Ehle Family Album

Still More Probable Identifications

When working with an over 40 page album where the majority of the pictures are unlabeled, there is unfortunately going to have to be some guesswork involved. Bill and I have done the best that we are able with identifications based on known photos of the subjects, names and dates of operation of the photo studios, locations of the photo studios, ages of the subjects, clothing and fashion of the era, and the composition of the groups of children or adult subjects in each photo. We combine all that data with historical records like census, city directories, and voter registration lists and then search newspapers for additional clues to try to determine who lived where, when, and with who else. We also look for context in the album itself – how are the photos arranged?

Even with all these factors in consideration, we still cannot be absolutely sure about the IDs of many of the people in the album. The following photos are our educated guesses. We still do occasionally change our minds and if that happens, I will update the IDs on each post as needed.

Sharp Family

We are fairly confident that these 3 children are the children of Benjamin A Sharp and his wife Jenny Ann Porter. These would be the nieces and nephew of Harriet Sharp Ehle. This couple had 4 children, but the oldest daughter, Kitty, died in 1894 at the age of 12.

The children are Grace Mildred Sharp, Jessie Lydia Sharp, and Henry Benjamin Sharp. We believe the photo was taken about 1897 which would make the children 12, 10, and 6 respectively. Unfortunately for Henry, he ran into some legal trouble in his adulthood, but fortunately for us, his mugshot was a good comparison photo!

Marvin Family

We believe that this photo is most likely Helen Marvin. It appears as though this could be a graduation or senior photo based on her dress and corsage. Helen would have been 18 in 1898 and the dress in this photo is a good style match to that era. She is the oldest daughter of John Marvin and Helen Ehle Marvin.

We believe this photo to be another daughter of John Marvin and Helen Ehle. It may be either Mabel Helen Marvin or Luella Marvin. Again, it is believed that this is a graduation or senior photo based on the dress and the rolled paper (diploma?) in her hand. If this is the case, the photo would be from about 1904 or 1906.

If you have any information on the families mentioned here, or photos for comparison, please comment below or email me!

Other photos from the album can be found in previous posts starting here.