IDENTIFYING AND DATING THOSE OLD PHOTOGRAPHS

     When I first started saving photos to my family tree, the photos were just mere icons. Photos improved the over all appearance of my work. I no longer just had identifications with a name, and some dates.  The photos quickly made identification that much easier for me. 

     2017 has begun, and currently my family tree has well over 20,000 names, and 2,700 photographs. I have been in more of a maintenance mode, and doing much less researcher. 

     I have been fulfilling my genealogical research itch by volunteering a couple hours a week at my local history library, transcribing death records of a city owned cemetery.   This has been extremely interesting, and rewarding, but at the same time I feel that I am intruding on the private lives of strangers. However, when I write the history of my own family, I give myself license as a family historian to dig as deep as possible, leaving no stone un-turned. 

     I recently learned how old photographs can be used as a research tool, and an additional documentation source.  I am excited by this, and will share some of my discoveries with you in this post. So, keep reading. I have come a long way in my family genealogy from barely knowing the names of my grand parents a few short years ago, to now having contact with second cousins across the Atlantic Ocean in Sweden. Quite an accomplishment! Hence the name of my blog "A LONG WAY HOME."

     I am a member of a couple genealogical societies where I am able to share my experience, and learn from others.  One such recent experience was a seminar given by The Photo Detective, Maureen Taylor author of the best-selling book "Preserving Your Family Photographs."

Maureen Taylor

Moving from the dry climate of the western United States, to the more humid climate of Texas I was getting highly concerned with the preservation of the photographs that I have; so I attended her seminar to get more education on techniques to preserving old photos.  The seminar was so much more.  One of the take-a-ways that really hit home with me was that 40% of the family photos we inherit dating from the 1850's to the late 1930's go unidentified.  These unidentified photos are usually of people who were well known, and important to the holder of the albums, and individual photos, so no identification was needed, nor labeled anywhere on, or near the photo.  This made obvious sense to me. If you have a photo of your mother lets say.  You know it is your mother, from her childhood photos, and various stages of her life.  So, you never needed, nor thought to ever identify the photos. Unfortunately for the next generation, and the next, the photos may never be identified, and might even end up in boxes of old photographs for sale at thrift and antique stores around the country.  
When you see these lost old photos lying around, pawed at by weekend antique scavengers; you might ask yourself how can these family memories end up here?  The flip side to this, is your family members who hold on to photos, and never share them with the extended family.

     Through my own trial and error. I have sent some unidentified photos off to libraries, and historical societies around the country in an attempt to identify the individuals in the photographs.   With absolutely no success, I don't recommend that approach to anyone. It is truly a waste of time, and resources.  Really the only real success I have had in the past, was posting the unidentified photographs to Ancestry.com.  That might have been in 2008.    

Audrey S. MacFarlane

My grandfather had saved a couple wallet sized photos, along with a newspaper clipping of a gentleman by the name of MacFarlane.  I had found these when I was about seven.  My father didn't know who they were, and my aunts and uncles were no more help in identifying these people. No one in my family knew who the people were, but I was intrigued by the article.  Not to mention these photos my grand father had saved of a beautiful young woman.  Was this one of his first sweethearts? I had thought to myself.  I saved the photos, and the newspaper clipping in a letter sized envelope, wrote MacFarlane on the front of the envelope, and put it away in my box of genealogy.  Remember this was way before internet, so you couldn't just Google someone.  After posting them up to the internet in 2008 they remained there until after 2012.   See, it turned out that this was Audrey MacFarlane, and her daughter was only able to contact me through Ancestry.com to identify the photos once her mother Audrey had passed away in 2012.  Security, and privacy of the living are most important to Ancestry.com.  However, you can now also see the drawback.

     I was inspired by Maureen Taylor's seminar, and the photos she has collected over the years.   She describes, and categorizes her photos by type, and in chronological order. The next two photos have been in my possession forty years.   They come from what was left of my grand father, William Rider Howie's collection.  He was a printer by trade, and a hobbyist photographer as well.  In the last years of his life he was living with his son, Donald, and our family; although W.R. Howie passed away months before I was born. After my grand fathers death a few of his photos ended up in the top drawer of my fathers dresser .  As a very young child I often would pull them out of the drawer, and look at the photos, and wonder who all the people were, and what was the occasion. The photos brought great intrigue, and interest to me as a boy.   Isn't that ironic that here I am attending a seminar, and being told the same thing.  That it is important to not only identify the people in the photo, but the date, and the occasion. 

     This photo is dated on the front lower right corner April 10. I use to think that the year was 1910, but have learned that photographers of that period use to list the month and day of the occasion.  I can now place the year between 1913 - 1915, and you will see why shortly. While large photos of unidentified people can be a real challenge, this photo was a true resource, because it turned out that many of the individuals in this 100 year old photograph are related.  In identifying old photos, Maureen recommends to start with the physical description, and location.  You can see that it was taken in front of a library.  There are four rows, the first row is seated, with three rows standing. Most likely on the entry steps to the library.  Then, can we identify anyone in the photo, and if so, what is their relationship to the person on either side of them?  As a young boy I spotted my grand father William Rider Howie in the fourth back row third in from the right.  He is turned slightly in toward the woman to his right. Likewise, she is turned slight toward him. It wasn't until much later that I was able to identify others in the photo, which in turn has helped me to narrow down the location. This photo is taken in front of an unidentified library, somewhere in Los Angeles County, California.  If you look closely we can see that most, but not all have a political button of some type pinned to their clothes. Possibly an election year.  A fact that has been more of a thorn in my side than any help in the identification process.  Over the years I have been able to identify people, and narrow in on the year of the photo, by who they were grouped with. Next, identify who you know.  

Helen Desdemonia Rider-Howie-Parker

To the left of my grand father William Rider Howie (1882 - 1965) is his mother Helen Desdemonia Rider (1857 - 1927).  From the U.S. Census 1910 I know that Albert & Helen Parker were living in Pasadena, California at 315 Howard Street.  She was married to Albert Parker (1856 - 1933), December 16, 1896 in Derby, Newport, Vermont.  In the U.S. Census 1900, they are living in Derby Line Village in Vermont. If Albert Parker is in the above photo, he is still unidentified to me at the time of this posting.  Still on the back row, and two women over from Helen is Clara Elnett 'Hand' Howie (1856 - 1919). Her spouse James Alexander Howie (1855 - 1926) was my great grand uncle, and they had an orange grove in Compton, Los Angeles County, California.  He is seen here in the third row, five in from the left. Standing to the right of James, is his daughter Flora L. 'Howie' Mayo (1885 - 1966). The family of James A. Howie moved to Compton California in 1893 when Flora was just eight years old.  She met and married Thomas Clay Mayo (1885 - 1969), November 16, 1909. He is seen here two, to the right of Flora holding little Mabel E. Mayo (1912 - 1986). Mabel was born June 10, 1912, so I knew the photo was later than 1910. You can see that the left window of the library is open. Warm enough to be springtime in Los Angeles. I would tend to believe that April 10th is correct, and again points to California, and not Canada, nor Vermont where it would be cold. Mabel appears to be approximately two-three years old. So I would guess the year at 1914-1915 based on her approximate age. That would make James A. Howie 59-60 years old.
     William must have came out to California to visit his mother, and step-father, and all the cousins as he is still the proprietor of his print shop at Derby Line Vermont in 1914-1915, and gets married to my grandmother in Vermont in 1916.  Putting a story together without facts is the pure speculation of my own.  He got married late in life, at age 34.  As a single male he could still have been drafted into WWI.  Skills as a photographer, and a printer would have been a great asset to the war effort. Possibly since he was an only son he was somehow exempt from the draft.  Moving to Los Angeles, and possibly joining the military may have taken his life in a complete different direction.  I assume it was always on his mind. At the writing of this post, I have not found a draft registration form. Sixteen years later, after the death of his wife he moves his family, and his printing business to Pasadena.
     While some of the other people in the photo have similar faces, they are unidentified at this time.  The woman seated in the front and center row, has a similar face to Helen Parker.  She could be her sister Clara or possibly even, Vera Naomi Gaines who I will identify later. If it is Clara, then the gentleman to her right is possibly Clara's spouse Robert Alexander Butterworth. Still too hard to say at this time.  The gentleman is obviously not Robert M. Howie the spouse of Vera.   I can only hope, to one day identify what library in Los Angeles this might be.  If I was to take an educated guess it would have been the Compton Library.  I come to that guess because most of the people I have now identified lived in Compton, and were active in their community.  Unfortunately on March 10, 1933 there was a devastating earthquake in Long Beach California which destroyed most of the buildings.  I had sent this photo of the gathering in front of the library to librarians in the area, with little to no response. 

My second photo is a panoramic view which I especially liked.

Green Mountain Club, May 20, 1953, Pasadena California.  William Rider Howie & Lula (Karel) Howie

What throws this photo off is that old car in the background to the left, between the trees. The clothes, and hats were more modern than that vehicle.  Upon closer examination I could also see in the center way in the distance a vehicle from the 50's.  Standing up high in the background center is William Rider Howie, along with his spouse Lula 'Karel' Howie (1884 - 1971).   They were married August 02, 1951.  So, I know this photo dates to the 1950's.   In fact though hard to see, in the bottom left had corner it appears to read Green Mt. Club 05-20-53.   I sent it off to a few clubs in the Pasadena CA area, but didn't have enough information to go on; unknown what the occasion was, or where this photo was taken.  No other people in this photo other than William & Lulu were identifiable to me.  I was able to identify Lulu through the help of my parents, and a photo of her.

Lulu 'Karel'- Hartley Howie Dec - 1944

That photo was only identified Lulu Dec. 1944.   Before marrying my grand father in 1951 she was a widow.  She was born in Omaha, Nebraska, October 16, 1884 to James W. Karel & Hannah Dvorsky.  Her father was of Czechoslovakia ancestry.  In 1944 she had just seen the death of both of her parents, and her first spouse of thirty-three years, Frank James Hartley. 

This photo also was unidentified at first.  It took me many years to work it out through use of census data, and using what I already knew, along with finding photos on Ancestry.com of others in this photo.   I could identify my great grand mother Helen Parker, and her spouse seated in the chair on the porch was Albert Parker (1856 - 1933).  I then found a photo on the internet of James Alexander Howie, and his spouse Clara Elnett 'Hand' Howie (1856 - 1919).  They are pictured here on the far left standing against the post of the porch.   Then with the two little girls (Marjorie & Mabel), I was able to distinguish that James & Clara's daughter was Flora L. 'Howie' Mayo (1885 - 1966), and the most prominent would be her spouse Thomas Clay Mayo (1885 - 1969), again holding Mabel just as he appeared in the first large group photo above.   Mabel appears to be about the same age, as does James, Thomas, and Flora.  I place a very high guess that this photo was taken by my grand father William R. Howie during his visit to California.  Thus giving me the location of the Compton farm.  My grand father took many photographs during his day, he used them to print & sell post cards back in Vermont at his print shop, and post office.  

So now lets look at all the photos I used side by side to see just how I arrived where I did.

James Alexander Howie & Clara Elnett Hand

     So obviously the center photo is a Christmas family gathering. Fairly common family photograph. Yet again, unidentified.  Again I started with who I knew, upper right Helen & Albert Parker.  Again we see the two little girls Marjorie & Mabel, although they were not able to sit as still as everyone else in the photo, their little blurry images helped with identification.  Since James A. Howie is prominent and anchored to the photo with his wife Clara on the flanking side, one would assume this is a Christmas photo from his home.  Helen Parker now has appeared in photos from April to December so I would assume this was when they were already living in California, and not just a visit.  Again we have the two children which puts the time frame between 1913 - 1915.   The photos on the far left & right are blown up from the family photo to enable me to get a clear likeness.  The two photos on either side of the family photo were provided from a cousins collection identifying James Alexander Howie & Clara Howie.   The other family in the background you can't easily make out their faces, but from census records of 1910 we know the names of the children.  Combining the names, and ages from the census record, I can then safely say that the oldest and tallest on the upper right standing next to Albert Parker is Leverette Alexander Howie; and the younger boy, back row to the left would then be Robert Maitland Howie. We have Flora visible down center with Marjorie, so that leaves Naomi Vera (Gaines) Howie standing just in front of her husband Robert Maitland behind her father-in-law James. She is holding a little boy.  Who I now know is Robert Maitland Howie Jr. (1913-2008).

James Alexander Howie Family .ca 1914-1915

I had to blown up the family photo, because I still had two unidentified people.   The two older boys standing to the right, and left of the Christmas Tree.  After narrowing down the year, I can now say with some confidence, that the boy to the right of the Christmas tree, next to Albert Parker, is Leverette Alexander Howie (1879 - 1961).   If this is in-fact, Christmas 1915.  Leverette married Femor Adele Tinker (Not pictured here), on March 28, 1916 in Los Angles California.  I am also now confidante that Robert Maitland Howie (1890 - 1926) is in the top left. While at first glance, I first thought this was my grand father, William Rider Howie.  Other elements of the photo, have disproved this thought.  Plus, I now have two new identified photos of Robert from cousins closely related to him on the Gaines family line. 

Robert Maitland Howie

Two photos of Robert Maitland Howie provided by cousin Joyce Harrington. The one on the right obviously much younger.  Looking at both of these, you can easily make out the resemblance to the family Christmas photo. He has the same dark parted hair, the prominent ears, the straight brow-line, and the full lips.  To me it looks very similar to the young man in the Christmas family photo. Do you see it, do you agree?  I know that Robert got married to Vera Naomi Gaines June 08, 1911, and they had a little boy also named Robert Maitland Howie Jr..  He was born June 14, 1913.   The ah-ha moment right!  I first thought that Annie was standing in front of her brother. That isn't Annie with an unidentified little boy.  That is Vera Naomi & little Robert.  So, that leads me to pinpoint the year to Christmas 1914, or possibly as late as Christmas 1915.   I had to get a photo of Naomi & little Robert, which I was so lucky to be able to do through a cousin found on Ancestry.com.

Robert Maitland & Naomi Howie ca. 1913

Thank you Joyce Harrington again for another photo.  You can't narrow dates any easier than to have a photo of a first baby.  Here is little Robert Maitland Howie (1913 - 2008) with his mother Vera Naomi 'Gaines' Howie.   This photo of baby Robert & mother Vera Naomi brings me to some more unidentified photos. Over the years, I have been sending around the country these next two photos in attempts to help me identify the people. I new the occasion was a wedding photo, but I did not know why my grand father had these two beautiful photos until I saw this photo of little Robert & Naomi Howie. I am now able to identify the people, and the date of the unidentified photos.  Robert Maitland Howie and Vera Naomi 'Gaines' Howie.

Robert Maitland Howie ~ Vera Naomi (Gaines) Howie, June 8th, 1911.

What I began with were these two beautiful professional photographs from San Diego California.  I know the location on account of the photographers mark, and my extensive research on the photographer, and through help from others.  Look at her hair, and look at Vera.  Look at his thick hair, the part, full lips and straight brow.  Yes, I feel very strongly that this unidentified wedding couple is that of Robert Maitland Howie & Vera Naomi Gaines.   I know that the dates would be correct. Robert & Vera were married June 08, 1911.  The photographer was actively in business, and popular at that time in Southern California.  

     I have probably made this reasoning and deduction process look way too simple, but it is not.  Having photos of unidentified people is a very painful and difficult process to identify.  If it were not for the internet, and Ancestry.com I would probably never in my lifetime been able to have identified anyone.  That is why I cannot stress more the need to safely and accurately identify each and every photo you have now, while you or someone can identify the people, location, and occasion.   Those photos that you just took during the holidays, or on last years family vacation.  You say you know who they are, but the photos go into an album and then years from now who will be around to identify them? Or worse yet, the digital images are never printed.  They are uploaded to social media, left unidentified to the world wide web or to some photo storage account.  Only you have access to the account, and only you know how you have organized the photos. This is a great way to share current photos, but a horrible way to preserve them for future generations.  We need to print out those photos, and start to identify them.  When labeling a photograph, Maureen Taylor says start with the name, and date of the photo.  Then include where the photo was taken, and the occasion, and finally put your name; who identified, or took the photo.  For current photos, anything newer than 1930 where the photo is printed on a smooth surfaced paper you will need to use a special pen. The Zig Memory System pens are currently the best option. They are made of archival-quality pigment ink. Fade-proof, waterproof, non-bleeding, and acid-free (pH 7.0 or higher). They ensure long life for crafts, scrapbooks, and other artistic endeavors.  She says if you have photos prior to 1930 to use a soft #6 lead pencil and write on the back of the photo.   If you want to learn more you may buy her book, or check out her website at: Maureen Taylor

     The way in which Ancestry.com currently works, you cannot see the family connections of anyone living.  This was implemented to protect the identities of the living.  So, we must wait until someone has passed away, and hope that a family member or other relative has updated, and added photos of them.  This has been working, but you can see this is slower than waiting for the government to release the data for the next census.  Where am I going you ask?  Well, Robert Maitland Howie Jr. died in 2008.   I didn't even know that this branch of cousins even existed until Joyce Harrington listed him with a date of death.  Then it was not until other photos started to surface, and connections from other trees were made.  Distant cousins began to contact me, and then and only then was I was able to piece together the photos which I had, and posted above. 

     Now lets look at another photo which was one of my first attempts to identify, but boy did I get it wrong in the beginning.  It has been a work in progress, and I still don't know with confidence, that I am able to identify everyone in this wedding photo.

Wedding of William Rider Howie & Ruth Augusta England August 19, 1916, Vermont.

     The above photo above is actually very small. It measures approximately 1 X 2 inches. I had to have it professionally blown up, just so I could see the people. Again, where do we start to identify? Occasion, and location.  By looking we can identify this is a wedding.  Then with those we know.  I know my grand father William Rider Howie (WRH) by sight, so I can identify his bride, and the date of the photo.  But I needed to identify the man and woman who stood in at their wedding which was held on August 19, 1916.  My first thought would be that your parents would be at your wedding, and they would stand in. So, I first thought that the man was the father of the groom, William George Howie, and the woman was the mother of the bride, Nettie Martha Smith.  I had this photo identified this way for a very long time. Ignorance was bliss you might say.  I didn't know much about my great-grand father William George Howie at the time.   As I learned more about William George Howie (1856 - 1895), I learned that he had a very short life.  For some reason, I still didn't realize his date of death was way before WRH was old enough to get married.  Once I figured out that my Great Grand Father had a very short life my curiosity wanted to know the reason why.  Through more research into his death, I learned he died of arthritis, and was in chronic pain most of his adult life, and walked with a cane.  Then it dawned on me, the man in this wedding photo does not have a cane.   I then changed my thought process.  I thought well who else would stand in at a wedding in 1916?  Knowing custom and tradition, a bridesmaid is often the sister of the bride I thought to myself. I began to look at Ruth's siblings.  Well, Ruth had four brothers, and only one sister.  Her sister was Esther Margaret England (1898 - 1971).  

     In 1916, Esther would be 18.  Yes, looking at the photo that could be Esther, a young 18 year old bridesmaid.  I got the next two photos from my sister recently that were past down from Merrick Belknap (1922- unk).  He was a life long friend of Gordon P. England, one of Ruth's younger brothers, and my grand uncle. (See prior blog post)  In those photos was a family photo with Gordon, Esther & their father, my great grand father, Clarence Philo England (1870 - 1953).

Clarence Philo England, Gordon P. & Esther England holding a hunting rifle.

Both Gordon Phillip England (1901 - 1992), and Esther Margaret England (1898 - 1971) wore glasses.  This was helpful.  The unidentified woman standing in the wedding photo is also wearing glasses.  One, and the same, this was Esther M. England in that wedding photo, standing in as brides-maid.  But the unidentified man is older, and Ruth did not have any living siblings older than her.  W.R.H. was an only child. Unfortunately, the male must remain unidentified at this time.  Or does he? I can now say for certain it is not, William George Howie, the father of William Rider Howie, and my great grand father.  How about Ruth & Esther's father? Could it be him? Reverend Clarence Philo England.  Yes!  I believe now, that it was him. I look at the ears, the nose, the chin. These are all very similar in all three photos which I have posted here. 

Rev'd. Clarence Philo England

(Update: May 2020) Well, I was still wrong! I discovered a wedding announcement in the newspapers. It mentions that the bride was attended by her sister and the best man was Mr. John Holland of Stanstead. I have briefly researched Mr. John Holland, and it turns out he too was a printer.  So, he probably new or worked with my grand father, William Rider Howie.

I have yet to put a date to this photo above.  Hopefully once I learn more from Maureen Taylor's books, I will be able to figure out a date.  I look at this photo, and that of the one above with Gordon, and Esther, and I feel confident that this young man was my great grand father, Reverend Clarence Philo England, and also the tall unidentified man in the wedding photo.  He was a prominent minister in Quebec, and Vermont, and active in the community.  I have found much written about him, and am sure that one day soon, another photo will appear somewhere on the internet to help me further confirm the identification of these photo's, as my Great Grand Father. 

These next photographs are called tinype, also known as melainotype, or ferrotype.  These are the oldest photographs that I have.  I have blown them up, and digitally restored them myself to the best of my ability using Photoshop.

Unidentified - Pos: William George Howie on left.

So, this brings me to my first tintype.  Tintype photos are exciting, and collectible.   Before the seminar by Maureen Taylor I thought tintype photos were very old.  While they are old,  I learned from her they came into high production after ca. 1856.  Well, it just happens that my great grand father William George Howie (1856 - 1895), was born December 17, 1856.  I know of his health issues, and that he walked with a cane.  The gentleman seated to the left of this photo appears to me to have a cane, and has the deep set eyes that us Howie's are known for.   Is this William George Howie?  Maybe! This tintype, and one other I remember them being in my fathers' top dresser drawer sliding around with keys, coins, tie clips & pins, and many other metal objects which scratched them up over the years.  Were these photographs passed down? Did his father William Rider Howie hold on to this photo to remember his own father? Could be! The second tintype is of a little boy. I can only assume was taken at the same time, same location.  As you can see in the first image.  The photo is very small, and damaged.  The second image I have blown up, and a friend helped to restore.

This tintype photo was all scratched up, because I use to play with it as a child, and my father left it sliding around loose in the dresser drawer. The boy looks to be about 5-6 years old.  From the 1881 Census of Canada we find that William George Howie, Store Clerk, was living in the same household with spouse Helen D. Howie, and T. Byron Rider.  No children yet appear.  I know that WRH was born January 15, 1882.  Is this five or six year old little cowboy, William Rider Howie? I guess that is possible. Unfortunately, I can't confirm if the two tintype photos are of the same age, or if one is twenty years older, or younger.  What I have learned, is that tintypes were produced for many years.  My wild guess at this time would be that this little boy is William Rider Howie.  That would date this photo to 1887-1888.  If it was older, and that of William George Howie the date would be 1861-1862.   I must then refer back to the photo expert Maureen Taylor, and her books.  Looking at her

photos from the 1860's little boys had long pants. Short pants do not appear on little boys until the 1870's.   During the 1880's I predominantly find little boys standing in short pants.  Also in this period I began to see many more photos where men are seen appearing in

William George Howie

photos together with other men.   I will have to learn more, but at this time I think these two tintypes may have been taken at the same time, or at least the same period; in the late 1880's.   That is if the probability that these are both Howie's, which they strongly appear to me to be.  I would like to think that the older one is my Great Grand Father William George Howie, and the little boy dressed as a cowboy is my Grand Father William Rider Howie. 

There is no way at this point to identify the other man in the photo. If I could that would also help me to prove, or disprove the identity.  They appear to be about the same age.  The man on the right is a little bit better dressed in my opinion.  William George Howie occupation was listed as clerk working in the general store.  Was he working for the England brothers, or the Rider brothers?  Could that be Hamilton Milford Rider?  Someday I may be able to prove that, but not today.  I do know that Hamilton & his older brother Timothy Byron Rider were grain & feed merchants, and owned the mill together.  In the 1881 Census of Canada, we can see that William & Helen lived in the same household as T.B. Rider.  The gentleman seated on the right holding the dog in his lap just possibly could be Hamilton M. Rider.  I will have to ask my Rider cousins if they have a photo of Hamilton M. Rider.  Until then, you will have to look at the above photos, and make your own guesses.  But before we move on, take a second look at the first tintype, the gent on the right with the dog.  Then look at this next photo where I have identified Claude Percy Rider.  I see a family resemblance. Do you?

Claude Percy Rider & William Rider Howie

     I know that I have posted this photo before, but it has always been one of my favorites.  I got this photo before the age of ten.  I had just started my genealogy adventure, and was learning the old fashioned way; through letter writing.  I had ordered a Vermont phone book through the mail, and was able to locate a Minnie Rider living in Canada.  I wrote to her, and discovered not only was she related she was my first cousin.  I never heard from Minnie Rider again.  It turned out she had died not long after writing.  Here is her obituary posted in The Stanstead Journal. I was close to my aunt Dorothy (Howie) Lecka, and told her of my quest.  She told me that when William Rider Howie died in 1965 she had sent out notices to all of the family announcing his death. She informed me that Minnie Rider had written her back, she would look for the letter.  My aunt found the letter, and gave it to me, and inside were two photos.  This one of William and his cousin Claude, and one of Minnie Rider & Her daughter Madelyn.   If I was able to identify the year of the vehicle, that would make it easy to identify the year it was taken.  Claude Rider was older by a little bit, and he got married in 1914.  William was married in 1916.  Looking at the photo we can't see if either has a wedding band, so that thought process didn't work.  Or does it?  Looking back at the wedding photo of William & Ruth, William looks older in this photo.  So, maybe this is after 1916.   WWI was 1916-1917, then the Spanish Flu epidemic, so I don't think he was buying a new car at that time.  I look to other photos.

William R. Howie & Ruth A. Howie & Baby Dorothy Howie

Merrick Belknap came through again.  He had this photo of William, Ruth & baby Dorothy.  Dorothy (Howie) Lecka ( 1926 - 2008).  That dates this photo to ca. 1927.  Williams hair, and the age of his face looks about the same as it does in the photo with him and his car.  Ruth died in 1935, and the remaining family moved to California.  This way I have narrowed down the date between 1927 - 1935.  It would sure help if I knew more about the car.

Ruth Augusta England-Howie ca. 1930

Mounted photo approx 5 X 6.  The victory garden.  Badly aged, and faded. From her hairstyle, length of dress and the family victory garden, we can place this photo ca. 1930's I would think.  Probably one of the last photos of my grand mother Ruth A. Howie before her death in 1935. Location would have to be in Beebe Vermont.

Claude Percy Rider ca. 1905-07

This is possibly a school photo. I know that it is Claude Percy Rider (1889 - 1949).  If it is a school photo, he would be 16-17 years old. So, I would place the date around 1905-07. 

William Rider Howie

William Rider Howie, date unknown. It is older than his school photo, possibly time of wedding ca. 1916. 

William R. Howie class photo ca. 1898-99

A class photo of William Rider Howie.  Possibly 16-17 years old, making the photo ca. 1898-99.   From using Maureen Taylor's book, looking at the long dresses, and the boys with center parts, the date could be late 1890's - 1902.  At this time I have no documents to help identify a class photo.  I can only identify my grand father William Rider Howie, back row, on the right.

I thought about continuing, but I think you get the idea that we should all be working on preserving those family photos.  Get them identified, and share on the internet so others might also be able to identify their family photos.  Scroll back up to the top, and click on the link to Maureen Taylor, and learn more if you are interested in how you too can learn to identify old photographs.