How Are Your Detective Skills? Grandfather Deachman and Eliza Pappa Deachman, circa 1860s, Perth, Ontario

Grandmother and Grandfather Deachman, circa 1869, Perth, Ontario, Canada

I find albums difficult to pass by. The one that held this image, especially so. While it was filled with some post-1910 images vaguely identified, there were a number of photographs such as the one above, that were labelled with detailed and extremely helpful explanations.

On the back of this carte de visite photograph, someone had made the following notes:  "My Dad's parents. Grandfather and Grandmother Deachman whose maiden name was Eliza Pappa. She passed away & left a young family of 4 sons and 1 daughter. Grandfather married again to a widow Mary Ellis who had 2 daughters Maggie & Isabella at that time. Then was born Jim, Isaac & Lizzie who married Jack Kerr."

So how are the other images labelled?  Here is a break-down of the most helpful images:

1) A cdv, circa 1865 of a young woman in her 20s, no photographer's imprint. On the reverse it is written, "Grandma Woods, Grandfather Woods' second wife. Her maiden name was Katie Stewart. A wonderful person (Catherine Stewart)." (Isn't it a lovely touch that the writer thought to tell future generations that Katie was a wonderful individual?)

2) A tintype of "mother with white collar. Mrs. Bingley her cousin to her right."

3) A tintype "This might be my Dad's Brother Bill Deachman."

4) A small snapshot of a log cabin. "Isaac's cabin on the homestead." Photograph was developed at Jerrett's Photo Art-Studio in Melfort, Saskatchewan.

5) Small snapshot of "Dr. Wilson T[?] Deachman he has hair if it is white." Circa 1920s?

6) A small snapshot of "Grandpa & Grandma Harper & Aunt Elizabeth."

and the clincher:

7)  A small snapshot of  "Mother (Florence Deachman) probably around 1912."

So, with this information, are you able to sort out who might have owned this album and their relationships to the other people in the album? I wonder how such a family treasure ended up in a Victoria, BC antique shop.

This was a fun one to research--I hope you have a good time looking into the Deachman family.

Odourless and Preserved: John L. Kerr, Toronto Ontario, Circa 1885-1895

Sharing this image with you has been pure sacrifice.  I purchased this photograph in a lot of images, none seemingly connected to another.  It was enclosed by itself, double-bagged  in heavy-duty ziploc.  I knew it had been stored somewhere it shouldn't have been because it had a musty damp odour emanating from it, but I really had no idea how bad it was. When I got it home and opened the bag I was immediately assailed by the worst smell of mold and mildew.  I quickly scanned the cabinet card, both sides, zipped it back up and banished the vile thing to the garage.  Normally, I wouldn't store photographs in the garage. And, I even considered destroying it, now that a scan has been made.  I can't see anyone wanting to keep this in a collection, even if it is Great Grand-Dad.

However, I am happy to introduce you to Mr. John L. Kerr: odourless, and much more pleasant to be with. I'm not 100 percent on the last name, but I'm fairly confident that is what it is.

The photographer, J.F. Bryce worked out of Toronto from 1884 to 1895.

Unfortunately, the name John Kerr is very common in Ontario at this time.  While we do know that the photo was taken in Toronto, we don't know if John L. Kerr lived in Toronto.  While we could narrow it down to a group of likely candidates, I don't think we can come close to any certainty on this one.

If you have a John L. Kerr in your tree, and have a photo we can compare this one with, I'd love to hear from you.