The Beautiful Era: Marie E. Umphrey, Udora, Ontario, 1908

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.