John (Johnnie) Gamel 1870's, Mason County, Texas

"Johnnie Gamel-
Son of
John W. Gamel and Katherine Crosby Gamel
Brother of Arch Gamel
Grandson of William Gamel
and Katherine Tucker Gamel"

John Gamel was born in 1868. His father John William Gamel was born in 1845 in Georgia, and his mother Katherine was born in 1843 in Ireland. John William was a wealthy cattle rancher and civil war veteran who served in the thirty-third Regiment of the Texas Cavalry in 1862 and 1863. To quote his obituary:
"He made his fortune in the cattle business and was one of the influential men of his time. He was recalled by old timers in Dodge City, Kansas as a "flamboyant, forceful Texan" who celebrated at the end of cattle drives by lighting cigars with ten dollar bills, declaring he had "enough money to burn a wet dog." Meaning he was really, really rich. 

Johnnie and his older brother Arch were sent away to school during the conflict of the Mason County War around 1875, when he was 12 and his brother was 14. (If you get the chance, read up on the Mason County War. It's fascinating, though a little bloody.)

When John was 25 he married a Katherine, just as his father and grandfather had (was it a family tradition?). They had three children: Clayton, Byna, and Henrie. In 1900, they are living in Upper Labante, Converse, Wyoming and his occupation is listed as farmer.

If you know who this may be, let us know in the comments!

Martha Seim and Clifford Franklin 1936, Muskegon Heights, Michigan

The back reads:
"Wedding at Muskegon Heights, Michigan.
Martha Seim and Clifford Franklin
June 27, 1936."

According to their marriage license, Clifford Franklin was 27 at the time of their marriage and Martha Seim was 26. Clifford was the son of Elmer Franklin and Sarah Lenard. Martha was the daughter of Felix Seim and Annette Peskie. Both were factory workers. Unfortunately, there's not much else I can find about either of them.

If you know who this lovely couple may be, let us know in the comments!

Shuller 1880's Ottawa, Illinois

"Mr Shuller
727 ??????? St.
Eyes. Blue
Hair. Light"

I found a family of Shuller's living in Ottawa, Illinois: Michael and Josephine and their 6 children, twins Clara and Carrie, Hattie, Charles, John, and Edward. Josephine would probably have been in her 40's when this picture was taken, too old to be the woman in the picture. I'm thinking it may be Clara or Carrie, who would have been in their late teens.
She is wearing a rather fluffy-looking collar that I thought at first might be fur, though on closer inspection looks like some other kind of material. Has anyone seen a collar like this before? I also thought it was interesting that a description of her hair and eyes is written on the back. For her eyes, "green" has been crossed out and replaced with "blue", which might suggest that her eye color was a bit of both.

If you know who this may be, let us know in the comments!

I'm back!

Apologies for disappearing for so long! Life has become pretty busy lately, but I'm hoping to try posting more regularly again. I still have a large and ever-growing collection of old photographs to post.

I'm glad to be back!
Emily

Clarence Del Vecchio 1880's, St. Louis, Missouri

"Clarence G. Del Vecchio
11 mo. 14- days"
Clarence Del Vecchio was born on June 30 1882 to Kate and John Del Vecchio, an Italian immigrant who worked in insurance. Clarence also came to work in insurance and had 2 wives: Hilda and, later in his life, Daisy. The photographer, Genelli, also took this picture of an unknown woman. I found both pictures in the same antique shop, could they be related?

If you know who this may be, let us know in the comments!

Freda Minder and Friend 1909, Herkimer, Kansas

"aren't we sweet? Freda Minder and girl friend Rachel(?)"

"I suppose you are

home again. I wanted
to write sooner but u
must excuse me
this time, I'll try
and do better next time.
Come to see me soon.
Love from all
Freda."

At first glance this seemed to be nothing more than a picture postcard of two friends posing and having a nice time- until I realized it was addressed to Emma Zimmerling, the same Emma from this post! Thanks to the address, Home, Kansas, I was able to find Emma and her sisters as well as Freda Minder.
The Zimmerling's were German immigrants and their father, Ernst Zimmerling, was a farmer. Ernst and his wife Carolina had 10 children, including Emma, Bertha, and Anna. Emma married Henry W E Kossow who, like her father, was a German immigrant farmer. They had no children, though Bertha, who never married, lived with them. Emma died in 1967.

Freda Minder was born in Switzerland to parents Adolph and Rosa Minder, who initially came to Home, Kansas before settling in Herkimer (I have a feeling Freda met Emma during their brief time in there). Adolph ran a harness shop in Herkimer until his death in 1906. On May 10th, 1914, Freda married successful businessman John H. Krug. She died in 1945.

If you know who these lovely young ladies may be, let us know in the comments!