Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Photograph of young Elva Smith of Livermore Falls, Maine


Photograph of a young girl identified on the reverse as Elva Smith of Livermore Falls, Maine.



I believe she was Elva M. Smith, born in June 1893 at Livermore Falls, though there is another possibility, Elva Mae/May Smith, born 27 August 1912 at Monmouth, Maine, but who later lived in the Livermore area.

The photograph itself and the clothing Elva is wearing make me lean toward the Elva born in 1893, but I welcome readers' input.  An online tree has the older Elva's middle name as May, too, but I didn't find an official record to verify that.

The first Elva, Elva M. Smith was born in June 1893, the daughter of George Alfred Smith and Laura Dearborn (Mason) Smith.  Her paternal grandparents were John and Orinda (Stevens) Smith.  Her maternal grandparents were Isaac and Hephzibah (Couillard) Mason.

I found an online tree that had this Elva marrying Nova Scotia immigrant Arthur Clifford Curry, son of Captain Arthur Snelling Curry and Rebecca (Cochran) Curry, at Lynn, Massachusetts, on 23 December 1912.  

However, Arthur stated on his 1917 World War I Draft Registration Card that he was single, and I believe I found him in the 1920 Census of Lynn, Massachusetts, where he was also listed as single.  Perhaps the marriage date I found was transposed to 1912 from 1921.  I haven't been able to find a marriage record to verify the date.  

Another mystery is the two girls living with Arthur and Elva at the time of the 1930 Census of Lynn, Massachusetts: Anita J. Smith, age 14, and Lena E. Smith, age 11.  They're enumerated as step daughters of the head of household, presumably Arthur.  If these girls were Elva's daughters, was she married previously to a Mr. Smith?  Were they daughters from a previous wife of Arthur?  Or did the enumerator perhaps mean adopted or foster daughters, perhaps daughters of one of Elva's Smith relatives?  Hopefully a reader will have information on Anita and Lena.

Arthur died in 1945 at Lynn, Massachusetts.  There's a 1973 Malden, Massachusetts, death record for an Elva M. Curry, who was born in Maine, but I can't say for sure that she is Arthur's widow.

Now for the second Elva: Elva Mae Smith, or Elva May Smith, was born 27 August 1912 at Monmouth, Maine, daughter of Archie E. and Cora (Prince) Smith.  My information on her parents first came  from the obituary of her sister Mildred G. (Smith) Watkins and then, with those clues, from vital records.  I haven't found Elva's own obituary.

Elva Mae's paternal grandparents were George S. and Mary (Jewett) Smith.  Her maternal grandparents were Calvin and Clara (Shaw) Prince.

Elva Mae, then living at Jay, Maine, married Albert A. Jones of abutting Livermore Falls, on 18 June 1933.   He was the son of Edgar Gordon Jones and Carolyn (Bumpus) Jones.  

Albert was born 23 December 1906 at Livermore Falls; he and Elva spent their lives farming at Livermore Falls and raised four sons.  His 2004 obituary in the Lewiston Sun Journal states that his wife Elva had died before him, in 2002.

If you have knowledge of the Smith families in the Livermore Falls area and/or recognize the girl in the photograph from family albums or research, please leave a comment solving the mystery of her identity.  

Livermore Falls (or East Livermore), Maine


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Thanks for stopping by!


2 comments:

  1. Livermore Falls is where my great grandparents are buried according to my mother. It is an area I need to research. I know the Shaw name has been mentioned in regards to the Pease family. I wish I could help you more. Have you looked into records from Belgrade, Maine? I believe that is where some removed from to go to Livermore Falls, Maine.

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  2. Thanks for commenting, June. I haven't checked the Belgrade area but will give it a shot!

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