Who are these dudes?

One of the scrapbook's tintypes is these two spiffy dudes. The tintype has fallen out of its position and doesn't seem to fit any label at all. The best clues: in the same scrapbook as the earlier tintypes of Purdys, so most likely Purdys or Bests or associated families. Probably taken around 1865 - 1875, but that's not for sure. Probably from IL.

Here's the image:

Any ideas? All comments welcome!

Tintype of WCP3?

Below is a photo of a tintype. The name attached to this image is William Collins Purdy III. I have not independently verified this and may never be able to. However, my father IDed this photo as WCP3, and I have no reason to doubt the identification as my father knew him.

Here's the image:

 



































William Collins Purdy III was born in 1853 about "3.5 miles south of Staunton, Illinois." He worked on the farmhand and in a sawmill. My dad recalls Uncle Col never having being married or even having a girlfriend. As far as I can tell, he never had children. He died in 1928 and was buried in Staunton City Cemetery. Known as "Collins" or "Uncle Col."

I am guesstimating this photo was taken between 1865 and 1875. Collins could be 15 (1868) or 20ish (1873). Note the slight pink coloration in the cheeks, and extra fee effect, indicating that the Purdys were comfortable if not well to do.

1860 Census:

https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7667/images/4213711_00547?treeid=&personid=&hintid=&usePUB=true&usePUBJs=true&_ga=2.176323941.153770080.1593380886-234541386.1593380886&pId=37438363&backurl=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ancestry.com%2Fcgi-bin%2Fsse.dll%3Fdb%3D1860usfedcenancestry%26h%3D37438363%26indiv%3Dtry%26o_cvc%3DImage%3AOtherRecord

Death Certificate:

https://www.sos.mo.gov/images/archives/deathcerts/1928/1928_00002633.PDF

Well, here's a mystery~! The death certificate says that Collins was "widowed." THAT bears looking into!

Burial:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/50788316

The more I dig, the more skeletons I find—if you can count an unknown marriage as a skeleton. I'll let you know if I find anything more.

Correction: new oldest photo

In digging through old and new family photos, I found a forgotten tintype today. At least 20 years ago my dad named the photo's subjects. The label is in my own handwriting. There's really no other way of verifying his identifications than to say that he was an extremely (extremely) precise man, and he always identified these subjects with these names. And so awaiting further proof, I must conclude that these photos are:

Susan Marie Best and William Collins Purdy II

And as the subjects are much younger than the first photo I have published, though it's new to this blog, it's the oldest one I have of them.

Here it is:

Note the curtain backdrop and the two chairs. Very typical of an itinerant photographer.

I scanned this at 1200 ppl for lots of detail, which doesn't show up here.

Though I'm anxious to dig into this photo a bit more, other duties are calling. So I'll catch you later. Y'all come back now, hear?

Unidentified man

Below is one of the family portraits that recently came to me. (Thank you, Cousin M).

It came via FL from the house in Litchfield, IL, where my family lived for many, many years. I have never seen it before and there are no identifying marks to indicate the name of the subject. Indeed, there is nothing on the frame or the backing to point towards one person or another.

Here's what can be said about the portrait's physical characteristics:

The frame is oval. The glass was broken when my cousin found it; the glass itself was convex. Cleaning the glass away ripped the portrait (or didn't, but I have "restored" it digitally below). The original photo has been altered with overmarkings. The convex glass, oval frame and over markings are typical of charcoal portraits popular from 1880 to 1920. There are no props in the photo. This is a vignette-style portrait. It might be a close-up of an earlier portrait.

I have often found that reducing a photo to black and white can reveal additional details, so here is the B&W version:

The subject is a middle-aged man. It is not clear if he is seated or standing. The over markings are done in gray, which might indicate an older man, perhaps 30 to 50. He looks slightly away from the camera. He is wearing a dark jacket with handkerchief or such; the "such" is drawn in. He is wearing a white shirt; the narrow collar has one button. He is wearing a vest or sweater inside the jacket. No hat.

He has prominent cheekbones, a full head of dark hair parted on his left. His ears are slightly away from his head. His eyes have circles underneath, but they are not prominent or swollen. His jacket hits him higher on the neck than is seen in modern portraits. This might indicate strong shoulders and a forward head position. Indeed, he seems to have a wide, shaggy neck, and the width of the jacket from the shoulders out might indicate strong/overweight arms or just extra material in the jacket.

His high, strong forehead reminds me of my dad and my uncle, who had the same feature. Greeeeat... I already know that this is one of my dad's/uncle's forebears...but which one??

Could be a Purdy...could not...I think it is. Stay tuned.

Emma J. Purdy & Ann Olive postcard

After a long break from Purdy genealogy, I have recently begun to dabble again. The reason for this is a major gift of family photos, many of which are Purdys from the Central Illinois area.

First up is a photo postcard of Miss Emma Josephine Purdy and Mrs. Ann Olive, wife of Edmund Olive of Worden, IL. Here's the front:

And here's the back.

These have been the easiest people to identify because the info is on the back.

Emma Josephine Purdy was the daughter of John Palmer Purdy and Malitta Parisher. Ann Olive was her niece; haven't figured out which sibling yet, but that won't be too hard. Both are mentioned in the will of Elias Purdy, EJP's brother, here:

https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9048/images/004705431_00166?treeid=&personid=&hintid=&usePUB=true&usePUBJs=true&_ga=2.25776701.1457845910.1593041554-2039479161.1593041554&pId=2247694&backurl=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ancestry.com%2Fcgi-bin%2Fsse.dll%3Fdbid%3D9048%26h%3D2247694%26indiv%3Dtry%26o_vc%3DRecord%3AOtherRecord%26rhSource%3D2542

It's my goal to share as many of these as possible in the coming weeks and years. As soon as I can ID the people, or at least figure out some clues as to their identities, I'll post them here.

Here's hoping my Purdy relatives will enjoy playing the Match Game—is this your forefather, or mine???

See ya.