Father Joseph Wonderly and Students, Peru, Indiana 1920's

The writing on the back reads:
"High School Girls
Top Row: Thelma Gilbert, Antionette Lewis, Theta Johnson, Genevieve Withers, Gertrude Brennan
Second Row: Joan Carrol, Hazel ???, Thelma ???, Father Wonderly, Martha Frances, ???
Third Row: Lucille Damica, Georgianna Wagner, Catharine Richmond, Alice Crume, Selene ???
Bottom Row: Mary Kruntzer, Mildred Gillen, Margaret Cade, Mary Kammel"

Joseph S. Wonderly was born August 26th, 1895 in Huntington, Indiana to John and Kate Wonderly.
Joseph suffered many losses as a child. His mother died in 1902 after giving birth to Joseph's youngest brother, Robert. His older brother, John, died of tuberculosis in 1914 and his father, a respected locomotive engineer, died in 1919.

Joseph Wonderly in his high school yearbook.

Joseph went on to attend St. Mary's Parochial School, St. Joseph's College, and Mt. St. Mary's Seminary of the West. He became ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Aldering at Fort Wayne, Indiana on June 10th, 1922. He took a foreign language course at Maryland University and intended to do missionary work in China, though I have found no record of him ever doing so.

I believe this photograph was taken during Father Wonderly's time in Peru, Indiana, between about 1923 to 1928, when he taught at the St. Charles Borromeo School. The school was founded in 1922 by the Sisters of Providence from St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.

Father Wonderly then set out for Texas around 1929. In Pampa, Texas, he was a pastor at the Holy Souls church and taught at the Holy Souls Parochial School. He lived in Pampa until 1940, when he returned to his home state of Indiana. Rev. Joseph Wonderly died in Indiana in 1976, age 81.

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

William Dorsey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1870's

The inscription on the back reads:
"Presented to me by his
daughter, Sarah Dorsey,
during my visit in their
home at Colorado Springs
June 6th 1906
S.K.J"
Though the name of the man in this photo is not written, I believe it is William Dorsey of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

William Dorsey was a prominent minister of the Society of Friends, a merchant of the firm Benedict Dorsey & Son, and was a founder of Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. He was born on October 18th, 1810 to parents Benedict Dorsey and Mary Johnson. Benedict was a merchant and with his son ran a china store, Benedict Dorsey & Son. In 1834, William was married to his first wife Elizabeth Knight. Sadly, both Elizabeth and William's father, Benedict, died in 1841. In 1842, not long after his 32nd birthday, William was married again to Susanna Haydock.

An article from the Evening Telegraph, November 11th, 1869

William was a member of the Building Committee for Swarthmore College, which opened in 1869. On the day of the school's official opening, Dorsey gave an address alongside Lucretia Mott, a fellow Quaker and an activist for abolition and women's rights. When William Dorsey died in 1874 at age 63, his obituary was published in newspapers across the country.

From his first marriage, William had two daughters, Mary and Elizabeth. With Susanna, he had Sarah. Sarah lived with her sister, Elizabeth, in Colorado Springs for many years. She was an active member of several groups, including the Needlework Guild of America and the Women's Advisory Board of the El Paso County Horticultural Society. In 1906, the same year her sister Elizabeth died, Sarah presented this carte de visite of her father to an "S.K.J". I wonder who those initials belong to?

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

Annie Clark and Thomas Glenn Newell, Minnesota, 1883

This photo of Annie and Thomas Newell is a copy of an earlier tintype from the 1880's.

Thomas Glenn Newell was born in St. Clair, Michigan in 1858. His parents, Samuel and Marion, were Scottish immigrants. Samuel was a weaver and a farmer but became a doctor later in life. From Michigan, the family moved to Canada, and then to Minnesota. While he was in his early 20's, Thomas lived with his sister Marion and worked as a telegraph operator until 1883, when he married Annie Clark.

"Rosanna" or Annie Rose Clark was born in Lake City, Minnesota in 1861. Her parents, William and Margaret, were Irish immigrants. Annie was the second eldest of ten children. She married Thomas Newell when she was about 22 years old. This photograph is likely their wedding portrait. Together, Thomas and Annie had 8 children: Thomas, Raymond, Anna, Lillian, Octavia, Yetieve, George, and Theodore. While in Minnesota, Thomas worked as a dentist.

According to a newspaper article I found, in 1902 the eldest Newell son, Thomas, accidentally set fire to the family home while lighting a stove. Mrs. Newell was badly burned on the face and neck while trying to smother the flames and the younger children were forced to jump out of an upstairs window. Luckily, all survived.

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