About This Blog

Monday, September 7, 2020

Martha McKinstry Laughlin of Ohio

Found Photo: Martha McKinstry Laughlin of Ohio


Martha "Mattie" McKinstry was born on April 29, 1835 in Dixon, Preble County, Ohio. She was the daughter of Jacob McKinstry and Mary O'Dell.

Her siblings were John McKinstry, Lorinda (McKinstry) Brumbaugh, Frances (McKinstry) Jaqua, Sarah (McKinstry) Childress and Mary (Stack) Treffinger.

On July 25, 1862, Mattie married John Laughlin. She died on December 22, 1927 in Eaton, Ohio.


Henry A. Schell of Philadelphia

 Found Photo: Henry Albert Schell of Philadelphia

This is a photo of Henry Albert Schell. Henry was born December 2, 1894 in Pennsylvania. His parents were Henry Albert Schell, Sr., born in Ohio, and Margaretta, born in Switzerland. In 1900, according to the U.S. Census, the family lived on 7th Street in Philadelphia. Henry had two brothers, August Schell and William Schell, and a sister, Caroline Schell. 

In 1939, Henry married Mary Emily Cauk at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. He died in April 1976 in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Marvin Davis Cartwright and Loren Walter Cartwright

Found Photo: Marvin Davis Cartwright and Loren Walter Cartwright of Boone County, Iowa




Marvin Davis Cartwright was born in 1904 in Boone County, Iowa. His brother, Loren Walter Cartwright was born in Boone County in 1909. They were the two eldest children of Walter Dudley Cartwright (b. 1880) and Myrna (Mernie) Lorena Davis (b. 1884). Their siblings, Eileen Cartwright and Duane Cartwright, followed in 1921 and 1923.

Marvin married Mary Elizabeth Johnston and they had two children, Barbara Cartwright (b. 1928) and Walter Cartwright (b. 1932). Marvin was living in San Diego at the time of his death in 1975.

Loren married Ethel Mae Zanker in Iowa in 1933. They had three children together, Richard Lin Cartwright, Roger Loren Cartwright, and Mary Jane Cartwright. Loren died in 2011 in Des Moines, Iowa.

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Otto Failmezger and Metta Kleinsteuber

Found Photo: Otto Failmezger and Metta Kleinsteuber of Milwaukee


Genealogy, Family History, Antique, Found Photographs, Old photos

Despite the lovely handwriting on the back of this photo, this young couple was hard to place. There seem to be multiple spellings of each of their names. Here are some of them:

  • Otto Falmezger
  • Maria Meta Kleinsteuber
  • Meta Kleinstuber 

I believe that I've found the correct couple, though. Metta was born in 1861 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her parents were Carl or Charles Kleinsteuber and Carolina Just, both of whom were born in Germany but met and married in Milwaukee. Metta was one of eight children born to Carl and Carolina, and she was their youngest daughter. Metta married Otto in August 1881, but sadly died just two years later, in 1883. It does not appear that they had any children. Otto married again some years later, to Ida Struebig. They had two sons, Adolph Failmezger (b. 1901) and Carl Walter Failmezger (b. 1904).

Carl Failmezger married Viola Groskopf, and they had two children. He died in Florida in 1993. Adolph also married and had a child. He died in 1953.

Metta left behind many nieces and nephews. Perhaps one of their descendants would be interested in this photo.

James Barroll of Baltimore, Maryland

Found Photo: James Barroll of Baltimore, Maryland



Found Photograph, Old Photo, Family History, Antiques, Genealogy


The text on the back on this photograph reads:

James Barroll of Baltimore
Son of Rev. William Barroll and Ann Williamson his wife - she was daughter of Rev. Alexander Williamson.
James Barroll married Mary A. Crockett and was the father of twelve children of whom only one is living, Benjamin C. Barroll.
Charles Barroll, my father, was next to the youngest son.
This photograph after the portrait by Hardy and was a sparkling likeness.
[illegible] Sept. 21, 1906

James' father, William Barroll, was born in 1734 in England. He attended St. John's College at Cambridge, and emigrated to the American Colonies in about 1760. He became the reverend at St. Stephen's Church in Cecil County, Maryland and married Ann Williamson in 1761.

Their youngest son, James Barroll, was born in 1777 in Maryland and married Mary Ann Crockett on December 15, 1812 in Baltimore, Maryland. The twelve children of James and Mary Ann were as follows:

James William Barroll, 1813–1887
Edward Barroll, 1814–1814
Jane Barroll, 1815–1887
Edward Barroll, 1816–1854
Mary Ann Barroll, 1817–1844
Benjamin Crockett Barroll, 1819–1908
Elizabeth Hands Barroll, 1820–1899
William Barroll, 1822–
Richard Barroll, 1823–
Charles Barroll, 1825–1905
Henry Barroll, 1827–1865
Serena Barroll, 1830–1879

Charles Barroll, the second youngest son who is referenced on this photo, married twice. His first wife was Elizabeth Virginia Reed. They had two children:

Mary Jane Barroll (b. 1853)
Edward Reed Barroll (b. 1855)

Upon Elizabeth's death, Charles married Nancy Bingham Cowden. They had three children:

Victoria Barrell (b. 1858)
Isabella Maude (b. 1860)
Elizabeth Virginia (b. 1863)

It appears that Mary Jane and Victoria died rather young, so it was likely Edward, Isabella or Elizabeth who wrote the description on the back on this picture in 1906.

The Hardy mentioned as the artist who created James' portrait was likely Jeremiah Pearson Hardy (1800–1887), who is known for painting many portraits of notable colonial men, particularly in New England.