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I wanted to share one of my favorite older family photos. This one is for my Hasstedt/McGinnis family, though you may well have seen this photo before.  John Luther McGinnis and Julia Margaret Hasstedt are here with their five oldest children. In the back is my great grandmother, Grace Edith McGinnis. The four boys are Grant, Loyd, Virgil, and Martin. Julia may well have been pregnant with the next child - there would eventually be nine!
At the time of this picture they lived in Sheridan County, Kansas near Grainfield. Julia's parents, Jacob Hasstedt and Julia Katherine Henning were both immigrants from Germany. They spoke both German and English in their household, but the younger Julia only spoke English with her children. In fact, I was told a story about how Julia's brother, Rudolph (Rudy) would often speak in German with Grace and teasingly rib her for not understanding it. I just love Julia's Edwardian pompadour. And Grace's careful ringlet curls. And Virgil's baby blond curls. It may be difficult to tell here, but John has blue eyes and was tall - according to his 1918 draft card. He worked as a mechanic for a time but eventually took a position as janitor at the Ordway School. He was apparently much beloved.
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In addition to printed photos of various ages, my collection includes some negatives. I found a small bag of medium format negatives that I have not seen printed photos for. Regular flatbed scanners are great for "reflective" materials like printed photos and documents, but they are not meant for scanning negatives or slides. Unless you have a specialized one, which I decided I really needed for this project due to the huge box of slides and several envelopes of negatives I now how. I decided to test out the capabilities of my new scanner with this potentially difficult film, and this is what I got:  William Oaks Coleman, Bessie Martha (Carr) Coleman, and two of their sons - probably Gene and Jim. About 1928. While the photo itself is out of focus, I'm really pleased to have a more-or-less intact negative that is over 90 years old. One of the reasons for this project is to preserve images like this that will certainly be lost to time. Film negatives typically start to break down after about 40 years, depending on the conditions it's stored in. Now let's take a look at the photo itself! I was pretty sure the woman was my great grandmother, Bessie Martha (Carr) Coleman, but I did have to verify this with my mom first. I only ever knew my grandmother when she was older! The happy man next to her is my great grandfather, William Oaks Coleman. He's probably happy because he's standing in front of a very nice car - more on that in a moment. The children, we think, are two of their boys, Gene (Thomas Gene Coleman) and Jim (James Lee Coleman). They were both named after boxers as their dad enjoyed the fights so much. Take a look at grandma's shoes! It was the first thing I noticed about the photo. Her feet were a size 9 in women's, but she would only ever buy size 8 because 9 was considered "big feet." She just got used to stuffing them in, I guess. Now, back to that car. My husband is really good at identifying cars and did some research for me to try to accurately date this photo. He said that it most closely matches a Buick Master between 1925-1929. This would line up well with the ages and birthdays of the kids, especially if you know that W.O. Coleman had a thing for fancy cars and like to drive them fast. Gene was born in 1926 and Jim came along just a couple years later in 1929. My mom and I are pretty sure the age gap between the two kids in the photo fits that well while the other brothers' age gaps just don't fit. Where was their oldest brother Stanley, then? Maybe he was off playing with the other 8-10 year old kids and just couldn't be bothered for a photo? Another fun thing to do with black and white photos is to run them through a colorizer. These computer programs use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to turn the original photo into a color one. I did that for this one just out of curiosity. They're not 100% right all the time and it really depends on which program you use. For instance, the first time I did this, the outfit on the youngest child was pink. This one looks more blue. (In either case, the colors weren't gendered as they are today until about the 1940's so it's not a good indicator when you're trying to identify people in photos this old!)  I wanted to provide an update for my Kidder family out there. First, a little background. John T. Barrick was born in 1808 in Virginia. For some reason, he spent much of his impressionable youth living with his aunt in Ohio instead of his parents, Russell M. Barrick, Sr. (1777-1862) and Mary Timberlake (b. 1784) who lived in Kentucky. His aunt raised him with Quaker ideals, so when he returned to his father's home and was given the plantation, he refused. He could not accept a gift which included slaves, so he returned to Ohio and became a carpenter and joiner.  James T. Barrick, founder of Janesville, Iowa Around 1840 he moved to Iowa and began a habit of opening up new saw mills wherever he went. The third one he built was in Bremer County, IA which was the first mill in the county. He also had a farm and built the first frame house in the county. In 1849, James T. Barrick founded the town of Janesville, Iowa. It was named for his beloved wife, Jane M. McPherson (1809-1884).  Jane M. (McPherson) Barrick, founder and namesake of Janesville, Iowa  It is said that tunnels were built under that town of Janesville to shelter and move people escaping slavery. The story goes that John Barrick was so passionate about the issue, he ensured their safety and escape through these tunnels. It should be mentioned that while the house Barrick built and lived in no longer stands, the basement and foundation of his house does and a new home has been built over top of it. (Information about the house came from Peggy Coleman who went with a few other family to visit Janesville some years ago.) If he did have a tunnel connecting his own home to other homes in the area, one might be able to see evidence of it in that basement. But I should also caution that "tunnels under the town" is a very widely spread urban legend throughout the United States and is most often unable to be validated. As the founder of a town, one does gain some notoriety, albeit if only locally. John T. Barrick's story is told in a book titled "The Janesvillians, Volume II, 1974-1999." There is a Volume I as well, but at the time it was published, they had not identified all his children. Which brings me to my update. I was on the hunt for Volume I of this book. The Volume II copy I had said that one could purchase additional copies through the Janesville City Clerk's office so that's where I started. Eventually I was directed to the library (which is being renovated) and had a chat with THE librarian. She told me that they do not have any additional copies of Volume I (it having been printed in 1974, 125 years after the town's founding), but that she often has people wanting one. They are planning to release a Volume II to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the town and are considering a reprint of Volume I. Anyone that is interested should subscribe to the library's newsletter for updates on the project. It might be nice for them to know that there is more interest as well, so you might want to shoot them an email too! Every year at the end of July, Janesville celebrates their founding with a local festival aptly named for our their town and our ancestor: Janesville Days. Comment below if you'd like to take a big ol' family fieldtrip to Iowa one year. Maybe we could join the parade!  Updated: Jan 15, 2022 I have another for everyone this morning. I'm pretty sure this is a Coleman family, or rather, several Coleman families. But I am not positive about identifying anyone except my great grandparents.  It really is a spectacular photo. Do you see the little boy in the front right with his toy gun and hat? The other boys look a little jealous. I don't know the date nor the place, but I bet some Coleman cousins can pick out a few people they know here! I believe my grandfather, Miles "Happy" Coleman is missing from this photo on account of him being in the military at the time. Stanley, the oldest of the Coleman boys, is also missing from the photo. He was most likely behind the camera since the rest of his family is in attendance and, as his son Dale said, "He wouldn't miss a gathering like that!" Please use the numbers below when identifying folks!  1. Mike Coleman 2. John Coleman 3. June (Littrell) Coleman 4. William Oaks Coleman 5. Bessie Martha (Carr) Coleman 6. Jim Coleman 7. Gene Coleman 8. Jack Coleman 9. Jeannie (Adams) Coleman 10. Dale Alan Coleman 11. Donna (Hall) Coleman 12. Dorothy Lee (Kellogg) Coleman 13. Linda Eileen Coleman 14. Patricia June Coleman 15. Nancy Coleman 16. Sherry Coleman 17. Gary Dean Coleman 18. Donald Bruce "Donny" Coleman 19. Peggy Diane Coleman 20. William Kent "Bill" Coleman 21. Larry Gene Coleman There are also two people that I thought would be impossible to identify - between Bessie Coleman (#5) and Jim Coleman (#6), but Dale think it's Jim's wife, Donna holding Jan and he's probably right about that! Thanks to Linda's eagle eye and Dale's footwork, we think the most likely location of this photo was right outside of Gene and Donna's house in Westcliffe, CO. They lived in this house in the mid-1950's so the timing works out too! Dale took the photo below and I changed it to black and white to as closely match the original as possible. The trim has been painted, the siding has been updated to vinyl and the windows have likewise been updated.  Let's start with a mystery! At least, it's all very mysterious to me, but I'm hoping others will be able to set it straight! I have a small collection of black and white photos from what appears to be a family reunion. Based off of one of the photos, it looks to be at Ten Sleep, WY. I know that Carrie Faye (Carr) VanArsdall (1912-1998) lived in Ten Sleep in the 1990's. She was also buried there. I only personally know one of the people in the photos: Bessie Martha (Carr) Coleman. She was my great grandmother. I can also identify Bill & Kathy Coleman because there is a note on the back of one photo. That same photo has the date "1986." If you can identify anyone in these photos, please write a comment! Be sure to include the photo number for reference. And if you were there, tell us more about all this! *Note: Since the first posting of this, we've learned from family tipsters that not all these were taken at the same place or time. I have noted those in the descriptions below.  #1  #2  #3: Sisters Carrie Fay (Carr) VanArsdall [lef] and Bessie Martha (Carr) Coleman [right]  #4  #5: Since this gathering seems to have been at Ten Sleep, WY, it's likely that it was hosted by Carrie Faye (Carr) VanArsdall and her husband who lived here at the time.  #6  #7: Robbyn Rae "Robby" Hughes-Smith with Scott Smith. NOTE: Photo NOT taken at Ten Sleep, but at a different family reunion at Joyce Jamison's home in Lakewood, CO.  #8: Sheryl Lee "Sherry" Coleman and Bessie Martha (Carr) Coleman. NOTE: This photo is NOT from the Ten Sleep group. It was actually taken in front of Bessie's house outside of Westcliffe, CO.  #9  #10: Sisters Bessie Martha (Carr) Coleman and Carrie Faye (Carr) VanArsdall  #11  #12: Linda Jamison, daughter of Joyce (Axton) Jamison - likely at Joyce's house in Lakewood, CO.  #13  #14: Sherry Hughes. NOTE: Photo NOT taken at Ten Sleep, but at a different family reunion at Joyce Jamison's home in Lakewood, CO.  #15: Robbyn Rae "Robby" Hughes-Smith with Scott Smith. NOTE: Photo NOT taken at Ten Sleep, but at a different family reunion at Joyce Jamison's home in Lakewood, CO.  #16 - Kathy and Bill Coleman. NOT taken at Ten Sleeps. Photo is from home of William Oaks Coleman and Bessie Martha (Carr) Coleman outside of Westcliffe, Colorado. Also appear in photo #17.  #16 - Kathy and Bill Coleman. NOT taken at Ten Sleeps. Photo is from home of William Oaks Coleman and Bessie Martha (Carr) Coleman outside of Westcliffe, Colorado. Also appear in photo #16.  #17  #18: Carrie Faye (Carr) VanArsdall  #19: Believed to be George Franklin "Ford" Carr, wife Alice, daughters Debbie and Beverly  My grandad, Miles "Happy" Coleman pushing me on the swing in his yard in Custer County, Colorado. The little guy is my cousin, Jason Coleman, and the dog was named Prince. The first post of any blog should include some explanation of the site's beginnings. So here we are.
I'm Shannon Hames. And since this is a genealogic-based project, I'm also the daughter of Robert B. Smith and Pamela (Coleman) Smith, and grand-daughter of Robert L. Smith, Sharon (Austin) Conley, Miles "Happy" Coleman, and Donna (Kidder) Coleman. I have an academic background in anthropology (including ethnography and research), but I currently work in communications for a tech company. I started this project after inheriting a large collection of photos, negatives, slides, and family historical documents from my grandparents. In an effort to preserve the history and be able to share with any other family members that may value these things, I'm in the process of digitizing the collection. It may or may not be important to mention that I also have a background in photography including photo processing, restoration, and, yes, digitizing photo collections. As far as I could tell, however, there is no perfect solution in sharing a digital collection with a broad group of family members, many of which are yet unknown to me. I wanted to have something that is searchable, easily (and freely) accessed, and the ability for others to comment - especially as many photos included unidentified people. Also, since this is an on-going project, I wanted to be able to start now and continue adding to the collection and allowing others to come along on the ride with me if they'd like. There are, of course, limitations to this style of sharing. The biggest one, I think, is that if someone would like to download a photo for use anywhere offline (like printing), the photos on each post are not high enough quality. I will have to think of a more long-term solution to that, but in the meantime, I'm happy to share the full resolution photos that ARE suitable for printing to anyone that asks. I can also share an entire collection - just let me know! This project is meant to be shared. Please help me spread the word to other family members - especially if they have an interest in our family history or if they may be able to help identify some of the unknown people in photos. I'm also very open to ideas on how to make this better, so don't be shy! *Note: This blog was originally created on a different website. When I decided that I needed more storage for all these photos, I had to recreate the blog. The first 12 posts were migrated over. |
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