The Spelling Book

Photo by Patrick Jones. 26 Jan 2018.

While helping my Mom sort through old books in preparation for an upcoming move, we uncovered a tattered old spelling book that belonged to a Raymond Harvey of Sheridan, Indiana. We have no idea how or when this book made it into one of her cabinets. Inside the book were many drawings and notes of a young boy, likely Raymond Harvey, and a photo of an older woman, who could have been from the early 1900s. As far as I know, we have no connection to the Harvey family.

Based on a search on Ancestry, I think the book once belonged to Raymond Harvey, who was born in Indianapolis on 9 December 1905 to Walter and Minnie Harvey. The family appears in the 1910 US Census in Clay Township, Hamilton County, Indiana, living next door to the family of Walter's brother Earl, and not far from older relatives, Ed and Mary A. Harvey.

Source: Ancestry. 1910 US Census.

It is possible the woman above was Harvey's mother, but in 1910 Harvey's mother was 24. I somewhat doubt the woman above was in her 20s when the photo was taken. Harvey's father Walter married Minnie Fisher on 19 June 1904 in Indianapolis. According to Walter's death certificate, his parents were Frank Harvey and Ella Bowen. I found Frank and Ella in the 1910 US Census, living near the other Harveys in Hamilton County. Ella was 43 in the 1910 US Census. Perhaps the woman in the photo above was Raymond's grandmother.

Raymond attended Indiana Central University (later this became the University of Indianapolis). He appears in the 1925 yearbook, and I include his photo below.

Raymond Harvey in 1925.

Again, as far as I can tell, we have no connection to this family. I thought it was worth looking to see if I could find out more about Raymond and the Harvey family via Ancestry. There is a tree on Ancestry that contains information on Raymond, and I have reached out to this person to see if they might be able to identify the woman in the photo.