Post #7 - Kids

I'm still in the little mystery photo album, though I'm fairly sure now it belonged to Uncle Bill and Aunt Laura Haines (was he known more as Uncle Bill or Uncle Elmer?  I've seen both, and noticed that his grave marker reads "W. Elmer Haines."  Also, anybody know what Aunt Laura's middle name was?  The initial is N.)

Anyway, there are a number of kid photos in this album, so I was wondering, if this is Russell and Charles,

 and Charles and Russell,



 

Could these two boys in the front be Charles and Russell?  No idea who the kid in the middle might be at the moment.  I must say I prefer seeing my Grandfather running around in dirty overalls - he certainly looks happier than in the studio portrait.  Also more ornery and looking like they're up to something (if I were there I'd be smelling their hair checking for woodsmoke -- I raised two ornery boys).



 

So if we agree the blond is Charles, how about this picture below?  I say yes -- it looks enough like pictures I've seen of my Dad at that age for me to think so.

 

 And Russell? 

 Now we're veering into totally unknown territory.  This looks like a group of schoolgirls and maybe one boy there second from the right. Laura didn't teach school at all, did she?  How about Aunt Julia?  She was back in Thorofare by 1890 anyway.

 

Not at all certain about these three below.  I'm not even sure if that animal is a dog (I'm not so good with the animal identification).

 

I do know that this is a picture of Cuddles!  And young Charles, I'm pretty sure, with cat that we will name "Smokey". 

You may remember Cuddles from this photo of Aunt Julia and that we had to name the pup because ancestral pets are important too.

No clue about this group of kids, either.  I'm hoping some of you can zoom in closer -- maybe save the photos to your favorite photo editor or something.  I'm thinking these must be taken in Thorofare because of the houses set next door to each other.  I always think any blond kid is Charles, but I don't know about this one.  The tall girl could be Ruth Wilkins, daughter of Aunt Rachel (or Aunt Rady as she is known to us -- and I don't really know how that nickname is spelled -- I'm just giving a guess here) -- Rachel lived in Thorofare during this time.

 And just to give you a little mystery to sit and ponder over, I'll leave you with a photo courtesy of Cousin Christie Carson Whitehouse (Kathleen DeHart Carson's youngest daughter).  It's been labeled as to date, event and most of the people, but I'll fill you in next post.  Have fun!  --cds

Post #6 - More Photo Detective Work

Quite a while ago a very small, old photo album was handed down to me - the cover was crumbling, the photos themselves were tiny, some not more than two or three inches square.  There was no indication who the people might be, the backgrounds were unfamiliar, the time period looked to be turn of the century.  I kept it carefully wrapped in my drawer of "stuff," waiting for the day when I'd have the time to tackle my collection of family history things.  Well, I've been retired six years now and this summer I finally booted myself in the butt and have been sorting, reading, taking notes, sorting and sorting some more, talking to Chuck and Libby and Ann, reintroducing myself to Uncle Harry's DeHarts, all culminating in this blog, and maybe even some sort of printable book or something (I am all about the grandiose ideas).

So here is the album:

After I saw that picture that Chuck had of the 1908 Jackson auto,

I realized that I had seen that vehicle before, and it was in this little album:

And then cousin Laura shared a photo of Aunt Laura DeHart Haines in her wedding dress,

And Ann had this picture of Aunt Laura and Uncle Bill as a young couple,

 

and I realized that of course Aunt Laura and Uncle Bill Haines had not always looked as they appear here on the left in 1959, Uncle Harry and Aunt Mildred on the right.

 



The album is filled with sweet little photos like this one below of, I'm pretty sure, Laura DeHart and William Elmer Haines, most likely prior to their wedding in June of 1911.  These look like courting pictures to me:

 

 

 

  
 There are many other photo mysteries to unravel in this little album - I need to get more scanned and cropped.  Back soon.  --cds

Post #5 - One Photo, One Hundred Stories

Old photographs, especially group photos, are fascinating and inspire, in me anyway, nothing but questions.  Even if all of the people and the date can be easily identified, more questions come to mind -- what was the occasion, who took the photo, what sort of camera was used in those days, what kind of relationship did the people have, how nice/shabby was their clothing, what's in the background, how's the weather, what else was going on in the world.  One photo can turn into one giant story for me.  For instance.....

This little guy is our grandfather/father, Charles Thompson DeHart.  Fuzzy, I know, but I had to heavily crop just to zoom in on him.

His little face is peeking out among all the grown-ups in this great photo shared by Chuck DeHart.  Not only can we date the event by the date of the car, but also by the approximate age of Charles -- in the winter of 1908 he would have been 5 or maybe 6 if this was winter of 1909.  Close enough.

Having all the people identified is wonderful, but raises more questions.  Ann and Chuck have told me that the Griggs family were close friends and neighbors of the DeHarts in North Jersey, the Griggs farm being located in Raritan Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey (not sure if Hunterdon is considered North Jersey -- in the 1600/1700's it was considered West Jersey). 

Turns out they are related by marriage as well. These Griggs girls, Grace, Olive and Elizabeth, are all daughters (three of eight children) of Samuel and Georgana (Ent) Griggs.  Samuel Griggs was one of nine children of Aaron and Rachel (Philhower) Griggs.  Now, Rachel Philhower was the sister of our own Elizabeth Philhower, who married John V.N. DeHart (Grandpop's grandparents and parents of the original Henry/Harry A. DeHart - wearing the cap in the passenger seat).  Henry/Harry's son, Harry A. DeHart (H.A. or Uncle Harry to us and Charles' older brother) was at the wheel -- Jacksons and many autos of that era, were right-hand drive vehicles [Want to know why?  So that the driver would be stepping out of the car onto the grassy side of the road, not the muddy side.] There were only one-lane roads in those days - that's what I heard from my car guy and he should know:

(my husband Jim and his restored 1941 Dodge pickup).

Anyway the Griggs' were such good people that they took in young Ruth P. DeHart and J. Walter DeHart, the youngest of John V.N. DeHart's children after the death of their mother Elizabeth in 1872.  In the 1880 Census they are listed as "grandchildren" of Aaron Griggs but technically they were niece and nephew.

See how easy it is for me to become sidetracked by one photo?  As much as I hate to do it, I've had to limit myself on the amount of time I spend on this stuff.  I do have other interests and responsibilities!  Seriously though, I could do this all day.  --cds