Identifying the Unknown

 

In late 2017, I received a set of photos and postcards from distant cousin Gladys, passed down from her great aunt on the Lamon side of the family. I previously shared a letter from that set written by my 2nd-great-grandfather Uriah Allen Lamon. There are other letters and postcards from Uriah to his nieces in Florida. Last weekend, Gladys sent me a package with an old photo album, letters and postcards. I will spend some time in the first part of 2022 bringing those stories to the blog.

Above is a photo Gladys had sent me back in 2017 with other unknown members of the Lamon family. She said the photos may have been from the family of her great aunt (Daisy Lamon Pursley)'s mother, Elizabeth Blume Lamon. The photo album contained the original photo card, and on the back was this handwritten note: "Luella Taylor, born Aug. 21st 1881. Age when this was taken 6 years 4 months." This puts the date of the photo around January 1888. The photo card came from Fredericks' Knickerbocker Family Portrait Gallery, located at 770 Broadway, New York City.

There was a tin photo in this set of the same girl, a few years older. With the information from the back of the earlier photo card, I now know who she was, but I'm not yet certain how she fits into the Lamon family.

Luella Taylor.

I found Luella in the 1900 US Census, living in Orange, New Jersey with her parents, her grandmother, and a household of servants. Her grandmother, Mary A. Garner, was from Harrison County, Indiana.

1900 US Census. Orange, New Jersey.

Perhaps Mary is the connection to the Lamon family. Luella seems to have had a fascinating story, and left no children as far as I can tell. I will spend some time covering her story before diving into the other letters and photos. Much like my posts in mid 2020 on Mary Isabelle Cox, Luella's story may take up a good part of January 2022 to unfold.