I purchased a set of photographs of University of Michigan students from the late 1890s. Three of them were the same individual, Edgar P. O'Leary. 

The first is from the Gibson and Clark studio of Ann Arbor, Michigan. On the back in pencil is "Edgar O'Leary."

Edgar O'Leary.

The second photo does not have a studio name. It is quite small, 3.5 inches by 3 inches. On the back in black ink is "Mr. O'Leary May 24 1898" and the letter L.


Mr. O'Leary.

The third photo, also quite small, does not have a studio name. On the back in black ink is "Edgar P. O'Leary July 10-99 After" The word After is in quotation marks.

Edgar P. O'Leary.

 What can I learned about him? I searched Newspapers.com  and Genealogybank.com for "Edgar O'Leary."  I quickly discovered he had moved from Michigan to Colorado. I located census records in Kansas and Colorado. Below is a time line of his life.

1875 (March)- Edgar lived with his parents and siblings in Hampden, Coffey County, Kansas.
1880 (June)- Edgar lived in Hampden, Coffey County, Kansas with his mother Katie, stepfather Thomas T. Bryan, and siblings Theodore A. O'Lere and Katie M. Bryan.
1896 (June)- Edgar was the valedictorian of the 1896 University of Michigan class.
1897 (June)- Edgar received an MA in law from the University of Michigan.
1898 (February)- Edgar was in the University of Michigan hospital for three weeks.
1900 (January)- Edgar traveled to Alaska
1904 (July)- Edgar, living in Durango, CO, offered for sale a South Dakota homestead for $1,200.
1905 (June)- Edgar was married to Mary Louise Wells in Pueblo, CO
1910 (May)- Edgar, wife Martha, and daughter Ruth lived in Denver. He worked as an insurance inspector.
1912 (May- Edgar donated to the election campaign of Henry Arnold.
1920 (January)- Edgar, wife Martha, and Daughter Ruth lived in Pueblo, CO, with Ruth's mother Martha Wells. Edgar was a civil engineer.
1921 (February)- Edgar and Martha were the parents of a son.
1923 (April)- Edgar and Martha divorced.
1926 (June)- Edgar was remarried to Martha (who now went by Louise) in Colorado Springs, CO.
1930 (April)- Edgar, wife Louise, and son Edgar Jr. lived in Denver. He worked as an insurance surveyor.
1930 (July)- Edgar was living in Chicago working as a building inspector for fire insurance purposes
1931 (March) Edgar was taken to court by Mrs. Mary Porter regarding an oil and gas lease at Fort Morgan, Colorado.
1940 (April)- Edgar, wife Louise, and son Paul lived in Denver. Edgar was doing medical research.
1941 (July)- Edgar was killed after being struck by a car in Denver


Greeley Daily Tribune (Greeley, Colorado, 10 July 1941, page 14, column 6.


A photograph of Edgar's tombstone in Roselawn Cemetery in Pueblo, Pueblo County, Colorado appears on Findgrave..

Comments

  1. Daniel WachenheimMarch 4, 2022 at 5:58 PM

    This is wonderful. This just became my favorite blog.
    I have some old photos. I don't know what to do with them.

    ReplyDelete

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