by Julie Jeffery Manwarren, November 29, 2021 This post is dedicated to Paul Holbrook, who overcame so much in the past year and whose rescue of another glass negative was perfectly timed by God to be yet another a miracle. I remember the first time I saw it. Described as another Floyd Ingraham glass negative, it appeared on eBay - this one too expensive for my friend Paul Holbrook or myself to purchase. But Paul wanted it badly. I was instantly enchanted with the image of th

This post is part of a series. To read from the beginning, go here. I was thrilled to be able to construct a small family tree for Freda Rose and get so much information from her first letter to her cousin, Marie. I found more about her immediate relatives with a dig into the US Census Records and other documents on Ancestry.com I still don't know exactly how Freda and her cousin Marie are related. I am assuming that Freda's mother had a brother named Carl and Carl is the fat

If you are just joining me on my latest history detective adventure, be sure to read part 1 of this series here. I loved having something new to research and seeing vintage letters sent from the U.S. to post-war Germany was too interesting to pass up! I decided to go through one letter at a time. The first letter was dated Feb 9, 1947. The first big clue was Freda's address - 428 Crown Ave. Scranton, PA. So I knew where she was living in 1947. But who was Freda Rose? As I not

I was in a slump. I had come down from the high of having a book published and finally getting back to Springwater, NY in the western Finger Lakes' region for my book launch and other events. So, what next? I felt I had no creative energy left. Needing a break, I tabled all my creative projects and research for several months and focused on my family and my work as a content creator for a local university. One day, I was on Facebook and happened upon my county's community pag

If you are just joining my blog, read part one here. My first visit to Springwater was full of discovery. Buildings and intersections were easily recognizable. In some ways, I felt I had stepped back in time and it was so exciting to see the community Floyd Ingraham lived in and photographed. This home located on S. Main Street/Rt 15, Springwater, New York was photographed by Floyd Ingraham (on left) in the early 20th century and by me (on right) in 2019: Photograph on right

(This post has no pictures or information on Floyd Ingraham, but is a 'rabbit trail' I took during one of my many visits to the Springwater area. I hope you enjoy the journey!) I stayed at The Mission at Conesus, New York, during my first visit to the Springwater area. It is a very interesting property and I had fun researching it. In 1872, the first Catholic Bishop of Rochester, New York, purchased 527 acres of land near Hemlock Lake. He created a farm and vineyard. After hi

To read the first post in this series go here. As Paul Holbrook began to scan and restore hundreds of Floyd Ingraham's original glass plates, a stunning collection emerged. I threw myself into researching Ingraham's photographs. Douglas Morgan, a man who is a respected historian and member of historical societies in the Springwater, New York, area reached out to Paul and identified the photographs as Floyd Ingraham's. Work done by Rick Osiecki on his site hemlockandcanadicela

I have been holding this story in for a year, but it began long before. To start at the beginning I'd have to take you back 220 years. Photo courtesy of Paul Holbrook. Used with permission. Somehow - and I have my suspicions how - Floyd Ingraham, the son of a farmer in the small agricultural community of Springwater, New York, picked up a camera and decided to start taking pictures. It was a wooden box camera, most likely a Reko model with a Bausch and Lomb lens. Glass plates

When I purchased three 19th century photographs in Old Town Albuquerque, New Mexico, I had no idea where the three men staring back at me would lead. If you are just joining, and want to read my previous posts in this series, start here. After all that I discovered about H.P. Perrine, I felt brave enough to investigate the next photograph of a man with a name I couldn't decipher. I originally thought the name on the back of the picture was J. WyCough. But I didn't get anythin

If you are just joining me in this hunt for three 19th century men whose pictures I found in Albuquerque New Mexico, and want to read part one of this series, begin here. I began my next history detective adventure with a hunt to find H.P. Perrine. Though his photograph had no date, I felt sure I was looking at an 1870s Carte De Visite. The curved corners of the photograph hints that this photo was probably taken 1870 or later. The clothing with the loose jacket and pants, h

To find out how I picked up three 19th century guys in Albuquerque, New Mexico, read my first post in this series here. Albuquerque was beautiful but so different than where I live on the east coast. This is the view we had as we had dinner at the home of the president of the board my husband serves on for his company. The higher elevation and dry air affected me but the views were worth it. The Carte De Visites I had in my luggage weren't from Albuquerque. The three 19th cen

I know I've been absent for a while. I have a valid excuse. I can't wait to tell you what I have been working on! But you'll have to wait a little longer. Stay tuned... Like many of you, the pandemic had sucked the life out of me. Ok, not life. but creativity, energy, motivation and opportunity. I was isolated in my bedroom with COVID when my dear husband popped his head in the bedroom two months ago to see if I was still alive. He told me that he had a work trip to Albuquer

What struck me first was how much she looked like my grandmother, Marjorie. It was just another post on Facebook. People post links to news articles all the time. But her face stopped me from scrolling. And then I saw the headline, "Rediscovered 70-year-old photos spark world-wide quest". As I read about the mystery surrounding a roll of undeveloped film found in a 1950's camera, I was drawn in. A vintage camera discovered in 2015 had a roll of undeveloped film inside. The o

This post is part of a series. To start from the beginning, go here. I had the most trouble finding information on Shirley "Jersey" Buhl and her big sister, Marilyn. Marilyn was born in 1932 and though I looked and looked, I couldn't find any record of her graduation from high school or any trace of her as an adult. Marilyn Buhl: Picture courtesy of Paul Holbrook. Used with permission. Picture courtesy of Paul Holbrook. Used with permission. Picture courtesy of Paul Holbrook

One of my favorite things to do is to research the history of a property. Any building or residence older than 50 years usually has great stories to tell. A friend connected me with someone who was looking for information on a building they were remodeling. Recently purchased, she noticed that the apartment building had strange interior walls and hallways. It was thought that the large house on the corner of Cherry Street and S. Webster Avenue in Scranton, Pennsylvania was bu

This post is part of a series. To start from the beginning, go here. In researching Shirley Buhl, nicknamed 'Jersey', I also wanted to know more about her parents, Oscar and Clara Buhl. Here is Clara Buhl with her daughters, Marilyn and Shirley Buhl. Picture courtesy of Paul Holbrook. Used with permission. Clara was born in 1907 to Theodore and Julia Betzler. She married Oscar Buhl in 1931. The Independent Press newspaper from Bloomfield, New Jersey, revealed that Shirley an

This post is part of a series. If you would like to start from the beginning, go here. I had so much fun uncovering all I could about "Jersey", otherwise known as Shirley Buhl, and her family. With help from my history detective sidekick, Valerie, I was also able to uncover information about her siblings. I found several news items about her brother, Joseph George Buhl. Joseph was born on October 22, 1925 to Oscar and Clara Buhl. Picture courtesy of Paul Holbrook. Used with

This post is part of a series. To read part 1, go here. My hunt for a little girl nicknamed "Jersey" discovered in a collection by Paul Holbrook, a collector of vintage negatives, began with a desire to know the identity of the girl with the big eyes. The pictures were often out of focus, but I didn't care. I simply wanted to know more about her and her family. Picture courtesy of Paul Holbrook. Used with permission. Picture courtesy of Paul Holbrook. Used with permission. Th

My hunt for little "Jersey" and her family was about to get a HUGE boost! Paul Holbrook, the owner of the glass negatives said that he remembered writing on one of the envelopes. He was able to discover that one envelope said "Joe Buhl Newark NJ" Could these be the Buhl children? Perhaps Joe Buhl was the father? Picture courtesy of Paul Holbrook. Used with permission. A father with one of his girls: Picture courtesy of Paul Holbrook. Used with permission. Unfortunately seve

Although I was instantly enamored with the pouty doe-eyed girl from New Jersey I knew that identifying her would be difficult, if not impossible. But from the moment I first saw 'Jersey' on my friend Paul Holbrook's Facebook page, I knew I had to try. It can be very difficult to identify vintage photographs and I had learned that I needed to collect clues to see if there was anything to go on to uncover 'Jersey's' identity. Picture courtesy of Paul Holbrook. Used with permiss