Mariella Wood, Marshall, Texas 1890's

Mariella (sometimes spelled "Mary Ella") Wood was born in 1886 in Marshall, Texas to parents Martha and Samuel E. Wood. She was the eldest of 6 children: Joseph Glen, Ruby Ackert, Samuel Eldred, John Robert, and Mattie Callaway. In December 1900, Mariella became ill with what was thought to be "a cold and some congestion". She died suddenly on December 10th at the age of 14, most likely from diphtheria. Tragically, the Wood family also lost 4-year-old John Robert just a week later from the same illness "after a painful and difficult operation had been performed as a last resort". I can only imagine how Mr. and Mrs. Wood felt during all of this.

There is also a second name on the back of the photo: Naida Adams. I'm unsure why this woman's name is on the back of this photo or her relationship with the family, but I do know she was living in Marshall, Texas around the same time. She was born in 1898 and would have been 2 at the time of Mariella's death. Naida's story is just as tragic. In 1921, the same year she married her husband, Ernest McClaren, she died in childbirth. It's possible she was a friend of the Wood family and the photo was given to her as a gift.

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

The Laner Brothers, Fayetteville, Arkansas 1927

The back reads:
"Laner Bro's Shoe Shope
N.W. Corner Block and Center
In basement of Eason Building
1927
L -> R
Monroe LANER
Nichols "Nick" Hopper (15 or 16)
Julius LANER

-?
Wiley Holt"

Julius Laner, born 1868, was a Swiss shoemaker who lived and worked in Esculapia, Arkansas. As late as 1925, his business was simply referred to by his own name. With his wife Alice, Julius had three sons: Julius A., born in 1905, Monroe, born in 1907, and Aubrey, born in 1910. Julius passed down his trade and his shoe shop to his two eldest sons, Julius and Monroe, who renamed the business "Laner Bros". The shop was located in Fayetteville, Arkansas in the basement of the Eason Building, which is also known as the Old Bank of Fayetteville (the building has since been restored and was added to the National Historical Register in 1994). 

Julius A. married Golda Reeves, a telephone operator, in August 1924. They had one daughter, Susan, in 1936. Monroe lived with his brother until he married Emele Colwell in 1941.

Nichols "Nick" Hopper was born in 1913 to Ernest and Ethel Hopper. He was an apprentice to the Laner brothers at the time this photo was taken and is later listed in the 1940 census as a "cobbler".

Wiley E. Holt was born in 1908 to Wiley and Edna Holt. He worked as the shop's delivery driver.

If you know who any of these folks may be, let us know in the comments!