Identifying Thrift Store Photographs

 A third photograph from the fire group estate sale. No studio name. On the back in ink is "Frank & Mary Boxstrom" (or possibly Baxstrom). Frank and Mary Baxstrom. I searched on Ancestry the public trees for a Frank Boxstrom married to a Mary. Nothing. I then searched for Frank Baxstrom married to a Mary. I quickly found the couple. Frank Ben Baxstrom was born on 22 February 1890 in Dolores, Colorado, son of Peter Baxstrom and Emma Ottilia Broman.  Frank was married on 16 November 1913 in Dolores, Montezuma County, Colorado to Mary E. Osterfeld. Mary was born on 17 October 1891 in Colorado. Their home was valued at $2,000. They did not have a radio. Frank worked as a garage repair man. On 21 February 1920, Frank and Mary and their daughter Marguerite lived in Dolores. Frank was a farmer. On 4 April 1930, Frank and Mary, their daughter Florence M., a sister in law, Frank L. Mari Smith, and her son Kenneth F. Smith lived in Dolores. On 4 April 1940, Frank and Mary, their da...

 Another fire department estate sale photo find. A folder containing over-sized photos from the Risdon studio of Safford and Clifton, Arizona. On the back of written in ink "Elizabeth Maurer Safford Ariz Box 373." Stamped on the back in red and black ink is "17 31 20." I went to Findagrave.com and searched for Maurer living in Safford, Graham County, Arizona. One couple showed up, Benjamin and Elizabeth Maurer. I assumed that the photos are of that couple (and this was proven when similar photos were found on Ancestry.com). Benjamin Maurer, 1867-1935. Elizabeth A. (Hoffman)(Crabbe)(Maurer) Stratton, 1886-1940. Benjamin Maurer was born on 1 January 1869 in New York, the son of Benjamin Maurer and Mary Haller. Benjamin was married first on 5 September 1891 in El Paso County, Texas to Ella M. Dalton. Ella was born in December 1871 in New York. By August 1897, the couple was living in Willcox, Arizona. Ben owned land in Safford (Graham Guardian (Safford, Arizona), 13 A...

Can I identify the person in a photo without a name? I purchased this photo for a dollar at the fireman's monthly estate sale. It is from the Edrington studio of Weslaco, Texas. Weslaco is in Hidalgo County, Texas. There is no name on the photo. However, there is a lot of other information. Between the existing photo and the missing one is "Dec. 25- 1931."  Below the photo of the woman is "Mother- Born April 6, 1869 (62 yrs) Xenia Kansas Died in Pampa Texas Dec 29-1954 heart attack  married Feb 22 1886 Married 45 yrs when taken here." Beneath the now missing photo is "Dad- Born Aig 9, 1860 - (71 yrs) Lansing, Michigan  Died in Hospital Victoria Texas June 4, 1933 car accident concussion of skull."  I checked Findagrave.com for the two, putting in their birth and death years and searching Victoria County (where Victoria is) and Gray County (where Pampa is). No luck. I then went to Ancestry public trees and typed in the woman's exact birth and death ...

Photographs of six men. Can I find out who they are? The first is from the C. Bau's Studio at 24-26 Federal Street in Greenfield, Massachusetts. Greenfield is in Franklin County. On the back in black ink is "4-1-'99 Lyman W. Griswold, Greenfield, Massachusetts." I searched Ancestry Family Tree for Lyman Griswold in Greenfield. He turned out to be Lyman William Griswold, born 18 October 1869 in Watkins, Schuyler County New York, son of Theophilus Lyman Griswold and Isabelle Holden, and died on 30 January 1944 in Greenfield. He was buried in Green River Cemetery in Greenfield. Lyman W. Griswold. The second photograph is from the Nason & Son studio of Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland is in Cuyahoga County. On the back in pencil is "Nelson Ebert son of Jonas Ebert." I searched Ancestry Family Trees and found only one Nelson Ebert who was a son of Jonas. There was a Nelson D. Ebert who died on 22 February 1898 and is buried in Jackson Township Cemetery, North Jac...

I tend not to purchase more recent photos , but this one appealed to me. The nuclear family looked so happy and clean cut. What could I find out about them? There is no studio mark on the elaborate frame. On the back in blue ink is "Arnold Vadin & family. Leone. Dianne. Jimmy." Diane, Leone, Jimmy, and Arnold Vedin, circa 1943 or 1944. I was uncertain is if the surname was Vadin or Vedin. When I searched on Ancestry Family Tree I searched for an Arnold Vadin with a wife Leone, no matches. When I searched for Arnold Vedin with a wife Leone, among the entries that came up were an Arnold W. Vedin who was married to a Virginia Maxine King. When I clicked on that I discovered that Arnold had also been married to Leona Irene Alexander.  The family appears on the 1940 US census, for Brookings, Brookings County, South Dakota: VEDIN, Arnold, 26, b. South Dakota, carpenter building construction VEDIN, Leone, 22, b. South Dakota VEDIN, Diane, 3, b. South Dakota VEDIN, James, 2, b. S...

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 s...

Photographs of two women. The first is from the D. E. Cole studio of Washington, Iowa. Washington is in Washington County. On the back in brown ink is: "Aunt Mary Wilkins (mother's sister) CCP" and in blue ink "To Minnie E. Wolfe From Carl C. Phelps Feb 1960." This one was easy. I searched Mary Wilkins in Washington County, Iowa in the US censuses. Two individuals showed up. The woman in the 1880 census was not the woman in the photo. In 1900, Mary E. Wilkins, born May 1846 in Pennsylvania, was the wife of John Wilkins and they had a daughter Minnie E. Wilkins. In 1910, Mary E. Wilkins headed a household that contained her elderly uncle, John R. Delancy, and three cousins, Albert W. Delancy, Joseph Hughes, and Anna E. Hughes. In 1920, Mary E. Wilkins was a Pennsylvania native, born about 1847. She was living in the household of her son-in-law and daughter, C. H. Wolfe and Minnie Wolfe. That couple had five children- Isabel, Howard, Thomas, Ellen, and Alice. Mary...