Happy Birthday Arthur Durwood Brown

Posted on December 5, 2024 by Don Taylor

December 5th

Photo Crop of Arthur Durwood Brown

Arthur Durwood Brown

Today, I remember my Great-Grandfather, Arthur Durwood Brown. He was born on December 5, 1869, in Saline, Washtenaw County, Michigan.

Arthur married Mary Elizabeth Manning on 19 October 1892 in Cass County, Minnesota.

He died on 27 August 1928 in Walker, Cass County, Minnesota and was buried at Gull River Cemetery, Pillager, Cass County, Minnesota.

For more information on Arthur Durwood Brown, see:

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Donna & Rivoli Theatre in the News

Posted on December 3, 2024 by Don Taylor

Donna Darling at Rivoli Theatre, Two Rivers, WI, Dec 7, 1924.

Donna in the News
100 Years Ago
by Don Taylor

“Donna in the News” reports newly found newspaper articles and advertisements regarding my grandmother, Madonna Montran (aka Donna Montran and Donna Darling). I am always excited when I find a new venue for my grandmother’s exciting show business career of the 1910s and 1920s. 

This week, I learned from the Two Rivers Reporter and the Two River Chronicle (Two Rivers, WI) newspapers dated 28 November and 3 December 1924, that Donna Darling and her Bathing Beauties played at the Rivoli Theatre in Two Rivers.

Ad for Donna Darling and her bathing beauties "Coming Sunday Dec. 7."
Clipping – Two Rivers Reporter, December 28, 1924.

The Two Rivers Chronicle of December 3rd, 1924, reported:

“The Rivoli Theatre is giving the people of Two Rivers a special treat this week Sunday. A Vaudeville Act featuring Donna Darling supported by Murry Earle chief dancer of one of the biggest shows known and six bathing beauties from the moving picture studios will appear in person at the Rivoli. This act come highly recommended and should receive the approval of all. The act includes toe dancing, whistling, singing, talking, comedy, etc. It is an all round act and one that will send you home talking or be sorry that you missed seeing it. The regular matinee will be run at 2:15 P.M. and two evening shows 1st show at 6:30 P.M. sharp and the 2nd show at 8:30 P. M. A special enlarged orchestra will furnish the music and another Warner Bros. Classic of the screen will be the feature attraction in conjunction with the Bathing Beauties. Don’t fail to witness the big special attraction.”

The Two Rivers Chronicle, Wednesday, Dec 3, 1924.

Because of those newly available online articles, I was able to add another venue for Donna’s exciting vaudeville career.

New information added to her career list:

December 7, 1922–Two Rivers, WI – Rivoli Theatre – “Donna Darling and her Bathing Beauties” – In the News.

Endnotes

My thanks to Newspapers.com for providing access to these clippings.

Social Posting: 

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Photo Friday – Hinkley & Gruver.

Posted on November 29, 2024 by Don Taylor

Linwood Dyer Collection – Part 042
Hinkley Family Photographs (2024.13.43)
By Don Taylor

This photo album is from the Linwood D Dyer Photo Collection and is in very rough condition. Because most of the images are glued in place, I cannot access the photo backs. The collection includes images of people in the Hinkley family of Portland, Maine. Today, I identified five people from the collection. My goal is to reunite the photos with family members who may have never seen the pictures before. The Scarborough Historical Society holds the originals in the Linwood Dyer Photo Collection[i] “Hinkley Family Photo Album.”

Twins – Eleanor & Margaret Hinkley, c. 1871 to 1894.

Hinkley Family Album, Pages 12, 13, & 14.

Eleanor Tisdale Hinkley, circa 1897.

These three pages contain photos of two young girls.

On page 12, there are three photos. They are clearly twins and named “Eleanor” and “Margaret.” Beneath the photo of the twins together, “M” is labeled as the girl on the left and “E” as the girl on the right. A note at the bottom of the page is “Born July 6 – 1871.”

On page 13 are five photos of the girls; all are labeled, and four are dated.

  1. Eleanor & Margaret [I estimate circa 1878]
  2. Margaret, June 1892
  3. Eleanor, June 1892
  4. Margaret, 1894
  5. Eleanor & Margaret, Sept 1889
7 women, 1919
(probably contains Eleanor Tisdale Hinkley)

Page 14 has five photos. Four are of Eleanor, and one is a group of seven women; all five are dated.

  1. Eleanor, 1891
  2. Eleanor, Berlin, N.H. 1895
  3. Eleanor, Berlin, N.H. 1895, which is very similar to the above.
  4. Eleanor, 1897
  5. Unlabeled, dated 1919.

What I learned while researching this photo:

  • My Linwood Dyer Collection Family Tree contains Margaret Prindle and Eleanor Tisdale Hinkley, born in 1871.

I am confident these are photos of Eleanor & Margaret. I cannot identify any of the people in the group photo.

I added five photos of Eleanor, three of Margaret, and two of the twins together to my Linwood Dyer Collection family tree at Ancestry.

Elbert & Margaret (Hinkley) Gruver Family, 1871 to 1908.

Hinkley Family Album, Pages 15, & 16.

Page 15 includes three “snapshot” photos labeled “Bert – Eleanor, Elbert – Margaret Gruvers.” One professional photo of a baby is labeled “Eleanor Gruver.”

Margaret Prindle Hinkley, 1894

My previous research revealed:

  • Eleanor Tisdale Hinkley married Ernest C Kinney. They had two children, Margaret & Louise.

What I learned:

  • The 1930 U.S. Census lists Eleanor H Kinney, head of household, living at 215 Vaughan, Portland, with her two daughters. Margaret is 18, and Louise is 15.
  • Eleanor’s sister Margaret married Elbert Gruver. So, it appears that Eleanor had a daughter she named Margaret and her twin sister Margaret had a daughter she named Eleanor.
Albert Gruvers (circa 1900s)

FamilySearch profile for Margaret (Hinkley) Gruver indicates she had two children who died as infants then. Eleanor was born in 1902, and Elbert was born in 1905. Eleanor appears to be about one year old, dating that photo to about 1903. Elbert appears to be about four years old, dating the three pictures of both children about 1909.

Page 16 includes two professional photos and two “snapshots.” They are:

  1. Professional portrait of a man – no date.
  2. Professional portrait of a woman with a baby, dated Sept 1902.
  3. Photo of two children labeled “Elbert – 1908 – Eleanor.”

Findings:

Eleanor & Elbert Gruvers,
circa 1909
  1. I am sure the first photo is Elbert Gruver, Sr.
  2. I suspect the second photo is also of Elbert Gruver, Sr., but I can’t prove it. Also, it is of poor quality, so I’m not including it.
  3. Eleanor was born on 29 June 1902. I’m confident this is a photo of Margaret holding Eleanor when Eleanor was about 2½ years old.

I added photos of Elbert (Sr.), Margaret, Eleanor, & Elbert (Jr.) Gruver to my Linwood Dyer Collection family tree at Ancestry.

Conclusion

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 Ancestry, Family Search, or Flickr are of higher quality than those here. Feel free to use these photos in your genealogical activities. Please cite “Photo Courtesy: Scarborough Historical Society.”

Endnotes

[i] Scarborough Historical Society Accession number: 2024.13.43.

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Donna in Glens Falls, NY, at the Empire Theatre – June 5-7, 1922

Posted on November 24, 2024 by Don Taylor

Vaudeville
Donna Darling & Co.
Empire Theatre, Glens Falls, NY
By Don Taylor

Donna Darling & Company had finished a series of shows at several F.F. Proctor’s theatres in New York City (23rd Street, 125th Street, & 58 Street) before heading north to Glens Falls, New York, where they played at the Empire Theatre.

Ad showing Donna Darling & Company playing at the Empire Theatre, Glens Falls, NY on June 7, 1922.

Ad – Glens Falls Post-Star – June 7, 1922, Page 7

The Glens Falls Post-Star newspaper of Saturday, June 3, 1922, reported that “Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday” was another “Great Vaudeville Show.” The feature picture was Dan Scully’s Greatest Stage Success, “THE PARISH PRIEST,” starring William Desmond. Vaudeville included:

  • Hughie Flynn and Miller & Rock in “Something Irish.”
  • Donna Darling and Boys in a musical, dancing and singing skit;
  • Bell Sisters in singing and pianologue;
  • Leonard, Gardner and Green in comedy, singing and talking.

A June 7th article, on page 7, mentions that “Donna Darling and Boys head the bill,” as Donna always wanted to be the headline of the shows she starred in.

After the show, Donna left for Detroit, where her tonsils were taken out, and then she took a vacation until July.

Empire Theatre

Postcard of the Empire Theatre & Hotel Ruliff, Glens Falls, NY.

Postcard: Empire Theatre & Hotel Ruliff.

I was lucky to find a postcard of the “Hotel Ruliff and Empire Theatre, Glens Falls, NY.” Although the theatre was distant in the photo, I later learned that there was an underground passage between the hotel and the theatre[i].

The Empire Theatre opened on October 6, 1899, and closed in 1950, when it was converted to offices[ii].

Specifications for the Empire Theatre[iii]

The population of Glens Falls in 1922 was 16,638.
Seating Capacity: 1,200.
Manager: John A. Fitzgerald.

  • Stage: 70 ft wide, 34 ft Deep, 65 ft high
  • Newspapers: “Post-Star” (M) and “Times” (E).
  • Hotels: Rockwell, Ruliff, Madden, Peabody, Fitzgerald, & Globe.
  • Railroad: D&H (Delaware and Hudson Company[iv]).

Empire Theatre Today

Photo of the Empire Theatre building & Hotel Ruliff today.

The Empire Theatre & Hotel Ruliff today.

Photo of The Empire Theatre building today.

The Empire Theatre building today.

Endnotes

[i] Cinema Treasures, Empire Theatre, 11 South Street, Glans Falls, NY 12801. https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/16857
[ii] Ibid.
[iii] Julius Cahn—Gus Hill Theatrical Guide and Moving Picture Supplement, 1921 Edition, Page 61, Glens Falls.
[iv] Wikipedia – Delaware and Hudson Railway.

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Photo Friday – Hinkley (later Black)

Posted on November 22, 2024 by Don Taylor

Linwood Dyer Collection – Part 041
 Hinkley Family Photographs (2024.13.43)
Portland, Maine, Newark, Ohio
By Don Taylor

This photo album is from the Linwood D Dyer Photo Collection and is in very rough condition. Because most images are glued in place, I cannot access the photo backs. The collection includes hundreds of images, documents, and genealogies of people who lived in Portland, Scarborough, South Portland, and Cape Elizabeth, Maine. My goal is to reunite the images with family members who may have never seen the pictures before. The Scarborough Historical Society holds the originals in the Linwood Dyer Photo Collection.[i]

Marion Hinkley, 1868 thru 1904.

Hinkley Family Album, Pages 8 & 9.

This 4¼ x 6½ cabinet card of a young has the studio name, “Holland Roberts, 10 Temple Place, Boston,” on the bottom in cursive and written on the back of the card; it adds the year 1887. Handwritten on the back is “Marion Hinkley, while studying in [not legible, begins with an A] Academy.” Another of the photos of this person includes “Marion 1868-.”

What I learned while researching this photo:

  • My previous research found Marion Hinkley, born in 1868 to Rufus and Frances (Prindle) Hinkley.

I am confident this is a photo of Marion after 1887. On the following two pages of the “Hinkley Family Album are six additional photos of Marion.

One photo is dated Nov 1904; another includes another young girl, “Helen,” dated 1896. There is no other identification for “Helen.”

  • Marion has a sister, Helen; however, Helen is about 17 years younger than Marion and the girl in the photo doesn’t appear to be that much younger than Marion, so I don’t believe it is her. I will keep an eye out for other photos of Helen.

I added the two best photos of Marion to my Linwood Dyer Collection family tree at Ancestry. The other five photos I’ve added to my Flickr Photostream.

Alice Hinkley (later Black), 1889 & 1895.

Hinkley Family Album, Pages 8-10.

The following three pages of the album include seven photos of a young woman. There is no identification on the three pages about who it is. Four pictures of her in a wedding dress are dated “1895.” The following page (11) shows the house of F.M. Black, the photo of a man (unlabeled), and a young girl, Olive.

Alice Hinkley was born on 10 June 1869 in Portland, Maine. She married Frederic Morton Black on 2 July 1885 in Portland, Maine. Frederic was from Newark, Licking County, Ohio. After their marriage, they moved to Newark. She lived in Newark during the 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 Censuses. Frederick died in 1947. She appears in the 1950 US Census living with her brother, Philip, and sister, Helen, in Portland. Alice died on 17 March 1953 in Portland, Maine. A death announcement for Alice indicated she was a former resident of Hudson Ave, Newark, Ohio, and returned to her former home in Portland.

Although not identified in the album, I am sure these are photos of Alice. I added three of the images of her to my Linwood Dyer Collection family tree at Ancestry. I uploaded the remaining to my Flicker Photostream.

Hinkley Family Album, Page 11.

The last page in this set, page 11, includes four photos.

  1. A photo of a house with two labels, “F.M. Black’s” and “Newark, Ohio, Sept 1909.”
  2. A photo of a young girl with the label “Olive.”
  3. A photo of a man in his 50s or 60s, with no label.
  4. A photo of a man and two women with a label, “Fred Eleanor.

What I learned while researching this photo:

  • My review of the 1910 US Census for Newark, Ohio, found Frederick and Alice living at 525 Hudson Ave., Newark, Ohio. Google Maps shows the same house at 525 Hudson Ave. today. Zillow indicates the house was built in 1900.
  • A 17-year-old Olive Black lived in Newark, Ohio, during the 1910 Census. However, her parents were J.A. and Ella, who lived at 321 Woods Ave.

I am confident this photo is of the Black’s home, 525 Hudson Ave. Newark, Ohio, in 1909.

Without a label or other photos of the man, I cannot hope to identify him. Also, I cannot identify “Olive,” but I hope to identify her later.

Conclusion

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 Ancestry or Flickr have higher quality than those linked here. Feel free to use these photos in your genealogical activities. Please cite “Photo Courtesy: Scarborough Historical Society.”

Endnotes

[i] Scarborough Historical Society Accession number: 2024.13.43.

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