A Favourite Photograph: Florence Matilda Creer | The Global Today

How do you decide a favourite photograph? I’ve so many that talk to me – however for this week’s 52 Ancestors put up, I’m selecting a photograph of my grandmother in her early years. I solely knew her for the final fifteen years of her life, however we share a love of books, studying, journey, household, scrapbooking, gardening, and extra. I’ve written posts about Florence’s later years as a member of the American Warfare Moms and Daughters of Utah Pioneers however haven’t delved into the years earlier than her marriage in 1916 on the age of 24.

Florence was born on 12 December 1892 in Spanish Fork, Utah, the oldest of 11 kids. She died on 12 November 1977 in Burley, Idaho, the spouse of Edward Raymond Kelsey and the mom of six kids.

Florence might have been born within the nineteenth century, however the photograph above reveals her (on the left) with two buddies and depicts her as a Twentieth-century girl with some persona. Both she’s not fairly prepared for the photograph or protesting the arm round her shoulder. Discover her modern outfit with the white button-up boots, skirt, striped prime, and hat perched askew. Florence liked having good fits, hats, and coats for going out, and I’ve many footage of her carrying a hat – at all times at an angle.

Regardless of loving this photograph, I had some questions. Who’re the person and the girl with Florence? Why was this taken? A particular occasion? The photograph is labeled “Florence Matilda Creer and buddies at LDS enterprise faculty,” however I did the labeling and am not sure if I recognized the place appropriately. Florence did attend the LDS enterprise faculty throughout this period, however I made a decision to perform a little research and decide the outline’s accuracy.

Beginning with the clothes. Florence’s outfit seems to be to be the peak of vogue because the November 1916 Good Housekeeping challenge incorporates a related touring outfit and the identical laced boots.

In the direction of the top of her life, Florence wrote her life historical past, and snippets of it give clues to the photograph. She describes a go to to the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, a world’s honest held in San Francisco, California, from February Twentieth to December 4th 1915. Maybe she handled herself to this new outfit earlier than taking the practice from Salt Lake Metropolis to San Francisco. Florence wrote:

Whereas I used to be a librarian, after I was round twenty-three or twenty-four years previous, I joined a bunch of 13 folks and went to the World’s Honest in San Francisco – I had saved the cash from working on the library. We stayed at lodges. Additionally, we went all the way down to San Diego the place there was a smaller honest. Whereas at San Francisco, we’d sneak away from our chaperones and go to the stage play “Beginning of a Nation” with Lillian Gish; additionally China City. We stayed two weeks on the honest. We glided by practice.

As a instructor and librarian, Florence doubtless visited the Palace of Training on the Panama-Pacific Worldwide Exposition, pictured under. For an adolescent from Utah, this will need to have been the journey of a lifetime.

Might the setting of the photograph of Florence and her buddies be in San Francisco? That could be a sturdy chance, given the significance of the occasion. The word that they’d “sneak away” from their chaperones lets me know that Florence and her buddies definitely had a flare for journey.

That brings up the query of who have been these buddies, particularly these within the photograph? One other snippet from Florence’s historical past about her schooling provides a clue.

I attended faculties at Spanish Fork. After I had accomplished my junior 12 months in highschool, Uncle John Creer, who was the County Superintendent, requested me to go to Castella (just a little city within the mountains above Spanish Fork) to show college. It was a most disagreeable expertise as there was actual deep snow and it was tough for the pupil to attend commonly. Every weekend I might catch the practice and go dwelling. After one 12 months, I got here again to Spanish Fork and was a Librarian within the new highschool. I used to be glad for the job so I might assist out at dwelling. I ordered all of the books for the library. I saved this job for 4 years, then went to the LDS Enterprise Faculty in Salt Lake to learn to kind. I lived on the Resort Utah with Ellen Anderson. I used to be supplied a elevate and a change of jobs if I might learn to educate typing. I additionally took coaching on the Salt Lake Library below Joanna Sprague.

Researching Ellen Anderson, I discovered a possible candidate for the girl within the photograph with Florence. A photograph added to Ellen’s Memories on the FamilySearch Household Tree bears a robust resemblance to the pal with Florence. Ellen’s obituary lends perception and correlates nicely with Florence’s personal life.

Miss Ellen Anderson 42, who taught college for a lot of years in Payson and extra just lately in Spanish Fork, died unexpectedly Thursday morning on the dwelling of her sister. . . She was born July 30, 1892 at Lake Shore, a daughter of George and Rosetta M. Anderson. She graduated from the Spanish Fork highschool and the conventional deparment of the B.Y.U. She taught within the Nebo college district till 1931.

My grandmother was additionally born in 1892, attended Spanish Fork faculties, and was a instructor. Two like-minded girls who valued schooling definitely would have been buddies. Ellen by no means married, and my grandmother might need been in the identical state of affairs had my grandfather not written to her and requested if she’d transfer to his Idaho homestead and marry him.

Learning Florence’s life historical past, my finest speculation for the photograph is that it was taken in the course of the journey to San Francisco in 1915 along with her pal Ellen Anderson. The male stays unknown, however I’d welcome any concepts for figuring out him.

Better of luck in all of your genealogical endeavors!

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