This is a photo of Rosamund Hall, who attended Smith College (Northampton, Massachusetts) in 1901. Despite the name, I wasn’t able to find a conclusive match for her. It’s hard to say where she was in 1900, although Massachusetts would be a strong possibility. Additionally, she could have been enumerated as Rosa, Rose, Rosie, etc., making the possibilities endless without a definitive location.
If she’s your relative, contact me!
You’d be surprised how many Hallie Wrights are enumerated in the censuses. Without a location, it’s pretty hard to figure out who she is. If you believe she' belongs in your family tree and you’d like the photo, please contact me.
This is actually a portrait, measuring 20” x 16”. It looks like it may have been done in charcoal. A friend of a fellow DAR member found it in a frame on the side of the road. The friend salvaged the frame for herself, and gave the portrait to my DAR friend in hopes of finding a home for it. My friend turned it over to me knowing I collect orphan photos and try to reunite them with family.
Fortunately, not only is the portrait identified, it includes vital data as well. The following was found taped to the paper backing of the frame.
The portrait is evidentially Irvine and Anna Rebecca (Wertz) Bennett. According to the information attached, Irvine was born on 9 October 1848 in Southampton, Bedford, Pennsylvania, and died on 30 September 1909 in Curwensville, Clearfield, Pennsylvania. He and Anna Rebecca Wertz married on 22 June 1873 in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. Anna was born on 8 June 1853 in Bedford County, and died on 3 August 1920 in Clearfield County. They had two children, Georgia and Bruce.
Georgia was born 17 March 1874 in Bedford County, married Harry Mellott about 1894 [1], and died on 16 April 1953 in Clearfield County. Bruce was born on 15 September 1876 in Bedford County, and died on 17 January 1899 in Curwensville.
The Search
Since the couple married in 1873, I started with the 1880 census, and found the four family members living together in Southampton, Bedford, Pennsylvania. [2] I then proceeded to the 1900 census, where I found Irvine and Anna living in Curwensville, Clearfield, Pennsylvania; their daughter was not living with them. [3]
Knowing that their son Bruce had died in 1899, I continued my search for descendants of their daughter Georgia. In 1900, I found her, living with her husband and three children, a few households away from her parents in Curwensville, Clearfield, Pennsylvania. Using the 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 censuses, I was able to construct Georgia’s family as follows: [1,4,5,6]
| Child’s Name | Birth Date |
| Stanley A | March 1895 |
| Augustus E | April 1897 |
| Mildred | October 1899 |
| Olive A | Abt. 1904 |
| Nile | Abt. 1906 |
| Pearl B | Abt. 1908 |
| Berndetta | Abt. 1910 (probably died between 1910-1920) |
| Glen L | Abt. 1913 |
| Margaret V | Abt. 1915 |
| Phyllis B | Abt. 1917 |
*Note: There were at least two other children, who died in infancy.
A chance encounter on Ancestry, provided an obituary for a child of one of Harry and Georgia’s children, practically ending my search (other than to find additional sources to confirm). Details are suppressed in this post as many of the family members are still living. I will be contacting a great-great-granddaughter in hopes of reuniting this portrait with family.
UPDATE – 11/29/11 – Over the weekend I was contacted by someone who is researching the Bennett line and is working on the revision of a book on the Bennett family. Since I couldn’t find anyone who wanted to claim the portrait in my previous attempts, I still had it and am now passing it on. What a lovely addition to his collection and the book!
Sources
1. 1900 U.S. census population schedule, Curwensville, Clearfield, Pennsylvania, enumeration district (ED) 94, sheet 5B, dwelling 93, family 99, Harry A Mellott; digital images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed June 8, 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T623, roll 1397.
2. 1800 U.S. census population schedule, Southampton, Bedford, Pennsylvania, enumeration district (ED) 236, p. 24, dwelling not indicated, family 206, Irvin Bennett; digital images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed June 8, 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T9, roll 1098.
3. 1900 U.S. census population schedule, Curwensville, Clearfield, Pennsylvania, enumeration district (ED) 94, sheet 5B, dwelling 85, family 89, Irvine Bennett; digital images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed June 8, 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T623, roll 1397.
4. 1910 U.S. census population schedule, Pike, Clearfield, Pennsylvania, enumeration district (ED) 98, sheet 5B, dwelling 93, family 99, Harry Mellott; digital images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed June 8, 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T624, roll 1332.
5. 1920 U.S. census population schedule, Clearfield Ward 2, Clearfield, Pennsylvania, enumeration district (ED) 63, sheet 7A, dwelling 122, family 130, Harry A Mellott; digital images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed June 8, 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T625, roll 1552.
6. 1930 U.S. census population schedule, Clearfield, Clearfield, Pennsylvania, enumeration district (ED) 16, sheet 24B, dwelling 525, family 557, Harry Mellott; digital images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed June 8, 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T626, roll 2017.
On the back of this photograph it reads “Ella Lander.” Unfortunately with no location, it’s hard to figure out who Ella is.
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Update 10/26/10 – These photos have been reunited with family!
These two cabinet cards were taken by Bowman in Ottawa, Illinois, and appear to be a husband and wife from LaSalle County, Illinois. I am pretty positive that these are the photos for Josiah and Ellen (Jones) Bagley. Since only the husband’s name is listed on the photos, I started with a census search for Josiah Bagley in and around Ottawa, LaSalle, Illinois. I found Josiah and Ellen in the 1880 census, living in Serena, LaSalle, Illinois, and traced the couple back through the 1860 census. By the 1900 census, Ellen was widowed, and she was traced through the 1920 census. Since I have them accounted for in all the applicable censuses, it appears that they may not have had any children, so tracking down a living relative may be somewhat difficult.
Josiah Bagley and Ellen Jones were married on 11 February 1856 in LaSalle County, Illinois. [1] From the censuses, it appears that Josiah was born about 1830 in Pennsylvania and Ellen was born about 1835 in Massachusetts. As asserted earlier, I do not believe they had any children. However, there were others living in their households in 1860, 1870, and 1880, as discussed below.
1860 Census [2]
In 1860, Josiah and Ellen were living in Adams, LaSalle, Illinois. Also recorded in their household were Lott? Larkin and Eugene Larkin, ages 19 and 17 respectively. Underneath their household is a listing for a Martha Bagley, age 59, born in New Jersey, with a Mathilda Bagley, age 17, born in Pennsylvania, also living in the household. Perhaps this is Josiah’s mother and sister. There are also additional Larkins on the same page.
1870 Census [3]
Josiah and Ellen are living in Serena, LaSalle, Illinois by 1870. Also listing in their household are Evangeline Terry, Daniel Meloy, and Andelia Hoxsey. Martha Bagley also appears later on the page, living in the household of Boardman? Parker, along with Matilda Parker. Both the information for Martha and Matilda are consistent with the information found in the 1860 census, indicating a strong possibility that they are the same women. A Matilda Bagley and Boardman E Parker were married on 15 March 1869 in LaSalle County. [4]
1880 Census [5]
Still living in Serena, Josiah and Ellen’s household also contains William Jones, David F. Jones, and James Jones, all listed as nephews, ages 14, 13, and 10 respectively. Assuming the relationship is correct, I suspect these children belong to a brother of Ellen (her maiden name is Jones).
Also important to note, is that the birthplace for Josiah’s mother is listed as New Jersey, which is the same birthplace listed for Martha Bagley in the 1860 and 1870 censuses, providing an even strong link suggesting they are mother and son. I did not see Martha Bagley or Matilda Parker in close proximity in this census.
1900-1920 Censes
Ellen is found as a widow in the 1900, 1910, and 1920 censuses, still residing in Serena, LaSalle, Illinois. There are not other persons living in her household in these years.
Additional Information
Ellen died on 27 December 1920 in Serena Twp, LaSalle, Illinois. [6] Since it is apparent that Josiah and Ellen had no children (or at least any that lived to adulthood), I figured I’d try to seek out Matilda, the presumed sister of Josiah. I was able to find her living in Harmon, Lee, Illinois in 1880, 1900, and 1910.
And wouldn’t you know, after all this research, I found a pretty good family tree on Ancestry, that answers the question as to whether Josiah and Matilda were brother and sister (and contained all of the information I acquired on my own!). It also appears that the tree owner may actually be a descendant of Matilda, so I have an email out to the owner to see if they are interested in the photos.
Sources
1. State of Illinois, "Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763–1900," database, Illinois State Archives (http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/databases.html : accessed 5 June 2010), Josiah Bagley and Ellen Jones (Vol. B, no. 2366).
2. 1860 U.S. census population schedule, Adams, LaSalle, Illinois, p. 178, dwelling 1297, family 1300, Josiah Bagley; digital images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 5 June 2010), citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M653, roll 196.
3. 1870 U.S. census population schedule, Serena, LaSalle, Illinois, p. 10, dwelling 62, family 65, Josiah Bagley; digital images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed February 12, 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M593, roll 244.
4. State of Illinois, "Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763–1900," database, Illinois State Archives (http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/databases.html : accessed 5 June 2010), Boardman E Parker and Matilda N Bagley (Vol. D, no. 173).
5. 1880 U.S. census population schedule, Serena, LaSalle, Illinois, enumeration district (ED) 89, p. 22, dwelling 204, family 204, name; digital images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T9, roll 224.
6. State of Illinois, "Illinois Statewide Death Index, 1916–1950," database, Illinois State Archives (http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/databases.html), Ellen E Bagley (no. 0044826).
Julie is a genealogist who specializes in writing, editing, and graphic design. If you are looking for someone to help organize your family data into a book or prepare a research article for publication, Julie can help. Other services include the development of educational materials such as books/booklets, articles, and online courses. See "About Julie" for additional information.
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