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I reunite identified family photos that I find in antique shops and second hand stores with genealogists and family historians. If you see one of your ancestors here and would like to obtain the original, feel free to contact me at familyphotoreunion [ at ] yahoo [ dot ] com. I also accept donations of pre-1927 images to be reunited. I hope you enjoy your visit!
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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

What A Shame Wednesday: Unknown Couple #1, Manitowoc, WI, 1920s



There are no identifying notations on this beautiful wedding portrait.  I can tell you, however, that it was found in a collection of photographs belonging to Julia Lotten of Manitowoc, Wisconsin.   Julia Lotten, according to A centennial history of the Manitowoc County school districts and its public school system, 1848-1948  by Joseph J. Rappell, was a teacher at Quarry School in Rockland Jt. 4, Manitowoc County sometime prior to 1907.

This photograph was taken at the Glander Studio in Manitowoc.  Judging by the type of wedding dress, I'd date this sometime in the late-1910s or 1920s. 

Glander Studios was operated by John A. Glander (1887-1953).  Glander began his career as a photographer in 1902 when he began to apprentice with A.J. Packard in Manitowoc.  He worked there for six years and then in 1908 opened his own studio at 904 Washington Street.  A year later he moved down the block to 918 Washington Street.  In 1925 a son, Henry J. Glander, began to work at the studio and took over the business after his father died. 

Wouldn't it be great if someone recognized the bride & groom?

February 23, 2012 Update:  I am happy to report that this photograph, though still unidentified, has been claimed by a descendant of Julia Lotten, along with 13 other photographs from the Lotten collection. 

6 comments:

  1. Julia Christine Lotten (1879-1945) was born in Eaton, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, on January 18, 1879, “and attended the public schools. She attended high school and college at Oshkosh, and taught school in Oskkosh until 1915 when she went west to attend the world’s fair at San Francisco where she stayed and made her home and taught school in Oregon, Montana and California.” Her obituary, published on page 12 of the Sheboygan [Wisconsin] Press of January 18, 1945, also states that “Miss Julia Lotten, 65, of Portland, Oregon,...had suffered a stroke on Christmas day [1944] and passed away Friday, Jan. 5. The body was brought to Valders...and burial was made Sunday, Jan. 14...at the Valders Evangelical Lutheran Church...in the family lot in the church cemetery.” It also states “She is survived by a sister, Mrs. Mina Moon of Arcanum, Ohio; and eight nephews and three nieces.”

    Apparently Julia Lotten didn’t marry and did not have any surviving children. Given the dating of this photograph to the 1920s, I wonder if perhaps this is the wedding photo for one of her nieces or nephews?

    The Daily Northwestern (Oshkosh, Wisconsin) of May 1, 1909, on page 5, shows her as a third grade teacher at Dale School for 1909-10 earning $525 (probably a year). The same newspaper of April 29, 1911, shows her at the same school and grade for 1911-12 but now earning $575.

    I found this information on Ancestry.com. I also found her in a family tree, and sent a message to the tree’s owner suggesting that she take a look at this blog post! It appears that besides Mina, Julia had three other brothers and three other sisters, all older. Besides Lotten and Moon, some of the other associated last names for nieces and nephews appear to be Larson, Stenson, Haese, and Lantz.

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  2. Thanks so much for the great research, Amanda! With any luck a descendant will be able to tell us who the happy couple is.

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  3. We couldn't have solved this one without you, Amanda. Thanks so much! And thanks, too, for the post about FPR. Much appreciated!

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  4. Could it be Bill Schlies and his wife Isabel?

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  5. Hi Beth! Thanks for posting...It could very well be Bill Schlies and his wife, since we really don't have any solid identification clues at the moment. Do you know of any other photos out there of Bill Schlies and his wife that we could compare this one with? It would be great to finally identify this couple. Did Bill live in the Manitowoc area?

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