FINALLY~I have figured out the calendar dates in this photo! A great way to end the year

 

This is the original photo as it looked after I scanned it years ago.  This would have been at my great grandmother, Mae Gould's home in Detroit, Michigan

What are the dates on these two calendars?

For many years I have had this photo of my Dad, Harry Norman Gould and his grandma, Mae Eve Thorp Gould, holding calendars.

I have tried to see the month and year on these calendars, but been unable to clear them up enough to do so.  I used my Photo Shop Elements as well as My Heritage photo enhancement, but the month and year were still not clear.

Then today, it suddenly dawned on me.  Why don’t I use the calendar feature in my Legacy program and try to match the calendar configurations with those in the photo? 

My suspicion has always been that these calendars had something to do with 1924, which was the year my great grandfather, William V. Gould (1859-1924) died.  He was the husband of the woman in the photo.  My Dad would have been 11-12 yrs old at the time, depending on the dates.  Based on other photos I have of him, this picture would be about that same time.

Lo and behold, I went to the Legacy calendar feature and started going through 1924, month by month and seeing which one matched either of the calendars.  I use the Legacy calendar feature very often, probably at least once a week. It is quite useful in my research.

FINALLY, I located it – DECEMBER 1924.  Then I looked at JANUARY 1925 and it matches the other calendar perfectly.

December 1924 on the left and January 1925 on the right - they match up perfectly with the images in the photo

So, there it is.  My great grandmother, Mae is holding the December 1924 calendar and my Dad is holding the January 1925 calendar.  Now that I've figured it out, you can zoom in and see the word at the top of my Dad's calendar looks like January. Perhaps they were saying goodbye to 1924, a sad year for the family, and welcoming the new year?  Another thought.  My Dad's 12th birthday would have been December 31, 1924.  Were they commemorating that? 

Happy dance here.

TIP – Never give up on solving photo mysteries.  I cannot tell you how many times I’ve gone back to a photo I’ve looked at over and over again, and finally figured out who was in it.  Or, in this case, what the dates were in the image. 

Do you have mystery photos?  I’d love to see them.

And, Happy Birthday to my Dad who was born 110 years ago tomorrow.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2022   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

 

FRIDAY FINDS ~ My Dad’s World War II Draft Registration Card–1940, Detroit, Michigan

My Dad was born on the last day of 1912.  I had always wondered why I couldn’t locate a World War II Draft Registration card for him.  I thought they had all been put online.  After all, I found the registration cards for my grandfather’s, uncles etc.

 

It turns out that all the images for this record set were not online.  Who knew?  Randy Seaver wrote about this in his Genea-Musings blog.

Off I went to see if I could find this record for my Dad.  Sure enough, there it was. U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 - Harry Norman Gould

This record gives me a little more information about my Dad and his first wife, Elaine.  The address listed here, 18286 Ferguson, Detroit, Michigan, is different than the address listed in the 1940 census.  The date of this registration is 16 Oct 1940.  The 1940 census is dated 16 Apr 1940 and this couple is living at 12892 Faust Ave., Detroit, Michigan.  They are said to have been at that address in 1935, as well.  So, between April & October 1940, they had moved.

  

What information is available on this record?

Serial Number 3106, Order Number 1217

Harry Norman Gould

18286 Ferguson, Detroit, Wayne, Mich.

Telephone VE 5-7622

Age 27 years

Place of birth – Detroit, Mich.

Date of birth – 12-31-12

Country of citizenship – U.S.

Name of person who will always know your address – Mrs. Elaine Gertrude Gould, wife

Address of that person – 18286 Ferguson, Detroit, Wayne, Michgan

Employer’s name – Wayne County Auditors

Place of employment – County Bldg., Detroit, Wayne, Mich.

Race – white

Height – 6’ 1 1/2”

Weight – 183

Eyes – Blue

Hair – Brown

Complexion – light

Scars – None

If I didn’t already know my Dad’s physical description, this is certainly a wonderful source.

Here is a screenshot courtesy of Google Maps showing the home at 18286 Ferguson.  I wonder what it looked like in 1940?

  

I enjoy collecting signatures from as many ancestors as possible.  I already have my Dad’s from a later record.  How much had it changed over the years?

Left signature from 1940 and right from 1971

What interesting or unknown information have you found in the various draft card registration files?

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2020   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

SUNDAY’S OBITUARY ~ Lucille M. Croft Beach–My father’s former sister-in-law

Published in the News-Journal 23 Dec 2003

Lucille M. Croft was the sister of my Dad’s first wife, Elaine Croft.  They were the children of Alexander Croft and Rachel Sinclair.  Lucille was born 8 Jul 1921 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan.

When I was growing up my Dad loved to tell stories.  A lot of his stories included his best friend, Robert “Bob” Beach.  As it turns out Bob Beach and his family lived right next door to my Dad and grandparents on Whitney Ave. in Detroit, Michigan.  My Dad and Bob Beach went to the same high school, Northwestern, in Detroit.

And, guess who else went to Northwestern High School.  Yup, Elaine and Lucille Croft.

 

My Dad-H. Norman Gould-1933

Robert Beach-1931

Elaine Croft - 1936

Lucille Croft - 1939

One more thing about these four.  My Dad married Elaine Croft in 1936, just after she graduated from high school.  And, his best friend Bob Beach married Lucille Croft on 10 Jul 1942 in Detroit, Michigan.  So these two sisters married best friends.

Here is the photo from my Dad & Elaine’s wedding day in 1936.  And, there’s Bob Beach and Lucille Croft with them.  Best man and maid of honor?  I don’t know for sure, but it seems highly likely given the matching corsages & boutonnieres. 

Lucille and Bob had one daughter, Cheryl.  I know my nieces all remember their grandaunt, Lucille and her husband Bob, very well.  And, they used to play with their cousin, Cheryl.

We moved away from Detroit when I was 7 years old.  Sadly, I don’t remember meeting Bob or Lucille.  I don’t know much more about her life, than what I’ve shared here.  From what my niece remembers, Lucille had two grandsons, born to her daughter Cheryl.

I did create a FindAGrave memorial for Lucille, which you can visit here #15867948.

Here is the transcription of the obituary:

Lucille M. Croft Beach
Mt. Gilead - Lucille M. Croft Beach, 82, died Sunday, Dec. 21, 2003 in Morrow County Hospital.
Funeral services will be held in Snyder Funeral Home, Mount Gilead, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2003, at 2 p.m.  Friends may call one hour prior to the services. Burial will be at Oakview Cemetery in Royal Oak, Mich.
Condolences may be expressed at www.snyderfuneralhomes.com

If you have any additions or corrections to this post, please let me know.  And, if you are related to anyone mentioned here, please contact me, I’d love to hear from you.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

WEDDING WEDNESDAY ~ Detroit Free Press Newspaper Finds

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

SEPIA SATURDAY ~ Today’s theme is STUDIOS : BACKGROUNDS : GROUPS : HATS–I had so many photos to choose from

WHAT IS SEPIA SATURDAY?
“Launched by Alan Burnett and Kat Mortensen in 2009, Sepia Saturday provides bloggers with an opportunity to share their history through the medium of photographs.  Historical photographs of any age or kind (they don’t have to be sepia) become the launchpad for explorations of family history, local history and social history, in fact or fiction, poetry or prose, words or further images.”

My grandmothers, great grandmothers and aunts, all wore hats.  Some of them were born in the mid to late 1800’s and came of age at the turn of the 20th century.  Hats were all the rage back then.  This trend continued into the 1950's.  The men also wore hats.  In fact, I had so many pictures of my ancestors in hats, it was difficult to choose which ones to use.

My paternal grandmother, Marie Lindsay Gould had her photo taken with hats on more than one occasion.  I didn’t know my grandma until she was in her 60’s.  By then it wasn’t fashionable to wear hats.  I wonder if she missed those times?
 
Marie Lindsay Gould, her sister Ellen Lindsay Pickard and their husbands.

Marie Lindsay Gould, my paternal grandmother

Fred Pickard, his wife, my grandaunt Ellen Lindsay, my grandfather, Harry Gould and my grandmother Marie Lindsay Gould

My grandaunt, Ellen Lindsay Pickard

Now to my maternal grandmother and great grandmother.  Florence Hunter Bowden Bell is my great grandmother.  Born in 1869 in Kentucky and died in 1946 in Missouri.  She had two daughters, the oldest, a name sake, Florence Lee Nora Bowden (my grandmother) and Edna Mabel Bowden.
 
Here’s my grandmother, Florence Bowden Milne, about 1909, with her little girl Dorothy and her son Robert.  Notice that all of them are wearing hats.

My maternal grandmother, Florence Bowden Milne with her first two children, my Aunt Dorothy (1907-1920) and my Uncle Robert (1909-1969)

Here is my great grandmother, Susan Gillespie Milne Smith (1860-1947) and her daughter, Irene Milne (1893-1989) showing off their hats.

My maternal great grandmother, Susan Gillespie Milne Smith

My grandaunt, Irene Milne, daughter of Susan Gillespie Milne

In times past newspapers would take pictures of people walking in downtown areas and publish them.  I don’t know how many of you have photos like these?  If you do, please share.

Here’s my great grandmother, Florence Hunter Bowden Milne Bell, mentioned above and her daughter, my grandmother, Florence Bowden Milne standing downtown together.  And a separate one of my great grandmother, in foreground.  I don’t know if these were taken in Detroit (that’s the most likely place), but they could have been elsewhere.

My grandmother, Florence Milne with her mother (my great grandmother) Florence

My great grandmother Florence Hunter Bowden Bell

I’ve covered groups and hats.  Let’s post one of my favorite photos of my grandmother, Florence Bowden Milne sitting in a studio in a rocking chair.  Her Aunt, Grace Hunter married Charles Henry Fenner.  He and his brothers, Nicholas & William Fenner owned a couple of photo studios in Ohio.  Many of the pictures I have from my family have the Fenner studio name on them.  I feel very fortunate to have had a photography studio connected with my family.

My grandmother, Florence Bowden

Let’s not leave the men out of this story.  They wore hats too.  Here are both my grandfathers and my Dad sporting their hats. And lastly, my great grandfather William Val Gould (1859-1924), always debonair.

My maternal grandfather, Joseph A. Milne - circa early 1950's

My paternal grandfather, Harry W. Gould - circa 1912

My Dad, Harry Norman Gould in front of the house I was brought home to when I was born 16814 Winston, Detroit, MI

My paternal great grandfather, William V. Gould circa 1920

I had to stop here or I could go on all day with this particular theme.  Thanks for enjoying these memories with me.

TO SEE OTHER SEPIA SATURDAY POSTS, PLEASE CLICK HERE

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

HERE’S WHY I THINK MY DAD WAS 20 YEARS OLD WHEN HE GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL IN 1933?

My Dad - Harry Norman Gould

Most of us assume that graduation age for high school is age 17 or 18.  Right?  There are exceptions.  If a child is particularly bright and graduates early  If a child was held back due to grades or illness, perhaps they would graduate at an older age.

Let’s discuss my Dad, Harry Norman Gould.  I have always known his birthday, 31 Dec 1912.  Born on New Year’s Eve.  We celebrated his birthday, along with a new year, every year.  That would mean he probably graduated high school in 1930 or 1931.  However, I had never located a high school yearbook for him and had no school records.

FINALLY,  (after a dozen years of searching) I found my Dad’s high school yearbook picture.  Thank you to MyHeritage for having this yearbook collection for Northwestern High School in Detroit, Michigan, for this particular year.  I had done this search on Ancestry many times, but not located the yearbook.  It is still not available on that site.  One more reason for me to be happy I signed up for MyHeritage recently.  Yes, I still have my Ancestry subscription too.

My Dad's yearbook page

To my surprise, I found my Dad in a 1933 yearbook.  And there was the handsome portrait photo I have always had for him.  My grandmother wrote the date 1933 on it.  I never thought it was a high school photo, because I “assumed” he graduated in 1930 or 1931. 
 
Here’s his birth certificate from Michigan.  I sent for this record back in 2005. Every item on this certificate except for one, coincides with all I know about my Dad and what I’ve gathered in evidence to support that.
 
The one exception is his father’s name being listed as Henry W. Gould instead of Harry W. Gould.  I have learned that Harry and Henry are often interchangeable from one record to the next, so that exception doesn’t bother me.
 
Please click on any image to enlarge it. 
 


This certificate tells me the following:
Date Filed – December 13, 1920
State File Number – 121-582-0015973
Child’s Name – Harry Norman Gould
Date of Birth – December 31, 1912
Gender – Male
Child’s Birthplace – Detroit, Wayne, Michigan
Mother’s Name Before First Married – Marie Lindsay
Mother’s Birthplace – Michigan
Father’s Name – Henry W. Gould
Father’s Birthplace – Michigan

Note the date of filing is 1920.  My Dad would have been nearly 8 at the time this certificate was issued.   I wonder if there had been no record of his birth prior to that time?

Was the certificate required in order for him to enter school?  If so, why did he enter so late?  His age on 13 Dec 1920 was 7 years 11 months and 12 days.  That would certainly account for him not graduating until 1933.

Here is the original scan of that photo of my Dad, with my grandmother’s writing on it, identifying it as her son, Norm and the year 1933.  Prior to this I had thought it was a portrait photo taken of my Dad after high school.



And here is the photo as it stood in my grandmother’s home on Asbury Park in Detroit (indicated with an arrow).  That’s me at about age two.



I took another look today to try and find a birth record online, for my Dad.  Family Search didn’t have it.  When I looked on Ancestry this is what they have for Michigan births.

NOTE – The index goes to 1911.  Just my luck.
 


My Dad’s age seems to be listed correctly, based on a 1912 year of birth, in the 1920, 1930 and 1940 census records.

For now, I am going to conclude that my Dad did graduate from high school at an older age.
 
I know he had scarlet fever when he was a child, leaving him deaf in his left ear.  I don’t know how old he was when he got sick.  Perhaps, because of that he had to miss some schooling or had to repeat a grade.

Have you found a surprise or two, like this in your research?  I’d love to hear about it.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

Happy Birthday Dad - 1912-1991

AMANUENSIS MONDAY - TRANSCRIBING MY GRANDMOTHER'S JOURNAL - BIRTH & DEATH DATES – DECEMBER

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION