Use Census Records and Newspapers to Learn about an Ancestor's Life

Stephen asked

I am looking for any information that you might have about Jessie Robbins Belmont (1864-1935). I am trying to piece together information about this women whom I don’t know much about. I know her father came from the Bronx New York and his name was Daniel Robbins. Her mother is a total mystery to me ? I know she married Perry Belmont on April 18th 1899. But I know very little (which I would love to know) about her upbringing, and young life. I also would love to know about her older life as a women while she was married in New York and living in Washington DC. I do also know that she spent the last 20 years of her life alone in Paris Francis and dieded in the fall of 1935. Having pictures is a must either by themselves on in the articles that you might send to me. Thank you and I hope you can find me something on this women

OLIVE TREE ANSWER: Stephen, you're in luck because the census records will give you information on Jessie's early life. She should be in 1870 with her parents and 1880 possibly still with her parents. You will be able to find out if she had siblings too.

You could then trace backwards - to 1860 - using her parents' names and birth years and locations. Keep going back as far as you can with census and organize her family group (siblings, parents, grandparents etc)

I like Ancestry.com for census but you may have another site you prefer or access at a library.

Have you consulted newspapers for stories of her life? She may be there, or not, it's hit and miss.

Photos are another thing entirely. The only way you will find photos is if you are lucky enough to see any in a newspaper article, or by connecting with other descendants. Perhaps some will have photographs of her.

Is This My Father?

Today's AskOliveTree post is a bit different. It's my own question about a photograph. I hope readers will be kind enough to share their own opinions.

My father died Christmas Day many years ago. I had just turned 14 one month before his death. Over time my memory of his face has faded.

There are very few photographs of my dad. Those few (a handful) that exist are grainy out of focus images. Except for one. I have a studio portrait of my father taken during WW2, long before I was born.

At an auction recently I bid on and won a group photo of soldiers who were in training in Guelph Ontario in 1942. My dad lived in Guelph and was in training there when he joined the Army. This is a cropped portion of that group photo.



As soon as I saw the photo, I thought that the soldier seated to the right of the officer with the swagger stick (front row) could be my dad! It looks so much like him to my eyes. He is the 5th man counting from the right side.

I scanned and enlarged that soldier and have placed it below beside the WW2 studio portrait of my father. What do you think? Is it him?

I did notice differences as soon as I enlarged the photo. But my husband pointed out that the unknown man (left) has the sun in his eyes so he has shadows on his face that distort his features. He is also squinting a bit, further causing distortion. His face is turned slightly further to the side than the one I know is my father.



Please take a look and give your opinion. I want this to be a photo of my father so much that I am not sure I can judge objectively! Perhaps someone knows who the men were in No. 1 Platoon Basic Training in Guelph in July 1942. Even if no one knows for sure, your opinions and thoughts would be appreciated.

Rescuing old photo albums that are not my family heirlooms

Sally asked

I found a photo on your website under the Fowler-Merchant Family Photo Album. It is identified as "#11 F Maloney Hewitt". Can you tell me any more about this person? My great-grandmother was Mary Jane Hewitt and she married Stephen Maloney. The time frame is about right. I have a photo of her as an older woman, and it looks like it could be a younger version of her.

OLIVE TREE ANSWER: Dear Sally, I guess I didn't make it clear on Lost Faces that I know nothing of the individuals in the photo albums I collect other than what is written on the photos. They are not my families, I simply try to rescue these albums and put them online in hopes a descendant will find them.

I research the families to try to establish relationships between identified indviduals, but I have no further details about each person other then what you see online. I hope you can determine if photo #11 is the woman you seek!

Answering Question about Photos of People on Postcards from England

Diane asked:

I have a picture that was taken in England I am guessing around the late 1890's or early 1900's. We have been told it is of my husband's great grandmother. On the back of the picture it has postcard written on it. I am wondering if they made postcards out of personal photos to send to family on other countries.

Hi Diane. How wonderful that you have this photo! Yes, it was quite common for photos to be imprinted as a postcard in England during that time period. I have several postcards with photos of my English great grandmothers and my great grandpa's brother, which they sent to their grandchildren in Canada.