Who Were They?

Lost and forgotten photos from the past

This is a wonderful image of Minerva Walton Baker. You would think with a great name like Minerva it would not be too difficult to find her in genealogy websites, but the fact is, in Pennsylvania, there were both Minerva Bakers and Minerva Waltons. I can find several female children named Minerva Baker, and several …

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This photo was helpfully identified as Caroline Salt Babcock, the mother of Sarah Babcock Woods, who was the mother of Caroline Woods Bush. Hopefully someone will be searching for this lovely lady as I found quite a bit of information on these three names. Caroline Salt Babcock – born 1855, New York, married to Marcus …

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Up for consideration today is a portrait of Mr Milo Biler – updated: Biles. He was identified on the reverse of the image as having been born Feb 9, 1853, died Mar 16, 1890. With the birth and death dates, you would think I could find more information on him, but Mr Biler is surprisingly …

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Today’s attractive young lady is showing off an interesting necklace. I have seen similar shaped necklaces on other cabinet cards and CDVs, so I assume this was a fashion trend in the 1880s. Note her brooch – a cameo? – above the necklace, and above that the ruffled collar. It feels a tiny bit Elizabethan, …

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