The first photo on this page is the most recent image. The other two photos appear to have been taken at about the same time.
This photo was likely taken in about 1922 based on the ages of the three children. Beth is the youngest child, she was born in 1919. If she is about three in this photo, Gene would be about 14 and Grant would be about 11. Those ages seem appropriate, or at least close.
Three generations appear in this photo. Heber & Hattie Huband are the parents of Blanche, Gene, and Grant. Blanche’s first child is Beth, the youngest child in the photo.
This is another lovely, three-generation photo. Louise Maria Austin is the mother of Della and Hattie. Hattie & Heber are the parents of Blanche, Lane, and Gene.
This photo was likely taken in about 1910 or 1911. The blur at the bottom right is said to be Gene. Gene was born in November 1908. Heber is not holding her so she must be about two or three and very wiggly. Lane is the next youngest child. He was born in December of 1903. He looks to be about seven or eight.
Heber, Hattie, and their children lived in Gridley, California from the Spring of 1908 until late June of 1911.1
The final photo was likely also taken in Gridley. The woman in the center is Della Maude Cheney, a maternal aunt of Blanche Octavia Huband, the album creator. The young woman on the left appears to be Blanche. Both Della and Blanche appear to be wearing the same outfits and hairstyles as in the second photo implying the photos may have been taken on the same day in Gridley, California.
Adding to this possibility is a statement in Blanche Octavia Huband’s autobiography about their home in Gridley, “. . . and a big screen porch was added . . .” The last photo does appear to have been taken inside of the screened porch.2
This sentence also supports the idea that Della and her mother Louise Maria Austin would have been able to visit the Huband family in Gridley, “We also went over to San Francisco to visit Grandma Cheney, Aunt Dell and Aunt Blanche who had been in California almost all the time since we had been there. They just moved from one place to another and worked in the fruit while they were there.”3
These are such wonderful photos! I hope some of my Ellis, Huband, and Cheney family members can help me identify the two unnamed individuals.
This post is part of a series sharing this wonderful old family photo album. You can learn more about the album here. A digital version of this photo album can be viewed on Flickr here.
- “Autobiography of Blanche Octavia Huband Ellis,” p. 4, paragraph 4 and p.6, paragraph 1; copy privately held by Amberly Beck, Mapleton, Utah, 2020, Amberly is the great-granddaughter of the author; digital image available on Flickr.com (https://www.flickr.com/gp/30810077@N02/uoqb1A : accessed 28 March 2020).
- “Autobiography of Blanche Octavia Huband Ellis,” p. 5, paragraph 1.
- “Autobiography of Blanche Octavia Huband Ellis,” p. 6, paragraph 1.
Wonderful photos, Amberly. What a gift it is to have them and to know who all those people are.
Thank you, Amy! It really is such a privilege to be the steward of this album. I’m getting lots of great cousin interaction in my private photo album on Facebook. Several of Ggma’s grandchildren and nieces and nephews are alive and loving seeing the album! So fun.
My in-laws threw out the box of photos that were in my husband’s grandparent’s home. Although Grandma was still living, she had fallen & broken her hip (1966 or 1967) so she was put in a rest home. She may have known who some of the people were & could have identified them, but was never asked. The aunts & uncles lived out of state so although they visited often, noone was asked to help identify the photos. My in-laws just wanted everything cleaned up. Grandma died in 1974 & her sisters-in-law died in the 1980’s. What a sad loss.
Oh! That is so sad!! I am sorry to hear that.