This album page brings up several questions! Who was Vera Bailey? Who was John Dean? Whose yard were they standing in?
The first photo is labeled, “May 7 – 1916. Vera Bailey — John Dean:”
Another photo from this album was taken in this same yard from a different angle:
With the help of my Great-Aunt Claudia (Blanche’s daughter) and her cousins, we have identified the address for this home and yard—442 East 2650 North, in North Ogden, Utah. The home is still surrounded by that lovely little fence. The porch steps, columns, and walkway are also recognizable today:
Aunt Claudia identified the white house seen in the background of the above photos as Will Gibson’s home. Will Gibson and his wife, Hazel Berrett, were lifelong friends of my great-grandparents Claude and Blanche Ellis. Will and Claude served as missionaries in the Eastern States mission at the same time. The two couples spent their courtships together.1 I have shared several photos from that time including Will and Hazel.
Aunt Claudia’s younger cousins also recognized the white home but remembered it by its later occupants, the Chambers family. None of them can remember who lived at 442 East 2650 North or know why Blanche would have been sitting in that yard. I believe that answer lies, in part, in the label of the first photo.
It seems logical that the mystery yard belongs to one of Blanche’s friends. Vera Bailey from the photo seems like a good candidate. The 1920 census for North Ogden includes no addresses, but Will and Hazel Gibson were enumerated immediately after the John and Ellen Bailey family.2 According to the Family Tree on FamilySearch, John and Ellen Bailey were the parents of five children including Verna Olive Bailey (seen in two previous photos) and Marion Vera Bailey. It seems most likely that the home at 442 East 2650 North belonged to the Bailey family and that Vera from the photo is Marion Vera Bailey.
But what about John Dean? Who was he?
In 1920, there was only one man named John Dean living in North Ogden.3 He was living with his widowed mother, Emma, and sister Rose. The Dean family was enumerated three households before the Heber and Hattie Huband household.4 Heber and Hattie were my great-grandmother’s parents. It seems likely that the John Dean who lived near the Hubands is the same John Dean seen in the first photo on this album page.
What do you think?
The second photo on this page features my great-grandfather Claude Albert Ellis and is labeled simply “1915.”:
He looks pretty dashing!
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.
Happy Friday, I hope you and your loved ones are happy, safe, and healthy! xoxo