Unknown children on the trail with donkeys, probably in Colorado circa 1920.
These images were in an old photo album with Lee family ephemera. We believe the primary woman in the photos with the flat-topped hat is Dora J. (Russell) Aiken, as there is a postcard from there written to “Mrs. Samuel Lee,” who would have been Dora (Aiken) Lee. It was signed “Mother.” Alternatively, it could be Louisa M. (Brandenburger) Lee (1859-19340) sometimes called Maria Louisa Brandenburger (German folks swapped first and middle names back and forth), Samuel J.’s mother who married Samuel Lenton Lee (1849-1932), but we do not have a known image of her to compare. Seems like if it was Louisa, she would have included her son and written to “Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Lee.” So I am betting on Dora J. Russell being the woman in these pictures.
If anyone has these same or similar pictures, please use our “Contact Us” form or leave a comment so we can compare and share! We are very interested in more information about these photos.
Click on any of the images to enlarge.
In Yellowstone Park, Aug-Sep 1921:
Unknown Lee or Aiken- possibly Dora (Russell) Aiken in Yellowstone Park, Aug 1921.Aiken or Lee relatives? Sep 1921.Aiken or Lee Family- Colorado? Aug 1920.Aiken Family? Yellowstone Park, 10 Aug 1921.28 Aug 1923- Denver Lookout Mountain. Aiken family?
Buffalo Bill’s gravesite was a popular place to visit:
Buffalo Bill’s Grave, Colorado. Aiken family?Buffalo Bill’s Grave, Colorado. Aiken family?Buffalo Bill’s Grave, Colorado. Aiken family? Claude Aiken at fence?Possibly at Buffalo Bill’s grave in Colorado, Aikens? Possibly Dora J. (Russell) Aiken on right.
Unknown places in Colorado(?):
Probably Colorado around mid 1930s, and possibly Lloyd Eugene “Gene” Lee with his son, Bobby Lee.
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) Family photo treasure chest.
Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images.
Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.
We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post, and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
This image was in the Lee family papers and photos. From the surrounding images, these folks could be part of the Sam Lee family, or Brandenburger, Aiken, Russell, or ? family.
Please contact us if you have this same image or know who the people might be in this photo.
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) Photo from the Lee family treasure chest.
Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images.
Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.
We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post, and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
Section of page 2 in Edith Roberts’ college scrapbook with sorority invitations. Edith was attending college about 1919- very few women were enrolled at the University of Iowa (in Iowa City) in those days. (Apologies for the poor copy- it was a photocopy back in the days before scanners.)
“As a means of creating and communicating self, … scrapbooks operate in much the same way that popular forms of social media do for students today.”
Ms. Hoarn continues in her article to discuss how scrapbooks served the same purpose years ago as Facebook does now- to allow communication between family and friends and give a sense of who the person was at a certain point in their life.
Scrapbooking- and by extension the paper ephemera passed down that we family historians so cherish- is also an act of curation, Ms. Hoarn explains.
12 June 1892- Will McMurray’s Graduation program from Newton High School, Newton, Iowa.
She compares this collecting of text and images to Pinterest and Tumblr sites that showcase interests, passions, and events. Whether neatly organized onto boards on Pinterest or into a scrapbook, autograph book, photo album, diary, or even a shoebox, most of what we have inherited has been culled through generations to be the most important ephemera of a life. If we are lucky, we may even have commentary attached to give us more insight into a life.
“Heap good shot. Ketch plenty fish.” Probably William Hanford Aiken about 1910, when he was living in Florence, Colorado with his family.
Instagram, of course, is today’s electronic version of the photo album and if we are REALLY lucky, our old images will also be “tagged” with names, dates, and places.
Mabel Mulhollen is written on the back, Nov. ’28 [1928] on the front. Sadly no place clues for this photo.A caption can touch our hearts or give us a giggle- sometimes both at the same time.
About 1929? Edward A. McMurray, from his own photo album in which he wrote the captions, created in the late 1940s as he was preparing to get married.
As one who laments the passing of paper and worries what treasures will be left for the next generations to cherish in their even more ephemeral electronic world, I truly treasure the scrapbook, photo albums, and shoe boxes of photos and papers left by our ancestors. I am so glad that we do have ways of sharing the old-timey via new technology, though, so all can gain a bit more insight into those who have gone before.
2) In the near long ago, boys graduated to long pants as they matured- a rite of passage that was longed for by many, much as our generation cannot wait until we can drive.
3) While searching for appropriate pictures for this post, I found the above image of Mabel- we have a younger picture of her that until this moment we thought was the only one- see Mystery Monday: Mabel Mulhollen. She may be more important in our family than we realized since there is more than one photo of her. We can also use this photo of her at an older age to compare to other family images from the same time period that include people we do not know. Is she family or part of the FAN Club? More research needed.
4) FAN Club= Friends, Associates, Neighbors; researching these folks can help us learn more about our ancestors.
5) The Newton (Iowa) High School Class of 1892 included Lillie Brown, Ella Clarkson, Marie Hass, Henry Jasper, Fred Kennedy, Belle Lambert, Artie McKinley, Willie McMurray, Hettie McCord, Fred Meredith, and Lillian Patten.
Here are some other pictures that were in the same group. Vada (Kovich) Lee (second wife of Gene Lee, and she also lived in the Alamo house), had originally said this was Dottie Lee, but then decided it was not. She believed it to be an older version of the sunroom on Alamo, the Lee family household for generations in St. Louis, Missouri. She was unsure as to who it was, as she had not known Gene’s grandparents.
Unknown woman- possibly same as above? Maria Louisa Brandenburger?
One possibility is that it is Maria Louisa (or Louisa Maria- Germans switched their two names about and were often called by their middle name) (Brandenburger) Lee. Maria was married to Samuel Lenton Lee, and their eldest child was Samuel J. Lee, who owned the home on Alamo. Samuel L died in June of 1932, so Maria would have been a widow after that, and possibly lived with her son or other children, or just made extended stays to St. Louis from their original home in Bunker Hill, Illinois. Maria died 06 May 1934 in Bunker Hill, not the 07 Feb 1935 as noted on the back of the first picture, but memories written on the back of pictures are not always accurate.
Unknown woman, possibly Maria Louisa Brandenburger Lee or Minnie Schoor?
Could this be the same woman? We don’t know for sure who she is either. It would be great to find someone with these same images!
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) Lee Family Treasure Chest, reviewed with Gene and Vada Lee in the 1980s.
Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images.
Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.
We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post, and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
Samuel J. Lee family home at 1038 Grandview, St. Louis, Missouri, October 1922.
Details of a house can give one clues to pictures with no names, addresses, or dates. The first picture in this post was positively identified by Gene Lee as being their Grand View home, and he identified his mother and the place in the image below. From there we need to make educated guesses about other images in a photo album that look similar.
Dorothy (Aiken) Lee, probably in front of their home at 1038 Grand View Place, St. Louis, Missouri. (Known identification of Dorothy.)
Things we know about this house:
1) It has large white rectangular stones along foundation.
05 Aug 1923, outside 1038 Grand View Place. Unknown woman.
2) The house has brick above the foundation, probably a red brick.
3) There are arched bricks over lower windows of the house in the basement.
4) The house has a basement.
5) Lattice surrounds the base of the porch.
April 1918, outside 1038 Grand View Place, St. Louis, Missouri. Possibly Dora Russell Aiken, who lived with her daughter’s family.
6) A wooden railing with columns surrounds the porch.
7) Height of porch is about 4 feet.
1920, Lloyd Eugene “Gene” Lee at 1038 Grandview, St. Louis, Missouri. He was about 13 in this photo.
8) The front porch has wide steps.
1922- 1038 Grand View Place. Probably Dorothy (Aiken) Lee.
9) It looks like the wild vegetation was cleared back and columns made bigger on the porch- note differences from first image, but others of these images were verified by Gene Lee (who lived there)- he said they were 1038 Grand View Place.
10) There is a lone tree at the base of the steps.
11) A narrow sidewalk curves around the side of the house.
April 1918, outside 1038 Grand View Place, St. Louis, Missouri. Possibly Dora Russell Aiken, who lived with her daughter’s family.
11) The house appears to be on a cul-de-sac.
12) Using Google maps and street view, we can see that there is a large two-story building nearby (currently a school and may have been in the 1920s as well), plus a house nearby that has a third story window that is the maximum height for its width in the gable. (This house seems to have been demolished; the freeway is very close by now and the road was terminated.)
Using these clues, there are other images in the Lee photo album that were most probably taken at 1038 Grand View Place. Knowing who lived in the house at certain times can help us narrow the possibilities of the persons in the pictures.
May 30, 1924, Decoration Day probably in front of 1038 Grand View Place, St. Louis, Missouri. Dorothy (Aiken) Lee on left?April, 1918. Possibly Dorothy (Aiken) Lee in front of their home at 1038 Grand View Place, St. Louis, Missouri. Note similar house next door.Possibly Dora J. Russell on left with unknown woman. Probably in front of 1038 Grand View Place, St. Louis, Missouri, in the 1920s.Possibly Dora J. (Russell) Aiken at 1038 Grand View Place, St. Louis, Missouri, May 1923.
The Lees had moved on to 6704 Alamo by the time of the 1930 US Federal census.
The house is still standing, and is listed on Zillow.com as being 1,444 sq. ft. with one bathroom, built in 1908. It is located near Clayton and Berthold Streets on Grandview Place (now ‘Grand View’ is one word instead of two). Due to Google’s Terms of Service I cannot post an image of the house, but if you click here, it should take you to the image.
![Mabel Mulhollen is written on the back, Nov. '28 [1928] on the front.](https://i0.wp.com/heritageramblings.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Mabel_mulhollen.jpg)
