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Mystery Monday: Maria and Blackie

Maria and Blackie. "Maria/Marcia passed on Feb. 7 (Tues.) 1935. Blackie Nov. 20 - 33" on reverse.
Maria and Blackie. “Maria/Marcia passed on Feb. 7 (Tues.) 1935. Blackie Nov. 20 – 33” on reverse.

Who is Maria?  Does this really say Maria, or is it Marcia? (Don’t know of any ‘Marcia’ in the family.)

This photo was in with Lee-Aiken family papers and photos.

The reverse:

"Marcia passed on feb. 7 (Tues.) 1935. Blackie Nov. 20 - 33" - Reverse.
“Maria/Marcia passed on Feb. 7 (Tues.) 1935. Blackie Nov. 20 – 33” – Reverse.

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 Maria Louisa Brandenburger?
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?
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.

 

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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.

Mystery Monday: Tressa Cullen and Eidlh Cullen

Tressa and Eidlh Cullen, 5 November 1937, Chicago, Illinois
Tressa and Eidlh Cullen, 5 November 1937, Chicago, Illinois

 

This photo was found in with the treasures of the Lee family. ( See “Family Trees” drop down menu or http://heritageramblings.net/family-trees/the-lee-alexander-aiken-family/ for pedigree and names, plus articles pertaining to this family.)

The back of this photo of Tressa Cullen and Eidlh Cullen states “Friends of Grandma Aiken, Nov. 5, 1937, Chicago.”

‘Grandma Aiken’ would most probably have been  Dora J. (Russell) Aiken, married to William H. Aiken, since the images were in the possession of Gene and Vada (Kovich) Lee; they may have noted the information about the picture. Dora lived in the household of her daughter, Dorothy “Dottie” (Aiken) Lee, with Dottie’s husband Samuel Lee and their son, Lloyd Eugene “Gene” Lee. Gene’s first wife Ruth Nadine (Alexander) Lee lived in the household too after their marriage in 1929, as did their son, Robert Eugene “Bob” Lee, born in 1932. Dora was listed in the 1920 and 1930 US Federal Censuses as a widow (she and her husband had separated between the 1910 census and 1917) and living with her daughter and her family.

Interestingly, Dora Aiken, who was born in 1864, died in 1935, two years before this picture was taken. Perhaps the family kept in touch with the Cullens even after Dora’s death? Or maybe the year is wrong.

Any information about these sweet ladies would be appreciated. Are  they sisters or mother and daughter? A quick search on Ancestry.com did not turn up any information.

 

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Lee Family photo collection.

 

Please contact us if you would like a higher resolution image.

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.