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As I noted in my article related the wedding of Tina Luke (Discovering A Family History on Gather) I devoted several weeks of "retirement" from Gather to scanning and restoring vintage post cards and photographs that had been consigned to a small box in my study.
Thus, after a few weeks, I was well-prepared for the photo publishing Gather Point Bonus festival.
In that week of furious image posting, few persons left a thoughtful response to the many antique images that I published.
One of those who did write some meaningful reflections on various images was Kate C.
Kate identified herself as an amateur genealogist, and offered to perform research on any individuals that could be identified.
After ignoring Kate's offers for a few days, I began to examine the original photographs to see if there were notations on the photos that were not captured on the scan, or if the reverse side of the prints held any clues or messages.
I was thrilled to discover a few names.
Here is the e-mail describing the recovery of the Gay family.
Peter to Kate on June 24
I may have told you that my first love is collecting books and prints.
Most of the photos I acquired were included in my purchases of odd lots of old paper. I have come to enjoy them, however.
Few of the vintage photos in my small box of them have any identifying notes.
Your generous offer to do some sleuthing has piqued my curiosity, although I certainly don't consider you beholden in any way to take up these ancient characters.
But, if this is something that you enjoy doing, then I would be pleased to learn if we can find anything about these folks whom we know only by their neglected images.
Peter
Peter to Kate on July 1, 2007
Hi Kate;
I went through the old photos that I had scanned for posting to see if I could find any identifying marks. There were several.
The picture that I posted as "Boy in Knickers" has a faint pencil inscription of "Morris Gay".
The very faint picture of a cute child touching a wall is noted, "Stewart Irwin Gay 1918".
Kate to Peter on July 1
Good morning, Peter,
I've done a little research on the Gay family and here is what I've found.
Stewart and Morris are first cousins.
Stewart Irwin Gay was born Nov. 18, 1913 in Warsaw, Wyoming County, NY
His parents were Fred (b. 1871) and Cora Gay (b. 1872). Stewart died in 1978. Cora had Stewart when she was 42. He was her only child.
Morris F. Gay was born in 1908 in Middlebury, Wyoming County, NY
His parents were Charles (b. 1866) and Allie/Allice Gay (b. 1870). His mother, Allie, was 38 when she had him and she was her only child. This family had a servant, Matthew Smith, on the 1910 census and a "boarder," Ruby Upright, on the 1930 census.
Charles and Fred were brothers that were raised by an uncle and aunt, Orlando and Jane Gay after their father died. I believe their mother's name was Eliza, but don't know about the father yet.
The Gay family were farmers.
Peter to Kate on July 1, 2007
I found one more person that appears to connect to these.
The small, faded photo that I called "Women Outdoors" is a photo of Cora Gay and Maud Phelps.
http://www.gather.com/viewImage.jsp?fileId=3096224744194838&memberId=116407
(Cora Gay, wearing a hat)
So, the woman in the hat is the mother of the little boy touching the wall. I wonder if one of the children in the background is little Stewart?
I love this story, but I feel like it doesn't really belong to me. People should take care of their family pictures.
Did Stewart or Morris have children?
Peter
Kate to Peter on July 1, 2007
Hi, Peter,
I haven't yet found any evidence that Morris or Stewart even married, let alone had children. :(
~kate
Peter to Kate on July 1, 2007
Hi Kate,
Thanks for the news. I am packing for another business trip tomorrow, but I often log on Gather at the end of the day.
Both Morris and Stewart were only children; their fathers were the only sons of their parents, and were raised by the uncle and aunt.
If Stewart and Morris were childless, they were the end of one whole branch of the Gay family. That seems very sad, and makes the photographs of the charming boys even more poignant.
Your access to data bases and your expertise in connecting these vintage photographs to real lives has deepened my appreciation of these vintage photos enormously.
Peter
Copyright 2007, Wimsey Productions
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Comments: 24
There was also the propriety issue, I'm sure -- a proper married woman would not have flashed a flirtatious smile for the camera.
And Peter -- your observation hits home. I know of several family lines that will end with friends of ours who either chose not to have children or who had no sons. Our own family name rides on one nephew who is nearly 30 and still not in a committed relationship. He's the only one on the Spindler bloodline, and our sons are the only blood descendants for my husband's name, too. The trouble is, this isn't a world that encourages bringing in a new generation.
Dannielle, I am sensitive to this issue of lineage because the honorable name of my mother's family (which came to Pennsylvania with the Penns) descends to a single boy, a cousin twice-removed (cousin's grandson).
But seriously, this is a wonderful story. You two need to combine forces more often in just this type of venue. The lost legacies are so sad, but at the same time interesting.
I'll take this opportunity to apologize to both of you for not commenting on your vintage photos. I even actually forget that photos are available for viewing on this site most of the time. I try to concentrate on the writing of my friends and often don't have time to even complete all of that task.
As the owner of many vintage photos from both my family and my husband's, I should be flogged and have my corset stays tightened immeasurably.
I am thrilled by these "cold cases" that Kate is researching.
I am drawn to these vintage photographs by an intense desire to know and understand the lives of the folks in the images.
It is profoundly unsettling to me to recognize that some photographs may have out-lived any living memory of these folks.
That is where Kate's genealogical research restores them to memory once more.
I will post these stories in the next few days.
In my study, I have three pictures with names that I will send to Kate as soon as I return home and have a chance to upload the photos and e-mail the info to her.
Once, when engrossed in a photo of my grandmother as a small girl (probably around 1905) I noticed that she was the one who gifted me with my eyes. I had to force myself to put the photos away as the fascination with this nearly became an obsession. It was many years before I became comfortable enough to display these photos.
I love the pictures. Part of it is the history, and part of it is the film and plates they used which had more limited color discrimination than panchromatic B&W film. One possibility for the women's expressions is that they were probably facing the sun.
The smiling little girl in the background makes the picture.
Nippy, glad that you noticed the child or children in the background.
Glad that it wasn't offensive, although I did not mean to transport you to your childhood.
Charming comment, Arlene!
In reference to Dannielle's excellent points about the severe expressions of people in vintage photographs, I would like to add the fact that most 19th century figures had less than perfect teeth.
As a bookish child, I was thrilled by the literary friendship between book lovers across many years.
I have both volumes ("84, Charing Cross Road" and "The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street") in good paperback editions on my bookshelf.
The sequel, "Duchess," is the story of Helene's long-delayed trip to England. The book store is gone, Frank is dead, but the travel story is charming and poignant.
You will cheer for the Brits by the end.
Fortunately, I found names that Kate C., genealogy prodigy of Gather, was able to trace.
Cousins in New York, One Hundred Years Ago
or
http://www.gather.com/viewVideo.jsp?id=11821949021850455&memberId=116407
WwW.SparkleTags.Com
I loved learning something about these vintage photographs.
Kate C. is a talented genealogist.
Kate does all the work; I yell encouragement and praise.