Category Archives: Photos

Lucy Sutherland Photo and Losing Focus

Despite pledging to myself that this year I would stick to the main line of ancestors, I can never resist a mystery.  And Lucy Sutherland presented a mystery.

Lucy Sutherland

Lucy Sutherland (Fair) carte de visite.

In sorting through old photographs, I came across this pretty lady.  On the back I saw it was photographed in Millersburg, Ohio, by a photographer who took many pictures of my other ancestors.  The hand-written name below the photographer’s imprint on the back was Lucy Sutherland.  At the top on the back someone had also written #4 Mrs. L. S. Fair,Clark.

Both of those surnames struck a chord.  One of my father’s aunts, Emma Kaser married a Sutherland.( I  found the story of Emma and George to be quite interesting. You can follow the link to her name if you’d like to read it.)  And my mother’s half-sister, Rhema Anderson married a Fair.  The Sutherlands, Fairs, and Kasers all lived near or in Clark, Ohio.  So how come I didn’t know Lucy Sutherland? And was she born a Sutherland or did she marry one? And why would my mother or father have her photo in their collection?

What I Knew Or Learned

The carte de visite photo looks to have been taken in the 1870s, judging by the style of the photograph and by the style of her dress.  I guessed her age as in her 20s or 30s.

I searched my family tree for Sutherlands, but Lucy was not there.  So next I turned to Fairs. Since I had not added the family of my uncle (by marriage) Earl Fair, my tree was of no help, so I emailed a Fair cousin. He consulted with his sister, who did some research and came up with the fact that Lucy Sutherland married Phineas Franklin Fair, brother of Lyman S. Fair.

That solved the question of why Mrs. L. S. Fair’s name appears on the back of the picture, and firmly places the drama in Clark, Ohio.

P.F. Fair and Lucy were married on November 4 1879, so Lucy was unmarried when she had this picture made, but it is logical to assume that it was indeed taken in the 1870s.  The two newlyweds were twenty-five years old according to their marriage license, so in the picture she was a bit younger than I had guessed–in her early twenties.

A little more digging, and some mysteries clear up, but as usual–new ones emerge.

Three Families Come to Clark, Ohio

In the 1820s, a young Joseph Kaser (III) arrived in Ohio with his parents.  He married and had a large family including Emma Kaser (b. 1864) and Clifford Kaser (b. 1867).

In 1836, five-year-old Daniel Fair arrived in Ohio with his parents. He grew up and married and had several children including Phineas Franklin Fair (b. 1855) and Lyman S. Fair (B. 1866)

About 1864, the Daniel Sutherland Family, with nine-year-old Lucy Sutherland (B. 1855) and other children, including two-year-old George Sutherland (b. 1862) moved from Pennsylvania to a farm near Clark, Ohio (then called Bloomfield).

By 1879, when Lucy Sutherland married Phineas Franklin Fair they were both twenty-five years old.

In My Tree

The cast of characters as they show up in my family tree:

Clifford Kaser, My paternal grandfather.

Emma Kaser, My great-aunt, Clifford’s sister.

Lyman S. Fair, Father of my uncle by marriage, Earl Fair.

Phineas Franklin Fair, Uncle of my uncle by marriage, Earl Fair.

George Sutherland, husband of my great-aunt, Emma Kaser.

Which makes Lucy Sutherland, the lady in the picture, the sister of the husband of my great-aunt. AND the wife of the uncle of the husband of my aunt.

Got that?

More Lucy Sutherland Mystery

The mystery of why my parents would have her photo remains unsolved.

And the fact that Phineas Franklin married a second time in 1903 adds piquancy to the story.  Lucy pretty much seems to disappear from records after her one son is born in 1886. Find a Grave identifies a grave marker as hers and says she died in 1951 (age 96) but I can’t read the tombstone, so don’t currently have any more information from that. There also is a Lucy A. Fair on a property map of the area where P.F. Fair also has land, but most records refer to her as Lucy J.

I am going to leave it to the Fair family to sort this out if they choose, and go back to my direct line, now that I at least know my connection to the lady in the photo. Thanks for the entertaining distraction, Lucy, but I’m back in focus.

The Stout Sisters in Pictures

I may actually have more pictures of the Stout sisters, “Aunt Mattie“, “Aunt Lib“, “Aunt Sade“, but if I do they are not identified (or wrongly identified) and I have not struggled through to try to pin  the down.

I have written about each of the Stout sisters (links above)–at least what I know about them. My mother called the oldest, Aunt Mattie (Martha Stout Hayes) “the prettiest one.” She said that the children (meaning my mother and brothers when they were little) and my grandmother Vera Stout Anderson liked “Aunt Lib” (Elizabeth Stout Cunningham) the best.  Sade (Sarah Stout Scott) and her husband Pastor Ed Scott (both in the Stout family picture below) had a daughter, Edna who corresponded with my mother for several years after my grandmother died in 1964, but unfortunately, those letters are lost. Edna lived in West Virginia, married a man named Jefford and had two sons who mother said owned a radio station.

Finding the Stout Family picture at the bottom of the page helps a lot because I’m certain of the identification of the two sisters in that picture since my Grandmother, who knew them well, wrote on the back of the photo.

So do you agree with the matchups of individual Stout sisters that I’ve done below?

Martha Stout

Studio photograph of one of the Stout sisters–Probably Mattie (Martha). Circa 1870

Stout daughters

Perhaps Sarah (Sade)and Elizabeth (Lib) Stout. Misidentified by Harriette Kaser as Myrle and Mary Cunningham, (Daughters of Elizabeth) but I believe dress style is too old for those girls. (Circa late 1870s)

Emeline Stout Family late 1890s

Stout Family late 1890s. Labeled by Vera Stout Anderson: “1st Row, Uncle Tom Stout, Grandma Stout and W. C. Stout (Dad) 2nd Row. Uncle Frank Stout, Aunt Lib Cunningham, Aunt Sade Scott and Uncle Edd Scott.

Stout Sisters

“Aunt Lib, Aunt Sade, Aunt Mattie,” labeled by Vera Anderson “Dad’s sisters” 1910s

Elizabeth (Lib) Stout Cunningham, Sarah (Sade) Stout Scott, Martha (Mattie) Stout Hayes.

Aunt Lib Stout can be seen sitting to the left of the porch post in this picture taken on the porch of Hattie Morgan Stout (to Lib’s left). One of Lib’s daughters is on the far right in back. 1923

I’m hoping that perhaps a relative who has more pictures and more information on the Stout girls will get in touch.  Fingers crossed!

The Stout Family Pictures Raise Questions

At some point late in their mother’s life, the Stout brothers and sisters gathered at the Stout farm in Guernsey County.  It was an important occasion, because Tom Stout came all the way from Wyoming, and Frank (John Franklin) Stout came from Omaha Nebraska.  Not only did the four boys have their picture taken together, but I also discovered another Stout family picture. That photo includes the aging Emeline Stout.  I have shown the picture of the Stout boys earlier, but mistakenly thought they might have gathered for Emeline’s funeral in 1905.  I now know the four brothers were together somewhat earlier than March, 1905, when Emeline died.

The Stout Brothers

The Stout Brothers

These Stout brothers are (clockwise from top left) Tom Stout, rancher from Wyoming; John Franklin (Frank) Stout, a lawyer from Omaha Nebraska, my great-grandfather William C. (‘Doc’) Stout from Holmes County, Ohio and Dr. George Stout from Guernsey County, Ohio .

How do I know  with such certainty the photos are from the same day?  The photographs were taken in the same studio in Guernsey County and framed in the same cardboard frames.  The three brothers who are in both photos are wearing identical clothing.i

Here’s the Stout family picture I just found, with Emeline and five of her seven living children, plus a son-in-law.

Emeline Stout Family late 1890s

Stout Family late 1890s. Labeled by Vera Stout Anderson: “1st Row, Uncle Tom Stout, Grandma Stout and W. C. Stout (Dad) 2nd Row. Uncle Frank Stout, Aunt Lib Cunningham, Aunt Sade Scott and Uncle Ed Scott.”

DETAILS

Great-great grandmother Emeline is squinting her eyes, because she had lost most of her eyesight later in life.

Judging by the leg of mutton or gigot sleeves on the two younger women, I believe this photo was taken in the last half of the 1890s. A velvet vertical trim adorns Aunt Sade’s double-breasted jacket . Aunt Lib’s outfit is even more elaborately adorned, with flaps extending out from the shoulder over the tops of the large gathered sleeves, light-colored embroidery trim on the jacket and collar, and a light-colored ribbon bow on her right side at the waist. It looks like she has a chain, but the locket is tucked inside her jacket.

The women look as though they are wearing winter clothes, however the four sons posed on a porch.  Perhaps that was not a real porch, but a staged set at the photographer’s studio? Whether they went to the studio for their picture, or the photographer went to Emeline’s farm, I am certain that the family portrait was taken in Emeline’s home. I can see a photograph on the wall which is part of my collection of old photos. Emeline also had a lovely patterned wallpaper on the wall.

Interesting that the two Ohioans are wearing the string bow tie, and the two westerners the large four-in-hand.

I am curious about the star-shaped dangle on a watch chain worn by rancher Tom.  I’m guessing it is the symbol of some fraternal organization.  Anyone out there have a clue?

One More Photograph

It was quite a day for photographs.  My great-grandfather, W.C. (Doc) Stout also posed for an individual photograph on that day.

Dr. Stout

Doctor William Cochran Stout, my great-grandfather

Besides not knowing the exact year of the Stout family picture, some mysteries remain.

The Photographer

Addison, Quaker City, it says on the front of the cardboard frame of the Stout family picture. Quaker City was the town nearest the Stout farm in Guernsey County, Ohio. Many times I get help dating pictures by looking at lists, particularly Langdon Road, that list old photographers. However, I have not found a reference on line, so know nothing about the Addison Photography Studio in Quaker City.

The Missing Siblings

Where was brother George in the Stout family picture?  Since he was a doctor practicing in Guernsey County, perhaps he was called out for a patient.

Where were sister Martha (Mattie) Stout Cunningham and her husband? They lived in Guernsey County.

Why was Aunt Sades husband the only spouse included in the family portrait?  It is quite possible that Tom’s and Frank’s wives did not make the long trip from out West, but W.C. Stout and Dr. George Stout and Lib Cunningham all lived nearby, yet their spouses are not pictured.

And the biggest question of all–what brought this family together?  It was not a wedding, nobody had died in the late 1890s, Emeline would have turned 70 in 1898. Could the family have gathered for her birthday? I’m missing something here. Something that was important enough to draw the entire family together, and commemorate the event with a photograph. Emeline’s 70th birthday seems the most likely.

Meanwhile, however, I have the photograph to add to the others of Great-great-grandmother Emeline Cochran Stout.

Emeline Cochran Stout

Emeline Cochran Stout, mother of Dr. Wm Stout. 1890s.

How I am Related

  • Vera Marie Kaser Badertscher is the daughter of
  • Harriette Anderson Kaser, the daughter of
  • Vera Stout Anderson, the daughter of
  • William C. Stout, the son of
  • Emeline Cochran Stout

William C. Stout is also brother to

  • Tom Stout
  • John Franklin Stout
  • George Stout
  • Elizabeth (Lib) Stout Cunningham
  • Sarah (Sade) Stout
  • Martha (Mattie) Stout

who are therefore my 2 X great-uncles and 2 X great-aunts.

All photographs are in the possession of the author.