Ink & Ancestry

Every vintage photo carries a story, but rarely do we find one that bridges a small Pennsylvania town with the distant shores of Meiji era Japan. ​If you were to look only at the front of this late 1880s cabinet card, you would see a classic Victorian studio portrait. Three children sit against an ornate, patterned backdrop: a sharp teenage boy in a tailored suit, a young girl in a gingham dress with a lace collar, and a toddler holding a tiny basket of flowers. ​But turn the card over, and a pencil inscription transforms this family keepsake into a historical chronicle:​ Clarence A. Morris, age 13½ years Grace E. Morris, age 6 years Lella H. Albertson, 3 years just Taken before she left for Japan. ​To understand this photograph, we first have to look at the town where it was taken: Tidioute, PA. Tidioute was a bustling boomtown during the 19th century Pennsylvania oil rush. ​Living right in the heart of this boom were the Morris siblings, Clarence and Grace. Thanks to l...

Born: 1874 in Ohio Died: Unknown in Ohio Recently, a sepia portrait came into my collection featuring a young woman seated in a rocking chair in a fancy Victorian parlor, a book open in her lap.  ​Thanks to an inscription on the back, I have a name: Isabelle Beck Smith. And by digging into the archives, I've been able to piece together the story of the woman in the chair. The photo itself speaks volumes about Isabelle’s world. Based on the sleeves of her top and the styling of her hair, the portrait can be pinned down to the mid to late 1890, roughly between 1894 and 1898. Behind her sits an piano topped with fine vases, artwork, and a nearby music stand holding open sheet music. Isabelle was clearly cultured and musically inclined. ​But who was she? ​By finding her name to federal census data and Ohio marriage indexes, her life comes into focus. Born Isabelle Beck in Ohio around 1874, she grew up in a industrializing era. The young woman in this photo is in her earl...

For a long time, the identities of the four children in this portrait were a mystery. With a little patience, the faint cursive on the back finally revealed a list of names: Grace, Winifred, Earle, and Irene Plummer . ​These four siblings grew up at the turn of the 20th century in Marion County, IN. Born to John Thomas Plummer and Mary Elizabeth Barker, they had this studio portrait taken around 1900 or 1901 when the youngest, Irene, was just a toddler. ​Here is the story of the children and the lives they went on to lead. ​Grace M. Plummer (Top Left) ​Sitting in the wicker chair on the left is the eldest sibling, Grace, who was born in February 1888. In the early 1910s, Grace married an Indianapolis attorney named Clarence W. DeHass. Together, they raised two children, John and Mary, in the heart of Indianapolis. Grace lived a long life, passing away in October 1968.  ​Earle S. Plummer (Center) ​Standing in the center in his suit and bowtie is Earle, the only boy...

Step into any music shop today, and you’ll find walls lined with guitars, keyboards, and digital gear. But if you were a young woman seeking to be on the cutting edge of the independent music scene in the 1890s, your instrument of choice would be a bowl back mandolin or a five string banjo. ​A cabinet card I acquired this week introduces us to a pair of Massachusetts musicians: Celia and Ida Wheeler. ​The portrait, captured at the studio of Snow & McDermott, shows the sisters posed with an air of artistic dedication. From their Victorian attire to the dark green, scalloped-edge cardstock mount, every element of the photo fits the turn of the 20th century. ​During the 1880s and 1890s, America fell head over heels for the "BMG" (Banjo, Mandolin, and Guitar) craze. What had previously been viewed as informal folk instruments suddenly exploded into mainstream society. ​Mandolin and banjo clubs sprouted up across cities and university campuses nationwide. For youn...

​ I went to an antique mall this week and found a beautiful mother and daughter portrait from the turn of the 20th century. Written in blue ink on the reverse side of the textured matting are the names: Lou Mayer Hill and Harriet Hill The original photo shows a beautiful studio moment likely taken between 1903 and 1906. ​The mother, Lou, is a perfect example of the Gibson Girl style. Her hair is in a soft pompadour and she wears a white blouse featuring a high lace collar, a brooch at her throat, and heavily pleated sleeves. ​Seated beside her is her daughter, Harriet. She wears a white dress with an oversized collar. The crowning detail of her outfit is a giant white hair bow which was the absolute height of fashion for young girls of the early 1900s. ​Tracing Lou and Harriet through historical records reveals a journey that began in Texas and eventually led to Tennessee. ​Lou Ella Mayer was born in TX in February 1877 to F.W. Mayer, a German immigrant, and his wife, ...

Born: 1898 in Multnomah County, OR Died: Unknown When you see the photograph of young Franz Kruschke, he looks like a typical turn of the century child. Standing by a picket fence, dressed in a jacket, breeches, and a flat cap, he looks directly at the camera. The card itself bears the embossed mark of the Markham Bros . studio, on Washington Street in Portland, Oregon. ​​Finding Franz in the records wasn't easy. As it turns out, the early 20th century census takers were notorious for typos. ​In the 1910 Federal Census for Multnomah County, Oregon, you won't find a Franz Kruschke. Instead, you’ll find a boy indexed under the botched name " Frantz Krusch ." He was living with his parents, William (a German immigrant working as a fruit farmer) and Mary, alongside his 14 year old older sister, Freda.  ​By the 1920 census, Franz was working as a laborer on the family farm. Franz eventually settled down in Clackamas County, Oregon, and married a woman name...

Born: 1895 to 1905 Died: February 19, 1991 in Wichita KS ​Dorothy "Dottie" Odell Terrell didn't just quietly live out her days. She was a trailblazer who left a lasting legacy in her community.  ​Because Dorothy was a highly educated leader during an era when the career paths of women (particularly Black women in the Midwest) were rarely tracked by government records, her family structure tells a story of community dedication. ​In the 1930s, Dorothy stood out as a highly educated, prominent college graduate within Wichita’s Black community. While her husband, Marsene Terrell, worked a steady industrial and labor job that provided for their household, Dorothy used their home on North Water Street as a cultural and intellectual salon for college educated civic leaders. ​Her leadership was essential on March 9, 1935, when she hosted a meeting in her home. That afternoon, Dorothy and a small group of women officially chartered the Alpha Phi chapter of Delta Sigm...

Born: May, 1866 in OH Died: between 1905 and 1910 in Monroe, MI For a while, the trail had gone cold on a young woman named Mat Liberty. But with a little detective work and a deep dive into the archives, the pieces of her life have fallen into place.Let’s see how Mat became the woman she was. The 1880 federal census gives us our first official look into her childhood in a household in northwestern Ohio.  ​ Her Given Name: While she went by "Mat" casually, the census confirms her full name was Mattie Liberty. ​ The Family Home: In 1880, the family was living in Lucas County, Ohio. ​ Her Parents: Mattie was the daughter of John Liberty, a French-Canadian immigrant who worked as a laborer, and Mary Liberty, who managed their home. ​ A Full House: Mattie grew up surrounded by family. The census records five siblings sharing the household with her: Joseph, John Jr., Mary, Agnes, and Julia. By the late 1880s, Mattie was a young woman of marrying age, which is...

Born: November 28, 1908 in Colorado Springs, CO Died: June 18, 2003 in Hutchinson, KS ​There's always a small thrill in flipping over an antique photo and finding a name. Without it, the face is a mystery. With it, a window opens into an entire lifetime.  ​Recently, an early 20th century studio portrait surfaced. It features a toddler standing proudly on a wooden chair, bundled up in a thick, dark, ribbed-knit matching suit and a long stocking cap. Next to his feet sits a tiny toy.  ​On the back, written in pencil, are the clues that I needed: ​ Harold Might, age 2 yrs. 4 mo. ​An embossed stamp at the bottom of the card tells us where this moment was captured: Mace Studios, 112 S. Tejon St., Colorado Springs, Colorado . Given Harold's age in the photo, it was taken around March 1911. ​But what happened to the little boy in the winter suit? As it turns out, he lived a long, full life.  ​Harold E. Might was born on November 28, 1908, to James and Ora Mi...

Born: December 3, 1913 in Council Grove, Morris, KS Died: March, 1998 in Kansas City, KS Gladys was the little girl who started it all for me. While browsing an estate sale, I stumbled upon a shoebox overflowing with old photographs, most of them neatly labeled with names and dates on the back. I offered the seller ten dollars for the entire box and she accepted. When I got home and began sorting through the stack, I discovered two portraits of Gladys tucked away at the very bottom. Taken in 1917 and 1919, there was something about her that immediately captured my heart. Looking at her face, I instantly fell in love with Gladys and couldn't help but wonder what her life was really like.  These farm photos were taken in Highland Township, Morris County, Kansas—the backdrop of Gladys’s early childhood. She was actually born in the nearby historic hub of Council Grove, but according to the 1920 federal census, her father, John W. Hatter, was renting a farm in H...

  ​Welcome to Ink & Ancestry . I’m so glad you're here. ​This blog was born out of a love for the things the past left behind. Specifically, the fragile, ink-stained pages of 19th- and early 20th-century autograph books, vintage portrait folders, and forgotten photographs. To most people, these might just look like dusty relics found at estate sales, online auctions, or thrift stores. But to me, they are puzzles waiting to be solved. ​Every signature written in faded cursive, every un-named face staring out from a sepia photograph, and every scrap of paper represents a real life once lived. They had friends, inside jokes, heartbreaks, and everyday moments that were completely unique to them. When an antique album lands on my shelf, I feel a responsibility to protect it. I carefully scan the pages, and start digging. ​Using census records, marriage data, and a lot of historical detective work, my goal is to track down the stories of these people and the people who loved them....