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.
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.
In the Gould’s 1917 City Directory for St. Louis, Missouri, Samuel J. Lee is listed as residing at 1038 Grand View Place.
Gould’s 1917 City Directory listing for Samuel J. Lee. Ancestry.com
The family probably purchased the house sometime between 1910 and 1917, as at the 1910 census, the family was living at 4063 Chouteau, very near Sam’s store at 4067 Chouteau. (Were they possibly living over the store in those early years?)
The family was still living in this house on Grand View Place when the 1920 US Federal Census was enumerated. Samuel J. Lee, his wife Dorothy (Aiken) Lee, their son Lloyd E. Lee (later known by his middle name, Eugene or “Gene”), and Dorothy’s mother Dora J. (Russell) Aiken (she was separated from her husband, William H. Aiken) were still living in the household. Sam had his own store and worked there as a druggist, and his mother-in-law also worked there, as a saleswoman.
Dorothy (Aiken) Lee, probably in front of their home at 1038 Grand View Place, St. Louis, Missouri. (Known identification of Dorothy, per Gene Lee.)
The house was in a beautiful area- just a long block to Forest Park, the 1300+ acre park that was the site of the 1904 World’s Fair (AKA ‘Louisiana Purchase Exposition’). The park also houses the Art Museum, zoo, bandstands, picnic areas, lakes, etc., and has been a centerpiece of St. Louis life for well over a century. The surrounding homes were big for the time period, with two or three stories. Yards were fairly small since the home was in the city, but there were small trees planted on the lot to provide shade and some cooling in the relentless sun and heat of St. Louis summers.
Learning more about a house and it’s setting can help us to understand the socio-economic position of a family, their passions (gardens, yard art, etc.), their style, etc. Looking at the architectural features of a home can help us to identify unknown photos, and possibly help date them and give us clues about the people in the images.
Tomorrow: using clues from a house to help identify unmarked photos.
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.
Pahaska Tepee, Buffalo Bill Memorial Museum, Lookout Mountain, Colo.
Buffalo Bill’s memorial was a popular place. The back of the postcard description states,
“PAHASKA TEPEE ATOP LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, COLORADO
The Wm. F. Cody “Buffalo Bill” Memorial. Erected by the City and County of Denver, in honor of the noted Scout and Indian fighter, 1921. The “Tepee” contains the many relics and paintings of the famous frontiersman and was opened to the Public May 29th, 1921. From May to November 1921, 70,000 people from every corner of the globe wrote their names in the register and 280,000 visitors passed through the Museum.”
Postmarked Golden, Colorado July 1922, -PM, the card is addressed to Mrs. Sam Lee, or Dorothy Adele Aiken (1884-1953), called “Dottie” by family and friends. The Lees were living at 1038 Grandview, St. Louis, Missouri, at the time.
The note is signed, “Mother,” and if it was Dottie’s mother, she would have been Dora J. (Russell) Aiken (1864-1955); if Sam Lee’s mother, it would have been Maria Louisa (Brandenburger) Lee. I am inclined to think that if was addressed to both, “Mr. and Mrs. Sam Lee” it might have been written by Maria, but since it is only addressed to Dottie, my hypothesis is that the writer was her mother, Dora J. (Russell) Aiken.
Reverse of Buffalo Bill Memorial Postcard, 1922
The card reads:
“Wed-12. Lookout Mt
I am sending you this card from this building up pretty high but a wonderful ride up here. am feeling fine. We are leaving Friday for Estes Park. I do not know when we will leave for the Springs or Manitou. will write soon.
love, Mother”
NOTE: The handwriting under the address is my note from the 1980s that “Mother” was probably Dora Russel per Gene and Vada Lee as we looked through family treasures and discussed them. I am so thankful we did that back then!
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) Manitou was a mineral resort and at the foot of Pike’s Peak.
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.
