Don Taylor Genealogy

File: Ethel Wight Collection – Part 125
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. As such, 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.

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Nurse Edith Rich, circa 1935.

The envelope this negative was in says, “Miss Edith Rich, State St. Hospital #952.” This photo appears to be of a woman in her late teens or early 20s in a nurse’s uniform.

Why I believe this to be the individual.

• The 1938 Portland City Directory indicates that Edith Rich was a nurse who moved to Sebago Lake.
• The 1940 US Census listed Edith E Rich, a nurse who lived in Portland in 1935 and Standish in 1940.[iii] (Note: She is 26 years old and was born in Maine.
• The 1930 US Census lists Edith E Rich, the 16-year-old daughter of Layman Rich, living in Standish, Maine.

Alternate Individuals.

Do not confuse her with Edith A Rich, who lived at 184 High St in Portland in 1938.

Conclusion

I am sure this photo is of Edith Esther Rich, the daughter of Layman Henry and Alice (Prescott) Rich. Ancestry has three public trees that refer to Edith Esther Rich. Family Search has profile G9KH-X4F for Edith Esther Rich. I have uploaded two photos of Edith to her Family Search Memories.

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Nurse Marcella Riley, circa 1936.

This negative envelope says, “Miss Marcella Riley, St. Barnabas Hospital #1016.” This photo appears to be of a woman in her late teens or early 20s in a nurse’s uniform.

Why I believe this to be the individual.

• The 1937 Portland City Directory lists Marcella Riley as a student nurse at 231 Woodford (St. Barnabas Hospital).
• The Bangor Daily News, dated 19 March 1939, reported that Marcella K Riley, daughter of Mrs. Elizabeth Gillespie, would marry James J. Lee. She was a graduate of St. Barnabas Hospital and a nurse. The photo of Marcella in the paper is clearly of the same young woman.

This photo appears to be of Nurse Marcella K Riley circa 1936.

Ancestry has six public trees that refer to Marcella K. Riley, born 16 Jan 1916 in New Brunswick, Canada, and who married James Joseph Lee on 3 Jul 1939. Family Search does not appear to have a profile for Marcella Riley, so I uploaded a photo of Marcella to Dead Fred.

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“Ira Rindsay?”

This negative envelope says, “Mr. Ira Rindsay, Mar 1936, #1142B.” This photo appears to be of a man in his 40s or 50s.

What I discovered.

• A search of Ancestry did not find anyone with the name Ira Rindsay.
• A Google Search for Ira Rindsay failed to find any results.

Although the envelope clearly indicates Ira Rindsay, I cannot identify the person in the photo and suspect the envelope is incorrect. I only include the individual’s picture here and have not posted it elsewhere.

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Reid Rideout, circa 1935 (age 1).

This negative envelope says, “Mrs. Clayton Rideout, 57 Bradley #833. ”

Why I believe this to be the individual.

• The 1935 Portland City Directory lists Clayton L Rideout and his wife, Vera G Rideout, living at 57 Bradley.
• The 1940 US Census lists Layton and Vera Rideaut living at 57 Bradley with their two sons, Reid (age 5) and Paul (age 1).

This photo, taken about 1935, must be of Reid Rideout when he was 1-2 years old.

I have not found Reid in Ancestry trees; however, I have found his father, Clayton Lewis Rideout, in 39 public trees. Also, Family Search does not have a profile for Reid, so I uploaded a photo of Reid to Dead Fred.

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FNU[iv] Revers child, circa 1935.

This negative envelope says, “Mrs. F. M. Revers ℅ H K Pray, 67 Bell St. #729.” This photo was taken about 1935 and appears to be of a young child, about two years old.

What I did do to try to determine this individual.

• The 1935 Portland City Directory does not show an H. K. Pray. Walter A Scott is listed as living at 67 Bell in 1935 and 1936.
• The 1941 Portland City Directory lists Lemuel E Pray residing at 67 Bell St.
• A review of several Ancestry Trees containing Lemuel E Pray failed to find anyone with the surname of Revers that was related.
• A review of the 1930 Census failed to discover any Prays with the initials H. K.

I have not discovered any identifying information regarding the child in this photo. I only include the individual’s image here.

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Conclusion

• I identified three of the five individuals in this photo negative set. Only one has a Family Search profile, so I uploaded that image to their Family Search Memories. Two did not have Family Search profiles, so I uploaded their photos to Dead Fred. The other two photo sets were unidentified, so their images only remain 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.

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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.
[iii] Standish includes the southern shore of Sebago Lake.
[iv] FNU – First Name Unknown.