1920s School in Kearny, New Jersey

Black and white photograph of school children in the 1920s.

Someone showed me this picture and asked if I could shed some light on its origins. She suspected that it was from her mother's photo collection. Her mother was born in 1915 and attended school in Kearny, Hudson County New Jersey. The girls in the photo are wearing loose-fitting dresses and all have bobbed hair, so the 1920s fits as the timeframe when this image was probably captured.

In faint pencil on the reverse of the photo is printed, "5th Grade Nathan Hale School." "Home Room Teacher Miss Schad."

A search on Google revealed that Public School Number 2 was renamed Nathan Hale School in 1919. In 1954, the building was demolished.

The photo is not in crisp focus, but if you zoom in on the writing on the blackboard, you can make out most of the names. I listed them below with their dates of birth and death as I could find them. Those with entries on FindAGrave are linked. They were born mostly in 1914 or 1915, making them contemporaries of the suspected original owner of the photo. These were ten students with perfect attendance; 28 students are in the photograph.

Andrew Dick (1914-1976)

Everitt Jarvis (1914-2003)

Peter Kaminskas (1912-1992)

William Weiler (1915-1941)

William Winn (1914-1971)

John Pullins (1915-1990)

Anna Campbell

Josephine Inzano (Inzana?) (1915-1988)

Secrada Nurtz (maybe not spelled this way)

Ruth McAllen (1915-2006)

The teacher could be Pauline Schad (1905-1984) who lived in North Arlington, which is a mile north of Kearny. In 1930, she married Arthur Lehn.

Dunn Siblings

Left to right: Frances, John, Katherine in August 1938

After identifying my great great grandmother, Katherine Butterfoss Dunn (1865-1944) in several family photographs, I noticed a few of her later in life posing with an older man and woman. On the back of the photo is handwritten "August 1938." I think they were her siblings, Frances Dunn (1858-1944) and John Dunlop Dunn (1870-1939).

Their parents were Ezra Dunn (1821-1898) and Hermione Dunlop (1827-1900). As of August of 1938, these were the three remaining living siblings, having outlived the other five. The children were born in the 1850s, 60s, and 70s in what was then called Raritan Township in Monmouth County, New Jersey.

Although they lived and died outside of Monmouth County, they returned home for their final resting places.

I found no marriage record for John. He was buried with his parents at Rose Hill Cemetery in Matawan.

Katherine was buried with her husband, William Walling Winterton, in Green Grove Cemetery in Keyport.

Frances was buried at Fairview Cemetery in Middletown.

John and Frances appear in other group photos and separately.

This wedding picture helped me decide that this elderly woman is Frances Dunn, a sister of Katherine and John.

The back of the photo is labeled, but not with complete names:

Frances Mae

Grandma

Ruth Bridesmaid

June 15, 1940

In 1884, Frances Dunn married George Smith in Brooklyn, New York. George died at the Trenton Insane Hospital in Ewing, Mercer County, New Jersey in 1896. This institution is now called Trenton Psychiatric Hospital. (I will copy his death certificate on my next trip to the Archives to find his burial place.)

George Smith
died at the Trenton Insane Hospital on
Tuesday of last week and his body was
taken to his father's house in Middletown
Township the next day, where the
funeral was held on the following Friday.
Mr Smith leaves a wife, who
is a daughter of Ezra Dunn of this place,
and two children. Mrs Smith has
been making her home with her father
since her husband was taken to the
hospital a couple of months ago. Mr
Smith was 45 years old.

George Smith and Frances Dunn had two children, a son, Floyd K Smith (1885-1967) and a daughter, Georgia Davis Smith (1890-1971), who married Arthur Beach Nichols (1888-1971). Their daughter, Ruth Harriet Nichols (1917-2009), married George Andrew Miller (1916-1988). The newspaper article is below. Frances Mae Nicholas was Ruth's oldest sister. According to the article, the ceremony was on June 8, not June 15.

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (New York). Sunday, June 16, 1940. Page 33.

MILLER-NICHOLS

Announcement is made of the marriage of Miss Ruth Harriet Nichols, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Beach Nichols of 863 E. 10th St., to George Andrew Miller, son of Mr. and Mrs. George Everett Miller of 1664 42d St., on June 8, at the Parkville Congregational Church.

The bride wore a white satin gown with a court train, long tulle veil caught with orange blossoms and carried a nosegay of baby's breath and lilies of the valley. Miss Frances Mae Nichols, her sister, was maid of honor and was gowned in nile green marquisette with a nile green veil. She carried a nosegay of Talisman roses.

Everett Miller, brother of the bridegroom was best man. William Miller, Arthur Nichols and Grant Edmonds were the ushers.

A reception followed at the Pierrepont Hotel.

After a tour of New England States the couple will reside at 687 E. 4th St.

Photographs of Great Great Grandparents

While sorting through family photos and identifying my great grandmother, Ethel Laurel Winterton (1891-1962) and her brother, William Gladstone Winterton, I noticed an older woman in a lot of the photos, sometimes with an older man. They are probably Laurel and William's parents, Katherine Dunn and William Walling Winterton.

Left to right: William Walling Winterton, unknown boy, William Gladstone Winterton,
Katherine Dunn (wife of William W), and Sophia Winterton (wife of Joseph Walling).
Sophia and William Walling Winterton were siblings. She is clearly identified in other labeled photographs.
 She relocated to California by 1920 and sent pictures home to Monmouth County, New Jersey.

Standing: Unknown woman, Katherine Dunn
Seated: William Walling Winterton, William Gladstone Winterton

Father and son?

Colorized and enhanced at MyHeritage

This couple playing in the snow could also be William and Katherine. 

William Walling Winterton, unknown children,
and Katherine Dunn standing at old car.
Same house in background as other pictures.

The supposed Katherine identified herself on the back of one photograph, but not by name.

Right to Left:
Kitty Stanhope
Jennie
Sallie Cuttrell
and myself

Sallie Cuttrell was born Sallie Cailhopper (1869-1936). She was a first cousin of William Walling Winterton- the husband of Katherine Dunn. Sallie's mother, Serena Winterton (1843-1914), was a sister of William's father, John R Winterton (1831-1890).

Older cabinet cards were in this collection. Two cabinet cards were from the studio of Grotecloss at 44 West 14th Street in New York City. The woman could be Katherine Dunn. She has the same pale eye color and facial expression.

A young man was also photographed by Grotecloss. Could this be William Walling Winterton?

From another photo album is a cabinet card of perhaps the same woman. The photographer was L H Doremus of 240 Main Street in Paterson. This business existed from 1888-1901. Katherine would have been in her late twenties. Her first child was born in 1891.

What do you all think of the pictures from the 1800s? Same people- Katherine Dunn and William Walling Winterton?

Passport Photo

In the package of photographs from a relative was this small picture. The face was familiar to me- William Gladstone Winterton (1898-1976), the brother of my great grandmother, Laurel.

As a bonus, this was one of the few photographs with written identification on the back.

W. G. Winterton
Born April 24, 1898
Photo taken September 27, 1920
Passport number 95284

If this photo was submitted for a passport, the digital version could be online. The application was found in Ancestry.com's database, U.S. Passport Applications 1795-1925. On September 27, 1920 (the same date on the picture), William applied for a passport to travel to Calcutta (Kolkata), India to install electric machinery for a business owned by Frederick A Deller. Mr Deller's letter is included in the application.

The pictures on the left page belong to unrelated applicants.

William's maternal uncle, John Dunlop Dunn (1870-1939), signed an affidavit about William's birth date and place (April 24, 1898 in Matawan, Monmouth County, New Jersey). John was living at 64 Chadwick Avenue in Newark at the time of his signature. (Laurel was residing at 192 Chadwick Avenue at this time.)

Colorized and enhanced at MyHeritage

Pictures of a Great Grandmother

I continue sorting the pictures sent to me by a family member (thank you D.N.).

Most pictures are not labeled, which is most unfortunate.

I was able to identify some pictures of my great grandmother, Ethel "Laurel" Winterton (1891-1962). She was born in Matawan, Monmouth County, New Jersey. She relocated to Newark in Essex County by 1910, when she married Howard Lutter.

When she was around three or four, professional photos were taken by Ferdinand Maag in Keyport. I colorized them at MyHeritage.

Looks like Laurel was in a group school picture. This could be Holmdel, as the family was enumerated there in the 1900 census. If anyone recognizes this picture, any of these people, or the building behind them, please comment below.

This photograph by Walter Joseph Bourie in Newark might be Laurel's graduation from high school. She is holding a rolled up paper. Maybe she graduated around age seventeen, so the year was circa 1908.

This picture could be Laurel with her mother, Catherine Butterfoss Dunn (1865-1944), at a festivity.

This picture is Laurel with her daughter, Beryl Lutter (1918-1988). The woman in the middle is probably Laurel's mother, Catherine Dunn (also pictured above). The man would then be Laurel's father, William Walling Winterton (1863-1932).

Catherine and William were living on Telegraph Hill Road in Holmdel in the 1930 census. No house number. If anyone recognizes this house, please comment below.

I use Gary Saretzky's website to figure out photographer's names, locations, and dates that they were in operation.