Who Were They?

Up for your perusal today is another photo from the C. Murray Album. This photo is about the size of a cabinet card, so that’s what I’m calling it, although it’s not the exact dimensions of a standard cabinet card. It’s about 1/2″ shorter, and a smidge wider. The edges are also quite rough and unfinished.

The card is white with the photographer name Dewey & Dewey of Manhattan Kansas embossed on the lower edge. It was difficult to read, so when I took the card out of the album to get a better look, I was delighted to find this on the back:

So, we have another firm identification from the album, and a relation to two of our previously identified subjects. Alfred C (A.C. Streeter) has a brother named Charles A (C.A. Streeter), so this made tracing them a tiny bit challenging, but you know I enjoy a challenge! This is going to be exciting, so here we go.

Lewis A Streeter (b 1827) a farmer from Vermont, married Mary Avery (b 1833) in March 1850. They had together several children, including Charles (b 1852), Alfred (b 10-20-1853), Abbie J (b 10-6-1855), Eva (b 1856), and Arthur (b 1865). Hmm, do you recognize some names there?

By 1870, the Streeter family is living in Riley County, Kansas and was enumerated on the Federal Census as a farming family. The 1880 Federal Census has most of the right people but with radically different spellings to the names. For instance, the 1880 names are Lucius A Streator, and only Alfred and Arthur are living at home.  The next I found Alfred Streeter was on the 1885 Kansas State census, at which time he was 31, married to Almeda, and his occupation was stock raiser.

After 1885, there ceases to be information on Alfred. Of course, my thought is that he passed away sometime between 1885 and 1890 when the next census was taken.

This information resolves some of my questions about the album. It is most certainly a Streeter family album. We have seen photos of Abbie Moses nee Streeter and her family (husband George, children Clyde, Flora and Abbie); and Arthur and Kate Streeter nee Parish. Looking at all the photographs, I am now convinced that the first two photos in the album are most likely Lewis/Lucas/Lucius Streeter and his wife Mary. When I look closely at the faces, I think I am beginning to see family resemblances. This weekend, I will have another photograph and some biographical information that may explain how the album came to be in California.

I’ve posted some updated information on the identified photographs, to include birth, marriage and death dates that I have found. There’s also some other interesting information that I can’t quite connect to the family, but here goes.

• Royal C. Streeter of Vermont, had a child named Flora Streeter in 1857 and who died in 1860. Royal and Lewis may be brothers or cousins. You may remember that Abbie & George’s daughter was named Flora.
• In 1865, Alfred Streeter (probably the father of Lewis) of Vermont was assessed taxes on a carriage and on cattle brokering, totaling $13.00. The next line in the tax record is an assessment on Lucius Streeter for $2.00 on a carriage.
• A family tree I found lists the patriarch of the family as Lucas Streeter, a combination of Lucius and Lewis.

In Vermont there are numerous Streeter families, which appear to have emigrated from England. Alfred Streeter is a very popular name in England.

This is a proud Sepia Saturday submission!