An old Sabbath School book, a photo of a young boy, and a handwritten poem about a frozen girl with a cryptic signature all led to a girl named Phoebe V. Lory and someone with the last name Leer. If you are just joining me on this history detective adventure, start at part 1 to learn what I discovered so far. With the assumption that the last name of the individual Phoebe wrote the poem for was "Leer," I researched all of the Leer families living in and around Latimore, Ada

Discovered between the pages of The Child's Scripture Question Book (1836, American Sunday School Union, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), was a carte de visite (CDV) of a young boy and a folded paper with a handwritten poem. The poem included a curious coded citation at the end. The book was full of engravings (illustrations) and wonderfully worn. I love old books that have been used and handled. All Pictures in this post by Jamanix Books, used with permission. Was the boy in th

Found in an old children's sunday school book, a popular poem and ballad was handwritten on a folded piece of paper. The transcriber? A mystery. They chose to sign their name in code. Photo by Jamanix Books. Used with permission. Since I had researched the poem, "Young Charlotte," I knew that the original author was Elizabeth Oaks Smith. The letters of her name did not fit the characters in the code. Therefore, it is my theory that the coded name is the name of the person who

In the pages of an antique book, The Child's Scripture Question-Book , a picture of a young boy and a handwritten poem were discovered. Photo by Jamanix Books. Used with permission. Since the back of the CDV (carte de visite) photograph had nothing that identified the individual in the picture, a closer look at the folded pages was warranted. the paper was 17" x 11" and creased or torn where folded. Written on the front and back was a poem. The poem was written in pencil and

One of the mysteries within the Wilkes-Barre glass negative collection owned by Paul Holbrook of Camera Americana was a series of images...

She was the sweet face that often greeted us at Paul Holbrook's Camera Americana page on Facebook. Many wondered who she was, including...

The Wilkes-Barre glass negatives had many clues in the images to help me solve the identity of some of the places and people within them....

The major break in the case of the Wilkes-Barre Glass negatives came from the man who first purchased them. Whenever I have sought to...

Before I closed up my research on the lake pictures that were part of the Wilkes-Barre glass negatives, I wanted to look into a picture...

Knowing that the glass negatives in Paul Holbrook's collection were mostly from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, was a significant help in...

Paul Holbrook and I go back many years and his images have captured not only my heart and mind, but the attention of thousands of people...

As soon as Paul Holbrook's glass negative collection from the Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania area hit his Facebook page, I knew they were...

A large glass negative collection was put up for sale on eBay. My friend Paul Holbrook purchased many of them and has been busy restoring...

by Julie Jeffery Manwarren, November 29, 2021 This post is dedicated to Paul Holbrook, who overcame so much in the past year and whose...

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...

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...

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...

If you are just joining my blog, read part one here. My first visit to Springwater was full of discovery. Buildings and intersections...

(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...

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...