Five Unknown Sailors-Veterans Day

Late Veteran's Day Post:

I have very few photographs of my family in their military uniforms. My father served in the Air Force from 1956 to 1959. My maternal great grandfather and his brother served in the Army for the Union in the Civil War. There were various paternal ancestors who fought for the Confederacy. Several years ago I was given the chest that belonged to my maternal grandmother and it was full of pictures, letters and other various items.

I am currently in the process of scanning each all of the items and I came across these three photos. Everything was mixed together so it is hard to tell if they were from my grandmothers side or grandfathers. There was a photo album of my grandfather and his family as a young man. It was the type where the pictures were glued onto black paper and bound together in a ledger type album. It had fallen apart and many pictures had fallen out. These three pictures were mixed in with those.

Based on the clothing these all appear to be from the WWI era. After examining them they all appear to be different men. At first I thought the man on the right in the first picture and the man on the left of the second might be the same person since it looks like they wear the had the same way. But after blowing them up I do believe they are different people.

I have compared the people in the photographs to others in the album but so far have not found anyone who resembles them.  Also, I have not found any information on any family members who served in the Navy or the Red Cross at that time.

Mystery Photo MP001

 

This is most likely the oldest photograph in my collection. It is a tintype and to me it appears to be around the 1880s. I have no idea who it is, if he is a family member or if he is part of my maternal grandmother or grandfather's line. He features also don't resemble anyone I know of.

The only other tintype in my collection is of my maternal great grandmother Roxie Hughes 1876-1961.  It could be from the same time period but so far there is no way to know if they are related.

Mystery Photo 076

This photograph was among others included in an album of my grandfather, Clyde Lee Webb (1898 - 1987).  The photos in the album appear to be from the early 1900s to the mid 1930s.  He married my grandmother Ruth Eileen McFadden (1905-1985) in 1937 and there are only a couple of pictures with her included.  

It's unusual among the pictures because it is of an interior of a house and there are no people included in the shot.   I do like the brief glimpse into what may have been the house my grandfather and his siblings grew up in.  I never remember hearing if my grandfather had a piano in his house when he was young or if he or anyone in the house ever had lessons or played.  Even when I and my brothers and sister were all taking piano lessons, the topic from what I remember never was brought up.  I'd also like to know what books are in the bookcases.  In the days before TV, computers and iPads, it would be interesting to know what they did for entertainment. 

The large picture on the wall, at first I thought was a portrait of a woman in a black dress with her head faded out.

 After playing around with the image for a little bit I now think it is a picture of a boy/girl on something with their arms around each other’s shoulders.  Or perhaps she is just behind him holding onto him.  There also appears to be woman on the right looking at them. So far, I have not found any other pictures in the album that match up with this one.

If it was the home or one of the homes where my grandfather grew up , it was most likely in or near Russellville Arkansas around the early 1900s to the 1920s.  Of course this is nothing but guesswork but since as far as I know, no one is still alive who would have remembered the house, guessing is about all I can do. 

**Edited to add:  Playing around with the picture a little more, it looks there is a small child with his back to the camera on the bottom right.  Can't tell what, if anything, is on the lower left of the picture. 

Mystery Photo-unknown woman and disappeared man

 

This picture was found among my grandfather's (Clyde Lee Webb 1898-1985) collection of family photo's.  This picture appears, to me, to date from the early 1900's to the mid 19-teens.  My grandfathers family lived in and around Russellville Arkansas during this period, but nothing else ties the picture to that area.

 

Some questions this picture raises:

 

I have no idea who she might be, but her eyes and chin do resemble the Webb's.  Could she be one of my grandfathers sisters?

 

Why was the man cut out of the picture?  It looks like he is wearing a wedding ring while she appears not to be. 

 

She looks quite young, so could the man be her father?  If that is the case, then cutting him out makes it even more mysterious.

 

Finally, why is his hand just hanging there?  Most pictures, I believe, the hand would be on her waist or arm.  The way the hand  is makes me think this could be a post mortem photo and someone later removed the "disturbing" image.

 

Clyde's, and possibly her, father Charles J. Webb (1874-1937) died in Pope County, Arkansas in 1937.  Charles's father, Zephaniah T. Webb (1826-1906) died in Pope County, Arkansas in 1906.  Both are buried in Old Baptist Cemetery in Center Valley, Pope County, Arkansas.  If one of these men was the other person in the picture, I do hope the missing piece or another copy of the picture eventually turns up.  As far as I know, no picture of these men exists.

Wordless Wednesday-Mystery Photo

Over Thanksgiving, my Aunt Maureen gave me a few letters and other items she found at among various odds and ends. 

This photo was included in the envelope.  She thought this might be the McFadden children and that her mother, my grandmother may be the baby.  My grandmother, Ruth McFadden was born in 1905, and I'm guessing that this picture could be from around that time.