Blanchard Project Photos – Part 1 of 2

Blanchard Project
Utterstrom/Halverson
Photo Friday

I recently received a group of 13 photos all relating to people in my Blanchard project—one Cassidy, four Utterstroms, seven Halversons, and 1 blurry photo. Today, I’ll look at the seven Halverson photos. I’ll look at the Cassidy and Utterstrom photos sometime in the near future. The last photo, the blurry one, I’ll use as a test photo when I review “Vivid Pix Restore,” software.

Blanchard Project

“Alfred Halverson, Jr – ca. 1933” has the general appearance of a high school senior graduation photo. Alfred was born on 23 January 1915. If this is a graduation photo, I’d estimate his graduation to be about 1933. I added his photo to my project. I also created an entry for Alfred Halverson on Family Search (GQK7-D2G) and posted the photo (and photo back) there.

“Alfred Halverson Jr – ca. 1917” is a cute baby photo. The clarity of the face is excellent. There was no date associated with the photo, however, Alfred was born in 1915 and I estimate the child in the photo to be about two years old, so I’ve ascribed a date of ca. 1917. I added it to my project and a to Alfred Halverson on Family Search (GQK7-D2G).

“Clarence Halverson – ca. 1890s.” Besides his name, the back of the photo says, “Father of Clifford Leon Halverson and husband of Mabel Halverson.” Clarence died at the age of 33 in 1903, so the photo is definitely before that. I estimate the late 1890s. I added this photo to my project and to Clarence Halverson on Family Search (LLQB-JTH).

“Clifford Halverson – ca. 1900.”  The back of this photo is filled with information. It reads, “Son of Clarence Halverson | Clifford Halverson| Phil’s Brother | Betty & Beverly’s Uncle | Died age 15 Blood Poison | Pimple nose got infected – Scratched pimple | Gardiner, Maine.” Oh my! Sometimes it is easy to forget just how fragile life was before the advent of antibiotics. The photo indicates Clifford died at age 15; however, the burial record with the Evangelical Lutheran Church indicates he died 15 September 1912 at the age of 17.[i] That suggests his birth was 1894 to 1895. My estimate is that the child in this photo is about 5 or six years old, making the photo ca. 1900. [Note: The photo was damaged (long ago). It appears to me that someone scribbled his face and body probably as a carry through from scribbling on a document on top of this one.] I added this photo to my project and to Clifford Leon Halverson on Family Search (LLQB-VLJ).

“Hanna Mathilda Halverson – ca. 1885.” This photo originally indicated the first name of “Hanna,” however, a secondary identification and all other records that I have indicate her name was Hannah. The back of the photo indicates “Al and Bill’s Grandmother.”  Also, the date “1885?” written in the secondary hand suggests the year was the estimate of someone. The photo type and appearance seem to be consistent with the mid-1800s, so I kept that date.   I added this photo to my project and to Hannah M. Halverson on Family Search (L1QQ-PCK).

“Harold Halverson (Hannah’s Brother) – ca 1880s.” Very faintly, the back of the photo appears to read “Little Harold.” In a later hand, it reads “Uncle Harold Halverson | Hanna’s Brother,” and in an even more recent hand it reads “Harold Haverson Hannah’s Brother.” Harold Theodore Halverson was born in Norway, probably in 1878. In 1883 the family immigrated to Boston where this photo had been taken. The family relocated to Deering [now Portland] Maine by 1889. So, this photo must have been taken between 1883 and 1889. The boy in this photo appears to me to be about 11 years old. If so, the photo would have been taken about early in 1889. I added this photo to my project and to Harold Theodore Halverson on Family Search (L5FG-7K3).

“Mary Halverson – ca 1890s.” The final photo in this Halverson collection is a photo of Mary Halverson. The back said, “Hannah’s sister | Mary Halverson.” In a newer pen, there is an entry that says, “died of TB” and “1890?”  My records didn’t have a Mary Halverson, however, I do have a Maren Halverson. Maren was born in 1868 and died in 1893. The Halverson’s moved to Maine in 1889.  The woman in this photo appears to be in her mid-‘20s. Consequently, I’m confident that is a photo of Mary Halverson taken between 1889 and 1893. I added this photo to my project and to Mary Halverson on Family Search (M69L-RVB).

Final Note

If you are related to the Halverson Family and have photos you can share, I’d love to hear from you. Please use the comment form below. Add “PRIVATE” to the subject line if you do NOT want your comment published to the website.

ENDNOTES

[i] U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records, 1781-1969, Ancestry, Burial – Clifford Leon Halvorsen – 15 Sep 1912. U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records, 1781-1969 – Clifford Lion Halvorson – Burial.