Mystery Photo - Manny

Another mystery photo from my grandmother's (Ruth McFadden Webb 1905-1985) collection. Many of the photos in the box that eventually made its way to me were mixed together so I am unsure if this is someone from her side or my grandfather's (Clyde Lee Webb 1898-1987).

On the back at the top someone had written something. It could be Manny, Mommy, Murray or something similar. So far I have not come across anyone on either side named Manny, Murray or anything particularly close.

The name of the photographer is also on the back. C. C. Giers National Portrait Gallery at what looks like 45 Union Street in Nashville, Tennessee. Some of his photographs are held at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture. Under his biographical information it states that his geographical location was 43 and 45 Union Street in Nashville about 1863-1877.

https://mcclungmuseum.pastperfectonline.com/bycreator?keyword=Giers%2C+C.+C.

When Ruth's father (Dennis Cornelius McFadden1847-1924) arrived in America he and his family lived in Ohio, the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area and Baltimore Maryland.

Clyde Webb's grandfather, Zephaniah T. Webb (1828-1906) was born and lived in Tennessee and at some point moved to Arkansas.

For now I am going on the assumption that this person was a Webb or related family member and was born and was born between 1863-1877. It's also difficult because of how babies and toddlers were dressed back then to determine if it's male or female so for now I will assume it could be either.

A day in the life

I always enjoy seeing what my ancestors did during their daily lives. On December 21, 1932 my grandmother Ruth Eileen McFadden (1905-1985) and great grandmother Elizabeth Neuland McFadden (1866-1949) went to the movies and saw Fast Lane. I do enjoy Pre-Code films and may have to add this one to my collection. Who knows, I may even wait until December 21 and watch it 86 years later.

Ruth and Elizabeth (Lizzie) McFadden circa 1940

Dec 21, 1932 - Ruth and I went to the Stanley to see Bill Haines in Fast Life. When we came home Tom Tarriton was here with Christmas Presents. I don't know who Tom Tarriton was and why he was bringing presents. I'll need to look into him soon.

Stanley Theatre September 23, 1927

Stanley Theatre circa 1928

Stanley Theatre circa 1927

Evening star. (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, January 01, 1933

 LOEW'S FOX - "Fast Life."

LOEW'S Fox Theater is offering as its

 screen attraction William Haines in 

"Fast Life." with Madge Evans, Cliff

Edwards and Conrad Nagel. Belle

Baker headlines the vaudeville bill.

In "Fast Life" there are scenes of 

the boat races at Catalina Island and 

in the Los Angeles Harbor, which show

high-powered craft pounding over the 

waves at close to 100 miles per hour.

Cameras were mounted on speedboats 

to follow the racers. The picture is 

based on E. J. Rath's novel "Let's Go". 

Available on Amazon.com for $14.99 through the Warner Archive Collection

Death of Had (?)

A mini-mystery for today. Just who in the heck was Had?

Reading through my great grandmothers diary, Elizabeth Neuland McFadden (1866-1949) I came across this passage for Sunday 23 and Monday 24 of  February 1930.

As of April 21, 1930 according to the 1930 US census[1] Elizabeth was living in Baltimore, Maryland. Ruth was also listed as residing in the house.

This is my 64th birthday. Dan came in and just when we were eating dinner, Ruth called up and said Had had died at 4:20. Sheehans and Rodgers were here. They took Dan home. The funeral was the next day.

Had was buried today.

Ruth (McFadden Webb) 1905-1985 was my grandmother and Dan (Rev. Daniel O.C. McFadden S.J.) my granduncle.

I have been puzzling over just who this "Had" might have been. Comparing the writing it doesn't look like it could actually be Tad, Chad, Hal or any other similar name. I also have not located any known family, friends or acquaintances at the time who had the initials H.A.D. Unfortunately no one is still living as far as I know who might have been able to answer this question.

I did run a search on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org for a Had who died in 1930 in the Baltimore area. So far nothing promising has been located.


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1. 1930 U.S. census, Baltimore County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, p. 175B (stamped), dwelling 375, family 386, Elizabeth McFadden; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestrylibrary.com) : accessed 5 February 2013); citing National Archives microfilm publication T626 roll 845.

Sadness of a thin letter

I have been trying to find additional information on Edward McFadden (abt 1804-abt 1887) and Alice Collum (abt 1804-1886) my maternal great great grandparents. In the 1860 and 1870 census they are living in Vinton County, Ohio. Both were born in Ireland and according to their son John’s Civil War pension application they were married there before immigrating.

My great grandfather Dennis McFadden (abt. 1874-1924) and my grandmother Ruth McFadden Webb (1905-1984) were practicing Catholics, so I believe that Edward and Alice were as well. I wrote to the Diocese of Columbus Catholic Record Society so that they could search their records for the McFaddens.

I was hoping for at least a death or burial record but unfortunately they were not able to find anything on this McFadden family. When I went to the mailbox and saw the very thin envelope, I knew that they hadn't found anything.

Not sure what my next step will be, but I am finding it difficult to get any of my ancestors back to Europe.

Another photo with an old car

Clyde Lee Webb (1898-1987) and Ruth Eileen McFadden (1905-1985).

The license plate is a little blurry, but it looks like it reads Ohio-1937. They were married in November 1937.

Ruth had some cousins in Stark County, Ohio, so I am guessing this may be one of their cars. I'll have to see if Ohio has license plate records from back then.

Mystery Photo UN025 and time to get organized

 

 

Here is another unknown photograph that was in my maternal grandmothers house then got sent with my aunt. It has 3 adults and 4 children standing outside of a house.

 

Unfortunately, I do not know if it is my grandmothers (Ruth Eileen McFadden 1905-1985) or grandfathers (Clyde Lee Webb 1898-1987) side of the family. The people in the photo do not bear any resemblance to any other photographs that I have gone through.

 

The house does look similar to some of the houses my grandmother was pictured in front of in the 1920s in the Pittsburgh, PA area.

 

 

Also, it is time for me to get these photographs better organized. I have an old scanner that as far as I can tell won't let me scan them as tiff files or set the DPI. I plan to look for a higher quality scanner this weekend. It will also let me combine duplicates and compare photos that are labeled with similar photos that are not.

52 Ancestors-Week - 14 - Ruth Eileen McFadden (1905-1985)

This post is part of Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge.  The object is to write something about 1 ancestor each week.  More information can be  found at her blog No Story Too Small.

When I became serious about pursuing my genealogy, my parents gave me a box that had a lot of pictures and letters from my grandmother Ruth Eileen McFadden (1905-1985) along with some items of my grandfather Clyde Lee Webb (1898-1987). 

Among the items in this box was a journal that my grandmother kept that began at the end of 1975 and ended at the beginning of 1977.

I don't know if she kept diaries or journals throughout her life but this is the only one that made it to today, whether on purpose or by accident.   

Here is a page from her journal from 38 years ago this month.

11-17 April 1976

 

Sunday April 11

Elizabeth (my mother) came over & we visited Sallie (don't know who she is).  She looks well and was in good spirits.  Will be operated on tomorrow morning.

 

Monday April 12

10:45 & going to bed.  Busy day packing for trip etc.  Started to drizzle tonight.  Talked to Beverly (don't know who she is). Sallie is doing well.  Today is Dr. Hamilton's birthday-96. (what I remember about Dr. Hamilton is that everyday my grandmother would go over and check on him.  Not sure what she did for him other than see him for a few minutes.  The one memory I have of him is of him on his porch yelling at us kids to shut up.  We were playing Nerf football in the front yard of my grandparents house in Fort Worth.  I was 10, my brothers were 12 and 6 and my sister 8.)

 

Tuesday April 13

Left at 11:15 for Miss. (My grandparents second daughter and her husband) Arrived in Monroe, LA about 4:45 PM-stopping at Ramada Inn had dinner at the Inn.   Drove (not sure what this means or relates to.)

 

Wednesday April 14

Left Monroe about 9:00am-decided to stop along the way for breakfast but did not see a decent place-so had a hamburger at Stucky's (I remember Stucky's.  When we went on family trips to Arkansas, to visit my fathers family, we'd look forward to stopping at the blue roofed Stucky's.  I'd always get the little pecan pie.)

 

Thursday April 15

M & B (my aunt and uncle) had class today (both were university professors) came home for lunch- Daddy came over about noon. (no idea what this means.  Came over from where? She definitely did not have the best handwriting.) Had a wonderful day- Bucky barbecued chicken which was delicious.  B. fixed Black Russians.  Had one, salad, home made bread, ice cream, cookies, wine. 

 

Friday April 15

Real nice day. M&B on vacation. We went to Stations (?) this afternoon.  Bought Rhoda & Nick (don't know who they are) a wedding gift.  Another delectable dinner-cheese souffle with shrimp sauce, homemade bread & salad.  10:15 PM getting ready to go to bed.

 

Saturday April 17

Real warm again today- Maureen hemmed her drapes and put them up.  Another delicious dinner.  Bucky made ice cream.

 

 

 



Treasure Chest Thursday-Chess Stand



I don't recall how I ended up with this chess stand but it has been with me for at least the last twenty years or so.

I remember this stand being in my grandparent's house (Clyde and Ruth Webb) either in the living room or perhaps her bedroom.  I don't ever recall seeing a chess set or other similar type game on it.  There may have been a plant on it at one time but I can't be sure and of the few pictures I have of the inside of my grandparent's house, the stand doesn't make an appearance.  I have no idea how old it is or where it came from, but I have always liked it.

My wife has a lot of board games and included among them was a glass chess set.  It took a long time but I managed to put the two together.  And now I have a major sense of accomplishment.

Wordless Wednesday-Ruth McFadden

A picture of my grandmother Ruth McFadden from 100 years ago.  In an unusual occurrence for the majority of the family pictures I have collected it came with a note that listed names and the year.



1913
Left-Ruth Mcfadden 8 years old, Baby Jack McFadden, Allie Hibbs

I do not know who wrote the note, but I believe I can say with confidence that it is not from 1913.

According to the 1910 US Census Ruth and her family were living in Roscoe, Washington County, Pennsylvania.  In the 1920 US Census they were in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

So far, I have not found a Hibbs family who lived near the McFadden’s during this time.

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. 

Those Places Thursday-Pittsburgh, PA

This is a photo of my grandmother Ruth McFadden Webb (1905-1985) from what looks like the early 1920s. According to the 1920 census* they lived on Amabell Street in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Here is another photo of Ruth with an unknown girl taken at the same location. It looks like she is wearing the same dress but has different footwear.

Searching for the street address on the 1920 census in Google Maps pulled up this image from 2011. After zooming in and out and virtually 'walking' around the area it does not appear to be the same location even though the geography in the background appears to be similar. The style and type of houses do not match. I first ‘visited’ this location about 2 years ago and decided that the picture must have been taken somewhere else. Since the McFadden family moved around the area quite a bit, it could have been at one of their other addresses. Unfortunately, the other addresses I have found don't match up with the Google Map images either.

Yesterday, while organizing my files I decided to return to Google Maps and take another look around to see if I missed anything.

I noticed that the house next door was having some work done so out of curiosity I took a look at it. The image from Google Maps is dated 2011, but I don’t remember if this is the same image that was online the last time I looked for this address.

Looking at it more closely it seemed familiar so I pulled up the photo of my grandmother and compared the two.

The location of the windows and the roof overhang definitely look the same along with the two houses to the right and the patio cover on the main house.

Another nice aspect of Google Maps is the ability to zoom out then click on and zoom into other parts of the map. Doing this I was able to determine that the large building in the background is St. Mary of the Mount Catholic church where Ruth attended school. I’m guessing the picture was taken at that location rather than in front of their house because the background was a bit more scenic.

Hopefully in the not too distant future I'll be able to visit Pittsburgh and even take a picture at the same spot. I'd also like to find out who the other girl was.

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*1920 U.S. census, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, population Schedule, Pittsburgh Ward 19, enumeration district (ED) 624, 139 (stamped), sheet number 4A (penned), dwelling 57, family 65, Ruth McFadden; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 5 February 2013); citing National Archives microfilm publication T625, roll 1523.

Fearless Females: March 10: Religion

Both my grandmothers were very religious.  My grandmother on my mothers side was Catholic and the one on my fathers was Baptist.  I know they were both strong believers, but other than that I don't know much about their church related activities.

Margaret McFadden, my maternal grandmother (Ruth McFadden) had a sister who became a nun.  Among the photographs in my grandmothers collection I found this photo of Margaret, who became Sr. Donata.  After a little searching I found her name among the list of deceased sisters (http://ihmnew.marywood.edu/1.WhoWeAre/DeceasedSisters.html) of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Scranton Pennsylvania. 

I believe Margaret is on the right

She died in 1953 so I never knew her and don't remember her being talked about all that much so I have no idea what her life was like or why she chose such a life.  

Here is another picture of Margaret and others in front of what looks like a church or perhaps where the sisters lived.  Aunt Margaret is in the back row on the right, looking quite a lot like my grandmother.  My next step is to contact either the organization or the diocese of Scranton to see if they have any biographical or other information on her.  I'm hoping it might shed some light on my gr grandfather Dennis McFadden.

Wordless Wednesday

Here is an unknown class photo I found among my grandmothers pictures and letters. I believe my grandmother, (Ruth McFadden 1905-1985) is one of two girls on the top row.   Possibly second from the right or the end on the left.  During this time, around 1915, they lived in Pittsburgh Ward 19, Allegheny County.

Cool find at my parents house

Visiting my parents this weekend and made a neat discovery. 

A couple of weeks ago I posted this photo from my grandmother Webb's box of pictures.  I have no idea who he was or where or when this was taken.

Looking at some of the pictures my mother has placed around the house I noticed this one.

This is a picture of my grandmother Ruth McFadden.  This was in Pennsylvania, possibly Pittsburgh.  She was born in 1905 so I'm guessing this was taken in the late teens to early 1920's. 

My mother thinks the boy could possible be her younger brother, our uncle Jack, though it could also be a neighbor or friend.

While the mystery is not completely solved yet, it's cool that I seem a little closer, which is what makes genealogy fun.