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Friday, January 13, 2012
Look Closely: Clarence & Harold Crane, 1913, S. Dakota
These two boys are "Clarence and Harold Crane, ages 4 & 6 years," according to the handwritten inscription on the back of the postcard photograph.
That's all I had to go on for information, so I went to the 1920 US Census and searched for two brothers with these names and the same age spread. I found one possibility in Liberty, Lyman, South Dakota: Clarence Crane, b. 1910 Nebraska, and Harold Crane, b. 1908 Nebraska, sons of William W. & Carrie Crane.
It was probably them, but Crane is a fairly common name and I wished I had something more definitive.
The postcard did not have a stamp so it appeared it was not sent through the mail.
That's when I put it aside. When I took it out again to scan the photo, I noticed that indentation just under "Name and Address Here" line. Was that a postmark? I looked closer. It wasn't a postmark per se. It was the impression of a postmark. The photo must have been sent through the mail in an envelope. When the postmaster stamped the envelope, it left an impression on the photo. With a magnifying glass I could read, "Aug 12 5 pm 1913 S. Dak" The town name is not readable.
Now I feel better labelling this photo "Clarence and Harold Crane from Liberty, South Dakota, 1913"
UPDATE: Just after writing this, a Crane descendant from Oklahoma contacted me about the photo. It looks as if this one has been reunited, and it's on its way!
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