I am so thankful for all those who have allowed me to photograph or scan their photos, or who have sent scanned copies to me!
I may not remember to mention the source of each individual photograph, but I am thankful for the generous way that my cousin Linnea has shared the photos in her care; and I have also benefited from contributions of photos or memories by my cousins Phil, Steve, Tim, Toni, Craig, Ron, Joan, Janis, Sandy, Bette, Lynn, Kathleen, Dan, Nan and Dub; and my father’s cousins, Loreen McKinnon, Mac and Pete Brown; as well as Doris Shoop, who shared amazing stories. (I hope I haven’t left anyone out!)
I am part of a private group at Facebook, for the Snellings family. As you will learn in a later post, one of our great-grandmother’s siblings married into the Snellings family; since they are also McMurrain descendants, they have shared a number of wonderful photos of our ancestors, which we would not otherwise have. We are very indebted to Frank Snellings for facilitating that group, and scanning or photographing many photos and portraits which he has shared for all of us. I found things there from our family, things which I would not have otherwise understood or been able to share!
Mary Kay Ash had a saying, “If I have an idea, and you have an idea, and we share our ideas - then we each have two ideas.” In a similar way, we now have many more photos and memories to enjoy.
If you have photo(s) you would be willing to share, just contact me by email, and we can arrange to make that happen. I do photo-editing, and I love the challenge of restoring old photos! When people share their photos with me, I am able to return a restored copy (digital) as well as their original photo.
Now on to our subject for today:
Since there are not many records to tell us about May’s growing up years in Pittsburgh, I’m glad there are quite a few photographs!
The first photograph is labeled in May’s handwriting as “May Ludwig and her doll Jimmy - 2 years”:
The address for the photo studio is given as ‘Pittsburg’ without an ‘h’ on the front of the portrait; but the information on the back side spells the address as ‘Pittsburgh’. It also states that “duplicates can be had at any time” - but probably not 127 years later!
The next photo, taken when May was 3 years old, was taken just after she had scarlet fever. She lost her hair while ill. We are told that she had hoped that it would grow back in as red hair (I wonder where she got that idea?); but we can see that she was still a brunette:
Both of May’s only granddaughters also had scarlet fever - Linnea in 1st grade, and Anita at about the same age.
A few days after May’s third birthday, her family welcomed her sister, Zetta/Peg. This picture of May's father and sister (thank you Craig!) was likely taken two or three years later, possibly in 1896:
This next photo also had a notation on back, written in May’s handwriting: “May Ludwig 7 years - At the O’Hara School, Pitts. Pa.”:
If she was 7, the photo was likely taken in 1897. I did a little research, and found this photo of O’Hara School, taken in 1918. It’s easy to see the brick wall with the concrete at the base, and imagine May standing there:
I found that the O’Hara School was begun in 1848, on the corner of 25th and Smallman Streets. It was closed in 1943, and razed in 1944. Since the building is gone, it was nice to find a photo online.
I believe I will insert a photo of dolls at this point, because I know that May’s dolls were important to her. In the late 1960’s May sent a beloved doll to a doll hospital in Los Angeles, to have them refurbish the doll and make a new wig for it with her hair, saved from a haircut when she was much younger. The doll was beautiful! May’s doll, and her daughter’s dolls, have continued to bring pleasure to great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren, and are still well-loved today:
In December 1901, when she was just 11 years old, May lost a young uncle in a tragic accident.
According to a note from May to her daughter, May’s father August “made his first trip to California in 1902” and brought back beautiful fans and lace shawls for his wife and daughters. So the idea of a move to California may have been considered by 1902. I have been unable to confirm any theories about the reason for their move, but I’m glad it was part of God’s plan to bring our grandparents together!
Pittsburgh is known for its hilly terrain. Grandma told me that these photos were taken at a Sunday school picnic in 1902, while they were in Pittsburgh. It is easy to see the hillside in these photos:
 |
| May and Zetta/Peg |
This portrait of May (thank you, Linnea!) was also taken while they lived in Pittsburgh:
It is my understanding that the Ludwig family moved to Los Angeles in 1904. During the school year which was just ending (while she was 13 years of age), May attended the Pittsburgh Academy. We still have her book from the course she took in Spencerian Bookkeeping:
This training prepared May well for a job as a bookkeeper in Los Angeles.
Her entries end on March 3, 1904, so it appears that they were still in Pittsburgh until some time after that date.
Things may have changed a little in 10 years, but this photo from an 1894 classroom at Pittsburgh Academy is interesting.
Information I found said that the school was founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787, and chartered in 1819 as the Western University of Pennsylvania, so perhaps this is not the same school? I don’t know.
I’m going to conclude this post with a mystery photo; and then I am going to go work a bit more at solving the mystery! The photo below was taken in 1904 in Pittsburgh, before the family moved to California. August and his sister-in-law Edna are standing on the porch; while Delia and their daughters (May and Zetta/Peg) are sitting on the steps:
I’ve had some theories, and I’ve spent hours searching - finding addresses in old City Directories, and then doing ‘Google Map Drive-bys’ - to find a house like this with a street number of 1202. Joanne Cowden has encouraged me to seek the answer through online deeds for Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. I'm anxious to see what turns up!
Next week we will find ourselves in California, heading into a building project with a deadline - and a wedding!
No comments:
Post a Comment