Genealogy Is An Adventure

Category: Every Photo Deserves A Home

  • Every Photo Deserves A Home Charles Kays & Almina Whitworth

    The holidays are approaching fast, so I am trying to reunite more photos with descendants. I found this couple at the Antique Trove in Roseville, California.

    This photo is of Charles Kays and his bride Almena Whitworth, probably taken on their wedding day, 28 March 1899, in Genesee, Idaho. I found the date in the Western States Marriage index on ancestry. The index itself is available for free here.

    Charles was born in Kansas and Almena in Alabama. In the 1900 Census, the couple lived together with her parents in Moscow, Idaho. By 1910 Charles and Almena had moved to Brawley, California and had three children by the names of Byron 9, Shirley 3 and Katherine 1 years old. In 1920 the family lived in Los Angeles, California together with four children. The youngest one, Virginia was born in 1911.

    The oldest child, Byron, was married by 1930 and lived in Los Angeles with his wife Marion. The 1940 Census shows one child, Barbara 7 years old. Byron’s Father, died suddenly in 1945 of a heart attack.

    Chino Champion

    Chino, California • Fri, Jan 19, 1945Page 1

    The obituary mentioned Byron, his sister Mrs. Edward Hays, Mrs. C.S. Connors and the youngest sibling Charles all living in the Los Angeles area. No mention of Byron’s mother. She must have died earlier.

    Byron’s only daughter, Barbara was born in 1933. I have not been able to find much more information about her, plus I do try to protect the privacy of descendants.

    Byron’s younger brother Charles Shirley Kays was born in 1907 in Arizona and died 1971 in Eureka, California. He was married twice. I found one daughter on Find A Grave.

    Byron’s sister Catherine Victoria was born 1908 in Oregon and died 1962 in California. I found her and her husband Edward Hays in the 1940 and 1950 Census with no children.

    The youngest sibling Almina Victoria was born 1910 in California. She died young just liker her sister in 1964. She was married to Cornelius Connors. I found one son in the 1950 census.

    I have found a few online family trees which I will contact first to see if they are interested in the photo.

    I have been successful with my first two attempts of trying to return photos.

    Every Photo Deservers A Home Minnie & Rose Middlebrook

    I wrote about three sisters a few months ago.

    Have you ever had the privilege of returning a photo or other mementos to strangers rather than your own family?

    Please leave comment below!

    Thank you for reading my blog and I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving which we are celebrating this Thursday here in the United States.

  • Every Photo Deservers A Home Minnie & Rose Middlebrook

    A few months ago I started a new series within my blog to find descendants for orphaned photos I find at antique malls, flea markets and thrift stores. The first one about photos of three sisters in July was successful. You can read about it here.

    Today I am trying to find a home for the siblings Minnie and Rose Middlebrook.

    The picture was taken in Galesburg, Illinois.

    The 1880 Census shows the sisters and their family living in North Henderson, Mercer County, Illinois.

    Their parents Frederick and Elizabeth, 47 and 46 years old, were born in England. Their older sister, Harriet 18 years old, was also born in England. Brother George, 9 years old, was born in the state of New York. Rosa, 4 years old and her sister Minnie 7.5 months old, were both born in Illinois. Their nephew, Marvin, was 1 year old. We now have the birth years for the sisters. Rosa was born in 1876 and Minnie in 1879.

    Rosa married Thomas J Wallace 14 January 1897 in the United Presbyterian Church, in Clayton, Illinois.

    In the 1900 census, Rose and Thomas lived in Clayton together with their 3 months old daughter, Minnie. In the 1910 census they live together on a farm in Council Grove, Oklahoma with their children Edo Minnie 10, Edward 9, and Shannon 6 years old. In the 1920 Census the family lives together in Garber, Garfield, Oklahoma. The children being 20, 19 and 16 years old.

    Starting with the oldest, Edo Minnie, she married G H Barnes in 1920 in Enid, Oklahoma.

    In the 1930 Census, Harold and Minnie Wallace, live together with their three children, Lulu R 8 and Edo 5 years old, in Cameron, Texas. Harold works for a service station. In 1940 the family lived still together in the same town. Lula Rose was 18 and Edo May 15 years old.

    Lula Rose married Otis Schleyer, 5 March 1944 in Kilgore, Texas. The newspaper had announced their wedding.

    Source: The Austin American

    Austin, Texas · Tuesday, March 14, 1944

    Lula Rose had at least 2 children and one grandchild.

    Edo May, Lulu’s sister was born 1925 in Oklahoma. She married twice, had one son, one adopted son and step children.

    Rosa Middlebrook’s second child, Edward George Wallace was born 1901 in Illinois and died 1963 in Brownsville Texas. He was married, had two sons, two daughters and 12 grandchildren. I found his obituary online as well as his death certificate.

    Source: Valley Morning Star

    Harlingen, Texas · Tuesday, July 02, 1963

    The youngest child of Rosa Middlebrook, Thomas Shannon Wallace, was born 1906 in Missouri. He married Ruth Bryant in 1940 in Oklahoma, Texas.

    The couple had at least two daughters. One them got married, however I don’t know if they had children.

    Now let’s take a look if I can find descendants of Minnie Middlebrook. She married Edward C Smith 15 February 1899 in Mercer County, Illinois. In the 1910 Census, the couple lived in Avena, Fayette, Illinois with their two children George E Smith 8 and Gladys 6 years old.

    I found George’s obituary from 1970. He married Bessie Shirkey 22 June 1921 in Libertry, Indiana. They had a daughter named Janet who married Chris Schweiger. They had three children.

    The Belleville News-Democrat

    Belleville, Illinois • Wed, Feb 18, 1970Page 2

    George’s sister Gladys was born 21 January 1904 in Illinois and married Harry Nicholson 3 February 1923 in Indiana. I found her obituary as well. Gladys died in 1983. They had three daughters, Juanita, Alice and Opal, seven grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

    Palladium-Item

    Richmond, Indiana • Wed, Oct 5, 1983Page 8

    Minnie and Rose Middlebrook both have lots of descendants. Hopefully I will make contact with one of them soon, so the girls can be returned to their family.

    Have you ever returned old photos or other mementos to strangers?

    Please leave a comment below!

  • Every Photo Deserves A Home Clara, Edith & Alice Hagerty

    I recently went to an antique mall and bought old photos of three sisters who used to live near San Jose, California. I am trying to return them to their descendants, hopefully keeping them together.

    The three girls are from left to right, Clara, Edith and Alice Hagerty. Their parents William and Theresa were owners of an orchard according to the 1900 Census.

    The girls were all born in California. Clara was the oldest, she was born in 1891, Edith in 1893 and Alice in 1896. In the 1910 Census the family still lives together in Fremont which is near San Jose. All of them were working on the farm.

    The girls’ father died 31 August 1931 in Sacramento.

    The Father had lived in Penryn. No mention of their Mother. Edith lived in Penryn, just like her father and her last name is Locklin. Clara, the oldest was living in Palo Alto near San Jose and was not married. The youngest, Alice lived in Hornbrook, Siskiyou County, California, which is north of Sacramento, near the Oregon border. From this information it’s most likely that Clara doesn’t have any descendants. I was able to find an obituary for her. She died 9 August 1982 in Santa Rosa, California.

    Now I have to focus on the other two sisters. Edith Locklin was alive in 1982 and lived in Placerville. Her sister Alice was not.

    In the 1930 Census, Edith is married to George Locklin and they have two daughters, Virginia age 8 and Delores age 7.

    Edith died in 1988 in Auburn California. I found her obituary in the Sacramento Union Newspaper. Besides her husband and her two daughters Virginia and Delores, she had eight grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. That’s good news for me trying to return the pictures to family.

    Edith’s daughter Dolores Voska died in 1994 in Grass Valley. Dolores had two daughters and five grandchildren.

    Dolores’ sister Virginia Pritchard died 2012 in Fresno. She had five children, nine grandchildren and two great grandchildren. As this obituary is more recent, I will not post it here for privacy purposes.

    Now I will take look at the youngest daughter Alice Hagerty and her possible descendants.

    Alice was married to Harry Hubert Chapman. She died very young at the age of 43, 13 July 1939 in Hornbrook, California. She was survived by her husband and three children, William, Madeline and Marilyn. I found her obituary in the Siskiyou Daily News.

    Her son William was born in 1920 and died in 2009 in Lodi, California. He had son and a daughter, however I have no names for them. I couldn’t find an obituary. Daughter Madeline married Edwin Burtner of Grass Valley in 1944.

    They had four children, Russ, Kathi, Carol and Ann. Madeline died in 2018. There is a good chance I can make contact with her family.

    Her daughter Marilyn was born in 1930 and died in 2016. She was married to Herbert Dungey in1948. Their children Mary, Jane Ann, Christopher and Eric live all over the world. Marilyn has 5 grandchildren.

    I have already contacted several potential descendants of the girls. Hopefully Clara, Edith and Alice will be reunited with their families very soon.

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    Thank You!

    Update 18 August 2025

    The photos are on their way to family!