One Photo: Details
When writing about family history, I LOVE to include photos. Old pictures help me visualize my ancestors’ stories and bring names/dates to life.
Last week, I wrote about the Thanksgiving Day marriage of Milton and Lottie (Senate) Rector. One of the best things that I found was a 1938 photograph of the pair.1Married Sixty Years Ago. Harper County (OK) Journal. November 24, 1938, page 1.
Newspaper Searching
When tracing our family history, newspaper research is a valuable tool. I easily found the Rectors’ anniversary announcements, because I could focus my search query on the established date of their wedding.
Why stop with a confirmation of their anniversary?
Newspapers, especially older papers, have so much more to offer. Most small-town papers included a lot of social news, much like our modern-day, web-based, social media sites. You never know what you’ll find.
After searching for (and finding) several different anniversary announcements, I browsed search results for “M. A. Rector” in Oklahoma. There are notices regarding his homestead, his participation in local farming, as well as his and Lottie’s visits to friends/relatives.
This story was out of the ordinary:
What a find! This little observation was written by S. E. “Ed” Lee, the editor of the Harper County Journal, in November of 1950.2This ‘n’ That. Harper County (OK) Journal. November 23, 1950, page 4, col 1. Milton Rector was 94 years old!
According to the writer, in June of that year, Milton was still able to walk stairs. It seems that he was in pretty good physical shape. Was it the smoking or the fall that caused the headaches?
Back to the photo
When I first found this photo, I totally missed this detail.
Details
After reading the 1950 newspaper tidbit about Milton falling down the stairs, having headaches and subsequently forsaking his smoking habit, I returned to the 1938 photograph. Aha!
I was drawn to the now-obvious detail of the pipe in Milton’s left hand. Maureen Taylor, the Photo Detective, would be able to extract additional details from the clothing, background and hairstyles. But I am satisfied with this one detail, for now.
In the 21st Century, we know the negative health effects of smoking. But when Milton took up the habit in 1871, there was no research counter-indicating the use of tobacco.
Milton was a lifelong smoker and yet he lived to be 95. What was his secret?
Additional Research
Do the original photos from the Harper County Journal exist? Maybe there are more photos of the Rectors.
What else do we know about the lives of Milton and Lottie?
Do you have a photo of Milton and Lottie to share?
SOURCES
- 1Married Sixty Years Ago. Harper County (OK) Journal. November 24, 1938, page 1.
- 2This ‘n’ That. Harper County (OK) Journal. November 23, 1950, page 4, col 1.