by Cathy Gilmore | Feb 22, 2018 | Features
I recently accompanied my 5th-Grader on a field trip to the Utah State Capitol and Daughters of the Utah Pioneers (DUP) Museum. As we passed the capitol on the west side, we our school bus drove by the Capitol Hill Ward where my grandparents first met in 1932. At the DUP Museum next door, we had a scavenger hunt with the students. As we were checking items off our list, I walked past these photos.
They were part of a larger exhibit on pioneer Charles C. Rich and his family. I was immediately struck by the similarity between the lettering on the photo captions and our grandmother’s lettering. Could it be hers? I asked docents at the DUP if anything could be learned about the donor and date of donation, but unfortunately, there was no additional information.
But what evidence could I discover within our own family archive on Kindex? Even though the archive is only partially transcribed, I was certain I could find some clues. A quick search of “DUP” and “lettering” gave me answers in seconds. Let’s look at the connections.
Connection 1: Employment and Skill
Dorothy Smith did odd jobs hand-lettering for various local businesses. A quick search for “lettering” in her Kindex archive confirms this, revealing a list of lettering jobs she did in the early 1930’s.
Hobbies Dot JOBS Employment
3 Feb ’32 Clerked at “Everybody’s Store’ sale today (1.50) (script)
13 June ’32 – got show card order – Fred Bich[…]
Also job to tint 22 charts for NDA.
Jan 16 / 34 Kress Store clerk & Decorator 14.00 wk
Mar or Apr 33 thru Aug 34 Lettering signs after May 1/34 earn 17. – 20. wk
6 Dec 33 Hand-lettered some charts for Pres. B B Stringham
3 Feb
14-19 Dec 1931 – 7.65 earned from Christmas and orders from friends or kin.
Also 5.00 making 16 show cards for Realsilk Co. thru Chas. Jarman.
1.50 for business cards.
Connection 2: Physical Proximity and Record of Visit
In the same record as above, under the heading of “Church Work”, she mentions a visit the DUP Museum which was situated near her home.
going Wed DUP
Connection 3: Handwriting Comparison
In her archive are many examples of lettering she did for various family history projects. This connection compares Charles Rich photo captions with examples of Dorothy’s own lettering in her Book of Remembrance, also found in her Kindex archive.
Connection 4: Family Connection
A final connection is a family one. My own 2nd Great Grandfather, Charles Rich Clark, was acquainted with Charles C. Rich family, as they both had families in the same towns in Southern Idaho.
Conclusion
While Dorothy has some variance in her lettering style with the use of script and various embellishments, there is a strong similarity between the writing in the Charles C. Rich photos and the writing from her own Book of Remembrance. I see a strong resemblance especially in the numbering. Below is a selection of Dorothy’s writing pasted on to the Charles C. Rich photo image.
While there is not direct evidence to support that she indeed did the lettering, there is strong circumstantial evidence that she did. What do you think?
Dorothy’s lettering in center.
It’s fantastic that this type of research takes just a few minutes when you have a searchable arhchive. With our built-in indexing tools, your family records can be searched in seconds, making solving mysteries like this fast and easy. Haven’t tried Kindex yet? Head on over to kindex.org and start your free archive.
by Cathy Gilmore | Mar 16, 2017 | Features, Resources, Software
Announcing the release the Kindex Collaborative Upgrade, the best way to bring family and friends together on a single, online archive. Upgrade to Collaborative and transform your archive into a destination where friends or family can help gather, index, and search—or simply enjoy reading family records.
Also released today is the option to create a Public archive when upgrading to a collaborative account. Enjoy the benefits of Crowdsourced Indexing, and jumpstart your indexing by allowing any Kindex user to transcribe and tag your records. Public archives also help others to discover and connect to your archive.
SIGN UP (more…)
by Cathy Gilmore | Jan 26, 2016 | Features
The Lethbridge Kiddies, “Easter in Fairyland”
This photo of Dorothy Smith and her theater friends appears in her Book of Remembrance. It has been one of our favorite images of her youth. But with no caption, and nothing written on the back, we didn’t know anything about it. For years we wondered about its context, and it wasn’t until we transcribed one of Dorothy Smith Clark’s handwritten life sketches did we learn the real story behind it. In addition, we also discovered a photocopy Dorothy made that identified many of the people in it. Since then, we have identified and tagged eleven people in the photo on FamilySearch. Now this photo can be searched, shared, and appreciated, thanks to the transcription of Dorothy’s life sketch.
When saving photos to any online site, include as much information as possible, even if you don’t know the people in it. Consider information such as:
- Provenance (Where did the photo come from? How did you receive it? Who was the original owner?)
- Captions (Did the photo come from a scrapbook that included a caption?)
- Information written on the photo itself, on the front or back
- The stamp or mark of the photo developer
- A description, including setting, subjects, time period, or other tags that will make it easy for someone to find.
- The date the photo was taken (or an estimate of the date)
- Other supporting information, such as information extracted from letters, diaries, and other documents.
- Identify the people in the photo. If you are unsure, but want to suggest a possibility, make sure that it is clear in the description.
Don’t give up on unidentified photos. The little information you have may help solve a mystery. Index them. Transcribe the information on them. And of course, if transcribe your family’s documents, the description may already be written for you:
“When Marvin and I were about 13 and 11 we travelled with a group from “The Alberta Conservatory of Music” under Leo McCoombs to several surrounding communities. Billed as the “Lethbridge Kiddies” in Easter in Fairyland, our offering included piano with narratives, violin arrangements, dances and humorous readings by characters dressed as Rain, Snow, Clouds, and various flowers. My role as a pink hyacinth included a short piano number and later a group dance. Despite the novelty and excitement of being “on the road”, the stage never held any real attraction for me, even after some pleasant times in dancing choruses and road shows.” —Dorothy Smith Clark, Life Sketch [Dorothy Smith (KWC4-9F9)]
For more on solving photo mysteries, Maureen A. Taylor, a.k.a The Photo Detective is a fantastic resource.
by Cathy Gilmore | Dec 9, 2015 | Features, RootsTech 2016
Many years ago I found my grandmother’s letters in an old Nike shoebox that sat hidden on a high shelf in an empty bedroom. Since then, we have discovered hundreds of pages of letters, diaries, and other papers my grandmother kept. Within those papers are the stories that form the history surrounding my grandparents. We soon learned that by digitizing and indexing their records, we could connect countless people to their records and essentially rewrite history for countless individuals.
Join us as we bring family records out of obscurity and into the light: searchable, accessible, and shareable to families and researchers everywhere. We hope you enjoy the stories.
