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!

Vera Usleton 1910's, Texas

I'm sorry for my unexpected absence, but I should be back to posting pictures as usual!

The young woman in this photograph is Vera Usleton and judging by her dress and hairstyle, it was taken in the late 1910's. The edge of the photo is slightly crimped as if it were pressed into a frame. After a little research, I found that she and her family lived on a farm in Kaufman, Texas. She had 2 brothers and 4 sisters.

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

Unknown Young Woman, 1880's

Here is another unknown photograph, this time of a young woman. The photographer, Genelli, operated at 923 Olive Street in St. Louis from around 1885 to 1900. Her curly, frizzy bangs are very characteristic of the 80's, though her collar would have been more fashionable in the 70's.

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

Swimming Family, 1910's

Here is a very candid snapshot of a family taking a dip in a lake from the 1910's. Almost makes me want to go for a swim!

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