Photo Number Ninety-Eight

This is a real photo postcard, it was sent to Red Owl, South Dakota to Jingle Bobs Grandmother.  It was mailed on Oct 25, 1911 from Sterling, ILL  and it has a one cent stamp.  On the back is this writing..

This is a picture that the Supervisors had taken at the bounty ( or county) farm.  Joe is in the third auto and has his hat on.  Wonder why we don't hear from Lizzie.  I have been looking for a letter for a long time. We are all well.  Lu ( or Lee) expects to go to town today. Poose is husking corn.  Margaret

My Dad looked at this photo..he loves old cars..he said that the first and third cars are Overlands and the second car is a Model T.  He enjoyed looking at this photo.  

I have a Lizzie in a previous South Dakota/Illinois  photo..number Eighty-Three ..could this possibly be the Lizzie that Margaret is talking about?  I am sure that all the South Dakota photos are related somehow, either because they are kin..or friends. 

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Photo Number Ninety-Seven

This is a real photo postcard, an Azo with four triangles pointing up so it is from 1904 to 1918. It is among the group of photos from South Dakota.   Far Guy and I had a good time looking at this photo.  They must have a cistern, water is being diverted from the down spouts, and they have a storm cellar or a root cellar.I am thinking that the little girl is an only child, or maybe a late in life tag along.  She seems to have lots of pretend playmates and I love the old doll buggy.
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Photo Number Ninety-Six

This photo is marked William Meurer..or Meurir.  It is from the South Dakota bunch.  Possibly the child in this photo is related to John from yesterday in Photo number Ninety-five.  I know, another boy dressed in a dress..that is just the way it was..his hair is also parted on the side. That is some beautiful wicker chair!  I could not find any info about the photographer H N Kent in Amboy, ILL.  I did  run onto a little story about how Amboy  got it's name.  People were talking and someone asked a young Native American  boy what the area was called and he replied "Am  boy".  
This is a cabinet card..and I would like to date it about 1866, the artists palette was used on cabinet cards during that time, but it doesn't seem that old to me..it seems more like 1896.  This is one of those photos that you  really would like a birth date to nail it down for certain.
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Photo Number Ninety-Five

 This is a wedding photograph..however she does seem fairly young.  This is a photo that came from South Dakota.   It was taken at The Andre Studio in Dixon, ILL.

Mr and Mrs John Meurer..or Meruer.. I would venture to guess that this was about 1910 or 1911.
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Update***
From Coleen The 1920 and 1930 censuses of Lee County, Illinois, show a John and Josephine Meurer and their son Harold, living in East Grove Township in 1920 and in Dixon, IL, in 1930. John was born about 1881 in Illinois (his parents were from Germany, according to the census); Josephine was a couple of years younger, also born in Illinois (her parents listed as being from Sweden in 1930 census, but from Germany in 1920). The 1930 census says they were 22 and 21, respectively, when they married, which matches up rather well with your date estimations. Might it be them?  John was also listed as being a Caretaker of a Golf Club.  
It might be them..:) 

Photo Number Ninety-Four

This is a photo that belongs to my sister in law.  She is curious about the year in which it was taken.  I guessed 1910..does anyone else care to venture a guess for me??  The elderly woman seated is probably her Great Grandmother.  I thought it was an excellent photo that shows some personality by having all the young men in the tree.
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Photo Number Ninety-Three

Mildred was so kind to mail me a couple of old photos. She wrote..

The two photos are from around 1900.  My great grandpa would have been 25; my grandpa would have been about 2 years old.  (Interesting to note that Margaret Mitchell - Gone With The Wind" author was born in 1900).

What is now Alpharetta, GA (my hometown) was located on an Indian trail between the north Georgia mountains and the Chattahoochee River.  Originally called New Prospect Campground, it consisted of a trading post with tents, a log school, and farms (mostly cotton).  During the 1900's, my great grandpa owned a huge farm where our regional hospital is now located.  Unfortunately for my great grandpa, he lost everything in the Depression.  He worked hard until the day he died when he was kicked by a mule and died from his injuries - I was two (1959).  He is credited with saving the lives of two young sisters from a fire at the local hotel during the early 1900's, where he received burns on his face/hands. 

In 1857, the town was named Alpharetta meaning First Town.  By the Civil War, Alpharetta had built a courthouse/jail for $2,400, 3 hotels, several mercantile shops, churches and a school.  Cotton was the biggest crop for the many family owned farms and very few of the farms owned slaves.  Alpharetta was virtually untouched during the Civil War.  The next town, Roswell, had a large cotton mill and railroad and sustained much damage during the war.

Alpharetta's population today is around 50,000 people.  The downtown street scene I am sending you still has many of the same buildings as in the photo. 

Thank you Mildred for sharing your photographs with me. I found the history behind them very interesting. It looks like both photographs were an event..with the number of people standing on the edge of the street. Mildred has a blog called Mildred's Menagerie...she is one of my most faithful readers and almost always leaves me a comment..Thanks Mildred!

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Photo Number Ninety-Two

This is a CdV  from Norkios collection.  She wrote: "This is one of the most striking images I have, in my opinion.  The photo is quite faded and I didn't know until my husband fixed the color a bit that she was wearing a gorgeous brooch with a cross on it, large earrings and that her dress could possibly be a Garibaldi jacket and blouse, though it's difficult to tell.  The original just barely shows her face.  This will include the front and the back.  The image is pasted onto the card.  You can see a line on the lower portion of the card where the picture stops.  This is quite an elaborate hair style.  I've never seen anything like it and I venture to guess it's 1860s or 70s.  I say this because the hair is parted in the middle and the braids in the back emphasize roundness in the face, a common look for Civil War era photographs.  This must be for a very special occasion or she is quite wealthy considering the hairstyle and the jewelry."

I found another of  Morse's CdV's online..its date is verified at 1861 to 1865. It  is identical to the back of this one. So this is probably the oldest photo that this blog will ever feature. Many Thanks to Norkio for sharing her photographs with us!!  I absolutely love this lady's hair, her braids are beautiful.
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