Monthly Archives: August 2012

Clyde Askew, teamster for the lumberjacks

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Among the photos I got from my grandmother earlier this month were two images of Clyde Askew and his uncle Samuel Askew at work in the lumber industry. Both images were taken in the winter of 1921, and both images were taken in Cass Lake, Minnesota, a thriving logging town in northern central Minnesota. A century ago, logging in Minnesota—especially in the wintertime—was an undertaking that was strikingly different from logging in more temperate climes. Continue reading →

A postcard to Frank Scott from his sister Mate

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Another quick post while I’m scanning photos.  This one is an Easter-themed postcard written to Frank Scott by his sister Mary “Mate” Scott on Saturday, April 11, 1914—the day before Easter.  She’s not a big fan of punctuation, and he’s apparently not the greatest correspondent.

The postcard was mailed from Deer Creek, MN, to Menahga, MN, a distance of about 30 miles.

Continue reading →

Hattie Eddy Askew and her well-hatted friends, part 2

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Four turn-of-the-century women in magnificent hatsThis post continues part 1, in which I investigated a photo I found in early August.  I hadn’t originally intended this post to be a two-parter, but then I found a matching photo on my last trip down to my grandmother’s house in late August.  This latest photo was clearly taken on the same day in the same studio, and this one has a date on the back. Continue reading →

Mystery photo #2: Boy and girl with doll (part 1)

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Another as-yet-unidentified photo I got from my grandmother’s house while helping my family get her old home ready for sale. This one is of two children and a doll. I’m not good with estimating ages, but I’d guess that the boy is somewhere around 3–5 years old, and the girl is 8–12 years old.  Let’s see if we can figure out who they are. Continue reading →

Gertrude Scott through the years

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Gertrude Scott Askew, my great grandmother, was a hard-working, unpretentious woman who was pressed into assuming adult responsibilities before her time, due to the premature death of her mother a few months before Gert’s thirteenth birthday.

Gert’s appearance has always been a little puzzling to me. Until this week, I hadn’t seen any photos of Gert before 1941, and in every photo I had seen of her (all dated 1941–1980), she appeared remarkably similar. Here’s a woman who took what life gave her, without complaint, and her portraits over the years hint at the silent toll that her selflessness took on her. Continue reading →

Mary E. “Mate” Scott’s obituary (1943)

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Mate Scott (aka Mrs. A. D. Peck) was the older sister of my great grandfather Frank Scott. I’m posting her obituary here because when I found it inside a ca. 1895 bible, it added information to the story of Frank and Mate’s father, Horace L. Scott. In an earlier post on Horace Scott, I stated that he died in Alden, Illinois (where he’s buried), at some point between the 1870 census and the 1875 Minnesota census. That was about all I knew about his last years. Facts presented in his daughter’s obituary help fill in some of the blanks. Continue reading →

Mystery Photo #1: Girl with tribble, part 2 (solved!)

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As you’ll recall from part 1 of this post, I was trying to determine the identity of the girl in the photo at the right.  I began the process of inductive reasoning to try to figure out who this endearing young girl was.  I wanted this to be a photo of my great grandmother, Gertrude Scott, but barring new evidence, I would have to rule out all other possible persons in order to be reasonably certain that this was Gertie.  But then along came some new evidence, which saved me a lot of work, and which will save you a lot of reading. Continue reading →

Horace Scott and the Civil War

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The father of Frank Scott (the pickle proprietor of previous posts) was Horace L. Scott, my great-great-great grandfather. Horace was born in New York, around 1842, and died in Illinois, around 1870-1875.

If it weren’t for the Civil War, I would know almost nothing about Horace.  His headstone is a military-provided headstone, and nearly all the records I’ve been able to find that reference him are military records. Continue reading →

Mystery Photo #1: Girl with tribble, part 1

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As with most family photo collections, I have some photos that are unidentified.  The following photo of the girl worried about the dead tribble at her feet is one of these.  Let’s see if we can narrow down the possibilities for who this might be.  The following are the research notes I took as I worked through this mystery. Continue reading →