Debra Riedle

A photo of an unknown baby and girl - Holding Baby's Hand, Even If You Have To Bend It. I'm not sure of the person or date, a photo from the family albums. forgotten but appreciated.

A photo of Tom Sawyer, San Francisco firefighter, in the 1860's.

In 1863, Tom Sawyer was a customs inspector, volunteer firefighter, and special policeman in San Francisco. One night, he was playing poker with a young writer at a steam bath in the city. As they played and talked, Tom told the writer the following story:

In 1853, Tom was a fire engineer on a steamboat, The Independence. While the steamboat was heading towards San Francisco (from Mexico), it hit a reef off of Baja. As a result, the engines caught fire and the ship started to founder. There were 359 passengers on board . . . and only one usable lifeboat.


At this point, 2 of the crewmen jumped overboard and started to sink. Tom jumped into the sea, recovered the men, and swam with them on his back. He swam 100 yards to shore, left the men, and returned to the ship, returning to the shore several times with passengers on his back.

Finally, the one usable lifeboat and two lifeboats that were patched up were lowered in the water. They were loaded with passengers and when the lifeboats made shore, Tom took one and headed back to the ship. He tossed life preservers to the remaining passengers, lined them up in the water (holding each other) and towed them back to shore. He now had burned forearms but he kept towing passengers to the shore for the next hour until the ship was a sheet of flame. By the end, he was credited with saving 90 passengers.

The writer was riveted by the story and they became fast friends. Tom said of the writer: "“He could drink more and talk more than any feller I ever seen. He’d set down and take a drink and then he’d begin to tell us some joke or another. And then when somebody’d buy him another drink, he’d keep her up all day. Once he got started he’d set there till morning telling yarns.” He also said that the writer always seemed to be broke.

One day the writer came up to Tom. "Tom,’ he says, ‘I’m going to write a book about a boy and the kind I have in mind was just about the toughest boy in the world. Tom, he was just such a boy as you must have been....How many copies will you take, Tom, half cash?"

In 1866, the writer left San Francisco and Tom never saw him again. But in 1876, the writer published a book - yes, the writer was Sam Clemens (Mark Twain) and his book was The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Taken by Whitby photographer Francis Meadow Sutcliffe, 1889.

Titanic survivor Molly Brown - the "unsinkable Molly Brown".

Margaret Tobin Brown was on the Titanic on its maiden voyage when it hit an iceberg. She made the crew of lifeboat 6 return to try to find other survivors, giving rise to the legend of a spunky, vocal woman. But then, she was all of that. Though both her husband and she were born of Irish immigrants, they rose to wealth and never forgot their roots.

Debbie Reynolds played Molly Brown in the movie musical "The Unsinkable Molly Brown".

Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress, Bain News Service

A photo of Bill Leonard with his pet pony.
Around 1918 in Calhoun County, Florida.
Bill married Alice Louise Foster.

A photo of Delina Pagliero

A photo of Flathead Native Americans (Salish) holding a pre-Christmas family gathering on the west side of Glacier National Park, in the dense forest of evergreen trees that skirt the Rocky Mountains

A photo of Emma Loughead

A photo of Captain William "Billy" Flack. Commissioned into the 5th Royal Lancashire Militia in 1875, previously Colour Sergeant in 63rd Regiment of Foot. Born 1 April 1810 in Bailieborough, Cavan, Ireland

A photo of the Paczoch's at the beach, San Francisco 1914 - a family outing to the beach. Previous picture posted of Albert and Mabel Paczoch. This adds some of his family, her mother and their daughter.

A photo of my fourth great grand-father, rabbi Dow Ber Meisels, born in 1798. He was Chief Rabbi in Krakow, Poland. He supported Polish Independence for which he was persecuted by the Russian government.

A photo of my grandfather, Elmer Szafranski, who is the 4th man from the left. My mom says it's from his "tour of Germany" he helped liberate Dachau concentration camp
People in photo include: Elmer Szafranski

This is a photo of my Gt. Aunt, Bertha J. Fox, daughter of Enos Augustus Fox and Amanda Orvilla Cooper of Broadalbin, Fulton County, New York. It was taken about 1897 at a photo studio in Gloversville, Fulton County, New York I believe. She was the wife of George Conroy Beardsdley. They did not have any children. They lived in Niagara Falls, New York, Cleveland, Ohio and then retired to live in several different cities in Florida. Bertha was born March 25th., 1876 in Broadalbin, N.Y. and died on January 18th., 1959 in Rensselaer, N.Y.

A photo of Hazel Vincent & Vern Burtleson - Mutual, Woodward, Oklahoma ca. 1908. The back of the picture postcard says: "Hazel Vincent & Vern Burtleson representing Japanese." I find it interesting to see photographs of our ancestors dressed up in a costume.
People in photo include: Hazel Vincent and Vern Bertleson

This photo was purchased by me at the flea market in Dayton, OH

Who is this woman, and who is the man in the photo in the broach she is wearing?

Myrtie Adams Atha lived from 1899 to 1961. With friend, mailed card from Cincinnati, OH to an Aunt in Boone County, Kentucky. Postcard 1920s

A photo of Margaret "Maggie" Reynolds (teacher) ca. 1910 heading to the school house to teach in Woodward, Oklahoma. I will post the school house in the next picture that she is heading to.

My great-great grandmother Elisaveta Markova, her children, and her 15 y.o. daughter's guests.
People in photo include: Elisaveta Joannovna Markova

A photo of an unknown lady. Photographer is P.H. McAtee of Marshall, MO.

If you know who she is, please email me. If you are related and want the photo, let me know.