Today, I remember my 4th Great-grandfather, Asa Taft. He was born on 29 April 1774 in Uxbridge, Worcester, Massachusetts Colony.
Asa married Sarah Whitney on 18 September 1794 in Peru, Berkshire County, Massachusetts. After Sarah died in 1813, Asa married Lucy Fuller in Triangle, Broome County New York. Asa may have married a third time, to Lucy Wilson, sometime after 1825.
He died on 17 March 1839 in Triangle, Broome County, New York and was buried in the Taft Cemetery in Triangle.
For more information on Asa Taft see:
My Blog: I haven’t researched Asa yet, however I have looked at the Taft surname here.
There are no known photos, paintings, or drawings of Asa Taft (1774-1839). If you have an image of Asa or know more about his life, I would love to hear from you.
If Asa is your ancestor, I would love to share information with you. Please let me know how we are related. Also, like me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, or comment at the bottom of this post.
This week, for Treasure Chest Tuesday, I look at clippings from a page of the Donna Darling Collection.
Clipping: Plaza – Let’s Go – Donna Darling Collection
“Plaza – Let’s Go” showed the movie “The U. P. Trail” from Zane Grey’s great novel. For Vaudeville, “Donna Montran and Her ‘Bathing Beauties’ is the headliner. This ad doesn’t say when or where the show occurred. However, Donna went by Montran in her Bathing Beauties shows during 1920 and 1921. Along with Donna on the bill were:
Billy and Eddie Gorman – Passing Songs of 1920
Bo Peep and Jack Horner – Kathlyn Arnold and George L. Cohan.
Bart Doyle – Chesterfieldian Entertainer
The Great Richards.
It also mentions the show played Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday. And in the margin between two clippings was a handwritten note that said “Worchester Mass.”
Image rotated horizontally for readability.
Analysis
Worchester Evening Gazette 27 Dec 1920 via Genealogy Bank.
My review of available online newspapers found an ad, via Genealogy Bank, from the Worchester Evening Gazette, 27 December 1920, that is almost identical. It advertised “Plaza – Let’s Go” and included the same vaudeville acts. Other newspaper issues and pages indicated that Donna’s show played at the Plaza in Worchester on December 27, 28, & 29, 1920.
That fills a gap I had in her show schedule from her playing at the Palace Theater in Hartford, CT, December 22-25 and playing the Plaza Theater in Bridgeport, CT, between 30 December 1929 and 1 January 1921.
Actions
I added the following to her list of shows:
December 27-29, 1924 – “Donna Montran and Her ‘Bathing Beauties’” played Plaza-Let’s Go in Worchester, MA.
There are four more clippings from the Donna Darling Collection which relate to this show. Additionally, I found six articles in three newspapers on Genealogy Bank that document the show even more. I will include them in detail when I write about this show in detail.
After lack of success in finding the mother of my great-grandmother, Mary Elizabeth (Manning) Brown, I decided to do what I call a deep dive. “Grandma Brown” was born in Kentucky, probably in 1876 or 1878. Her father was John William Manning, who may have also called “Joe.” Her mother (name unclear) likely died before 1885. She and her sister Phoebe probably traveled to Minnesota in 1882 and was undoubtedly in Minnesota, living with her grandparents Enoch and Minerva Mannin by 1885. So the window that Grandma Brown was in Kentucky was short, 1876 to 1885 at most.
A quick look at my tree and I discovered I have 431 people in my family tree with events in Kentucky, so I decided to create a Kentucky Research Toolkit to help with my research of these many Kentucky ancestors.
Looking at the locations of particular interest based on the life events of Mary, her father, John William, and her grandfather, Enoch, I need to look at:
Kentucky from 1823 to 1888
Bath County 1823-1860
Bath County, Owingsville 1823-1860
Carter County, 1845 – 1888
Carter County, Grayson – 1843-1865
Rowan County c. 1880?
Rowan County, Pine Grove – c. 1880?
Next, I typically print a Family Group Sheet from my Family Tree Maker software to have “What I Think I Know” handy. It can help determine if a document concerns the “right family.”
Besides knowing the dates to research, I need to learn more about Kentucky and its counties.
Kentucky was the 15th state in the Union, admitted on 1 June 1792.
Bath County was formed in 1811 from Montgomery County; its capital is Owingsville.
Carter County was formed in 1838 from Greenup and Lawrence Counties; its capital is Grayson.
Rowan County was formed in 1856 from Fleming and Morgan Counties; its capital is Morehead.
All three counties are in the Eastern Coal Field region of Northeast Kentucky. Coal mining is the primary industry in the region.
This week, for Photo Friday, I identify the people in five more envelopes from the Ethel Wight Studio Collection[i]. The envelopes contain the names 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] My goal is to reunite the photos with family members who may have never seen the image.
Madonna G. LeClair, circa 1935.
The envelope this negative was in says, “Maddonna Le Clair, 147 St John St. #748.”
Madonna G. LeClair, circa 1935.
Why I believe this to be the individual.
The 1935 Portland City Directory lists Madonna L LeClair as a waitress at 22 Arsenal and residing at 147 St John. Also living at 147 St John is Helen LeClair, widow of Didas. Helen is a cook at 253 B.
The 1930 Census lists Madona [sic] La Clair, a 16-year-old born in Vermont and is the daughter of Helen La Clair, living at 147 St John.
This photo is of Madonna G. LeClair about 1935.
Ancestry has three public trees that refer to Madonna G. Leclair. Family Search has profile GZRH-FH9 for Madonna. So, I have uploaded a photo of her to her Family Search Memories.
Helen Marjory “Marge” Leadbeater, Circa 1935.
This negative envelope says, “Miss Marjorie Leadbetter, St. Barnabas Hospital #657.”
Helen Marjory “Marge” Leadbeater, Circa 1935.
Why I believe this to be the individual.
The 1935 Portland City Directory lists Marjorie Leadbetter as a student nurse at 231 Woodford (St. Barnabas Hospital) and residing at 20 Norwood.
Ancestry Trees suggest that Marjorie Leadbetter is Helen Marjory Leadbeater.
Ancestry Trees also indicate that Helen Marjory Leadbeater married John Anderson Pucky on 4 June 1939.
The 1940 Census indicates that Marjorie L Puckey is the 23-year-old wife of John A Pucky and lived in Portland in 1935. It also shows she is a registered nurse at a hospital.
I am sure these two photos are of Helen Marjory Leadbeater about 1935 when she was about 19 years of age.
Ancestry has eight public trees that refer to Helen Marjory “Marge” Leadbeater. Family Search does not appear to have a profile for Helen, so I have added her two photos to Dead Fred.
Irene Hume Noyes, circa 1935.
This negative envelope says, “Miss Noyes, The Sherwood, Park St.”
Irene Hume Noyes, circa 1935.
Why I believe this to be the individual.
The 1935 Portland City Directory lists Irene H Noyes living at 88 Park.
The 1940 Portland City Directory identifies that the Sherwood Hotel was at 88 Park.
The 1930 US Census lists Irene H Noyes as a 70-year-old boarder at 88 Park.
I am confident this is a photo of Irene about 1935 when she was about 75 years old.
Ancestry has four public trees that refer to Irene Hume Noyes, born 17 Sep 1859 and died 21 Jan 1937. Family Search has a profile, KGW1-PFJ, for Irene Hume Noyes. I uploaded two photos of her to her Family Search Memories.
This negative envelope says, “Mrs. C. L. Lawyer & Baby, 15 Devonshire St #305.”
Anonciatta Lawyer, circa 1934.
Why I believe this to be the individual.
The 1934 Portland City Directory lists Clifton L and Doris Lawyer living at 15 Devonshire.
The 1935 Portland City Directory indicates they moved to Auburn.
The 1940 US Census lists Clifton and Doris living in Lewiston wither their 6-year-old daughter Anonciatta.
This photo is of Anonciatta Lawyer, the daughter of Clifton and Doris (Parker) Lawyer, about 1934.
Ancestry appears to have no trees that refer to Anonciatta; however, her father, Clifton, appears in six Ancestry trees. Family Search has a profile G7B7-MVN for Anonciatta Lawyer; I uploaded a photo of her to her Family Search Memories.
Unknown child, circa 1935 (Probably related to Harriet K Leach)
Unknown child, circa 1935 (Probably related to Harriet K Leach)
Why I couldn’t identify this child.
The 1935 Portland City Directory lists Mrs. Harriet K Leach living at 407 Cumberland, apt 1.
The 1940 Census lists 50-year-old Maine-born Harriet K Leach, divorced and boarding at 164 Fort Road in South Portland. It also indicates she lived in Portland in 1935.
My Ancestry and Family Search review didn’t reveal any evidence that Harriett had any children. So, I don’t know who this child is.
Ancestry has nine public trees that refer to Harriett K (Kane) Leach (later Decker). Family Search has profile for LJ26-B4W. I have only uploaded the photo here because I can’t determine who this child is.
If you are a family member of Harriett and can indicate if Harriet ever had children or know who this child is, please contact me through the comment form below. (Please indicate if your comment is public or private.)
Conclusion
I fully identified four of the five Three of them have Family Search profiles, so I uploaded their images to their Family Search Memories
I identified one individual that did not have a Family Search profile but did appear in Ancestry trees, so I posted her image to Dead Fred.
There was one individual that I could not identify. That photo is only here.
If any of these photos are of your family member, I would love to hear your reaction. 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 are of higher image quality than the images here (except for the unknown child).
For all postings of the Ethel Wight Collection, please see here.
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.
“Donna in the News” is my reporting of newly found newspapers 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. I received a newsletter from New York State (NYS) Historic Newspapers that they had several new papers digitized and others updated. So, I thought I’d check it out.
First, I found that she was mentioned in several ads in the Dziennik Dla Wszystkich = Polish Everybody’s Daily. The ads reminded me that Donna played at the Layfayette Square Theater in Buffalo, NY, between September 15th and 20th, 1923, which I had known about before.
Second, I learned from the Advertiser Journal (Auburn, NY) dated 6 January 1923, that she played at the Jefferson Theater.
The headliner will be presented by Donna Darling and Company, with Jack Finney and Mary [sic] Walker happily cast, presenting a song and dance revue of the better sort. They call the revue “A Song and Dance Romance” and one descriptive phrase is that it is a “dazzling dance phantasy.” Donna Darling and her partners have dressed the act sumptuously and introduce a number of novelty dances that have been winning success for the offering over the Keith Circuit. It is the kind of an act that vaudeville goers particularly enjoy, and will make a headline number of the most attractive sort.
Subsequent articles show she played at the Jefferson Theater in Auburn, New York, from January 8th through the 10th.
Because of those newly discovered articles, I was able to add another venue for Donna Darling & Company:
January 8-10, 1923 – Auburn, New York – Jefferson Theater – Donna Darling and Company in “A Song and Dance Romance”
My thanks to the folks at NYS Historic Newspapers for their providing online images of so many New York papers.
After lack of success in finding the mother of my great-grandmother, Mary Elizabeth (Manning) Brown, I decided to do what I call a deep dive. “Grandma Brown” was born in Kentucky, probably in 1876 or 1878. Her father was John William Manning, who may have also called “Joe.” Her mother (name unclear) likely died before 1885. She and her sister Phoebe probably traveled to Minnesota in 1882 and was undoubtedly in Minnesota, living with her grandparents Enoch and Minerva Mannin by 1885. So the window that Grandma Brown was in Kentucky was short, 1876 to 1885 at most.
