It's a shame this photo suffered a wee bit of damage on the image itself sometime over the years. Isn't the detail on the back of the dress amazing? This is a portrait of Marie E. Umphrey of Udora, Ontario, Canada, taken in 1908 by a photographer named Phillips. You can see the photo is inscribed, "To Edna --M.E. Umphrey, Udora, Ontario, Canada" on the front. It is also inscribed on the back, "To Edna, From Marie, November 15, 1908."
The village of Udora straddled two townships: Georgina & Scott. Georgina was located in York County and Scott Township was in Ontario County. I admit I haven't had much luck locating her in the census. I did find a James Newton Umphrey who purchased a general store in Udora in 1907 and worked as the postmaster there for many years. I found him handily in the census, but as far as I can see, he did not have any children named Marie. Tracing a photograph of a woman has it's difficulties sometimes, if it isn't clear whether her surname is a married name or a maiden name. In this case we can't really say which is more likely.
There are two Umphreys listed in the Scott Township Directory for 1887:
1) J.W. Umphrey, Udora
2) Michael Umphrey, Udora
While Marie Umphrey isn't listed as a child of either man in the censuses, perhaps she married one of their sons.
UPDATE: FEB 1, 2021 Marie Umphrey's photograph has been reunited with a family member in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was identified as the wife of James Newton Umphrey.
I wonder if Marie isnt "Mable Umphrey" (transcribed as Mavle) born 1880 wife of Newton in the 1911 census
ReplyDeletethat would make her 28 when the photo taken.