Six Photos – Four Women

Photo Friday
By Don Taylor

Six Photos – Four Women

A good week for my Photo Identification Project. Three individuals were identified but one person had a common name and couldn’t be distinguished from eight different people.

Family Search

“Harriett (Reed) Shaw, 164 Oak Street, Bath, ME” – A quick check on Ancestry found that Harriet E Reed married John Shaw on 5 October 1898. She is person ID G3VG-WH7 on Family Search. The 1900 Census shows them living at 143 Oak Street, Bath. Also, the 1900 Census indicates that Harriet was born in August 1875. Finally, the 1910 Census indicates that John and Harriet live at 164 Oak Street. So, I identify this photo as “Harriett (Reed) Shaw, taken by Holmes Studio in Bath, Maine, sometime after 1900.” Her Family Search ID is G3VG-WH7.

“Etta Crowley” – There are were three photos of Etta Crowley.

“Etta Crowley – Mother later married Mr. Spear” – There are two photos done by E. J. Poisson, a Leading Photographer, in Westbrook, Maine, of Etta as a young girl.

The third photo in this group is “Etta Crowley,” which was taken at Marshall Studio in Westbrook, Maine, when Etta was a young woman.  The 1900 Census finds Etta Crowley living with her mother, Helen Crowley, at the home of Lester Hoss on Cottage Avenue in Westbrook. Etta was born in 11 Feb 1892. I judge the two photos are of an eight or nine-year-old girl, so I dated the two photos circa 1898.

Helen (Reynolds) Crowley (Etta’s mother)  married Benjamin F. Spear on 25 Jan 1902 in Portland, Maine, which helps establish for a certainty that the photo is of Etta Crowley, the daughter of Helen Crowley. A further review of Etta Crowley on Family Search indicates her ID is LRMS-YB8​​

“Mrs. Effie Griffiths – Durham, N. H.” – The photo is of a woman in her mid-30s to mid-40s. A Google search for “Effie Griffiths” and Durham, N.H. yielded 10 results. The top one was M. Effie Griffiths, born 2 Dec 1860 and died 21 Sep 1945. She is buried in the Griffith’s Cemetery in Durham, Strafford County, New Hampshire. It appears she was the only Effie Griffiths in Durham during the 1900 Census. On Family Search, she is Mary Effie Furber – LZXB-MG1.

Annie Williams

“Annie Williams of Bath” – The photo is of a woman in her 30s who was taken at the Longfellow Gallery in Portland, ME. My review of the Portland City Directories indicates that the Longfellow Gallery existed in Portland between 1900 and 1912 (No entries for the Gallery in 1898 or earlier nor in the 1914 City Directories or later), so I’ll date the photo circa 1906.

 Possible Candidates:

• Annie M Williams, born ca. 1853, lived in Bath Ward 3 during the 1910 Census.
• Annie Williams, born ca. 1870, wife of Harry Williams, living in Bath, Ward 1 during the 1910 Census.
• Annie Williams, born ca. 1871, was the wife of Edward Williams and lived in South Portland during the 1910 Census.
• Annie Williams, born September 1872, daughter of William A Williams, living in Portland during the 1900 Census.
• Annie A. Williams (born ca. 1873) married James Sawyer on 24 Dec 1903. She was 18.
• Annie K Williams was born ca. 1873 and lived in Portland, Ward 2, during the 1910 Census.
• Annie Laura Williams (born ca. 1873) married Fred Everett Walker on 22 October 1902. She was 29.
• Annie N Williams, born ca. 1873, was the wife of Robert Williams and lived in Portland, Ward 3, during the 1910 Census.
• Annie E Williams, born Nov 1879, lived in Bath, Ward 1, during the 1900 Census.
• Annie M Williams, born May 1897, daughter of Daniel F Williams, living in Portland, Ward 1

The woman looks younger than 47 to me, so I’m confident it is not Annie M. Williams, born ca. 1853. And the woman appears to me to be older than 15, so it couldn’t be Annie M Williams, born May 1897.  That leaves eight candidates born between 1870 and 1879, any of whom could be this Annie Williams.

Final Note

If you are related to any of these individuals or can help confirm the identities of them, I’d love to hear from you. Please use the form below.