Leonise instead. Another Ancestry tree suggests that “Louise” is a nickname for Leonise. I believe Marie Leonis and “Louise” are also the same person.
I am confident this photo includes Marie-Rosalie Philomène Thibodeau sitting in the front. Behind her are three of her daughters, Marie Leonis “Louise,” Delvina, and Marie Zélia “Zuzula.” The back does not indicate the order of the three daughters.
I uploaded this photo to Marie-Rosalie Philomène Thibodeau’s Family Search Memories.
Dorothy, Donald, & Ruth Morse, Fall 1899.
The photo identifying information includes:
- The photographer is Philbrick, Biddeford, ME.
- The back says, “Dorothy 5½, Donald 3, Ruth 1½ – Merry Christmas to Aunt Laura.”
- In another hand, and in pen, it says “Morse’s.”
Why I believe this to be these children.
- Family Search quickly found Dorothy M, Donald Curtis, and Ruth E Morse living in Saco, Maine. Their parents were Frank Edward and Calista (Milliken) Morse. Ruth was born on 28 March 1898, which dates the photo to the fall of 1899.
- Frank Morse had a sister, Laura Georgieanna (Morse) Milliken. (Calista did not have a sibling named Laura.)
I am confident this photo is of the three oldest Morse children taken in 1899.
I uploaded this photo to Family Search and tagged it to Dorothy, Donald, and Ruth Morse’s Memories.
Katherine Evelyn Morse, 22 April 1905 (age 2).
The photo identifying information includes:
The photographer was H. P. Poisson, 95 Maine Street, Biddeford, Maine.
The back of the photo says:
- Katherine Evelyn Morse
- April 22, 1905 – 2 yrs. Old.
Why I believe this to be the individual.
- Katherine E Morse was born on 22 April 1903 in Saco, York County, Maine, the fourth child of Frank Edward and Calista E. (Milliken) Morse.
I am confident this photo is of Katherine and was taken on her 2nd birthday.
I uploaded this photo to Katherine Morse’s Family Search Memories.
Edwin Prescott Sampson, circa 1897.
The photo identifying information includes:
- The photographer is Philbrick, Biddeford, Maine.
- Handwritten on the back is “Edward P Sampson.”
- In another hand, it says “Head master – Prof @ Thornton.”
Why I believe this to be the individual.
- The Biddeford Journal Tribune, dated 23 June 1905, page 6, indicated that Principal Edwin P. Sampson resigned in June 1905 after 16 years of service.
- The McArthur Library Archives & Special Collections, Photographers & Studios indicates that Gardner & Philbrick studio operated between 1886 and 1893. From then until 1904, Newland M Philbrick operated a studio himself.
- Edwin Prescott Sampson was born on 10 May 1849 and died on 8 March 1930.
I believe this photo is of Edwin Prescott Sampson (1849-1930), probably taken between 1893 and 1904.
I uploaded this photo of Edwin Prescott Sampson to his Family Search Memories.
Conclusion
- I identified all nine individuals in these four photos. All have Family Search profiles, so I uploaded their images to their Family Search Memories.
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.
Due to software limitations, the images uploaded to Family Search have higher quality than those linked here.
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