Ali Mir

A photo of Gladys (Simmons) Van Kleeck and her cat Patsy. I'm amazed that the cat is calmly sitting for the portrait. All the cats I've known would have panicked at the strange setting and found some large piece of furniture to hide under.

A photo of Joyce (Benning) Kroetch. Although her first name was Marian, she always went by Joyce. She was such a cutie!

A photo of Aunt Emma Adams on her birthday. She lived in Tipton, Missouri. This picture was taken at age 80.

Catherine Barrett Peddle surrounded by grandchildren/nieces/nephews

A photo, done in the early 1900's, of a woman dressed as a Puritan, holding a book.

Is there a difference between Pilgrims and Puritans? Yes - many. The Pilgrims - who first came to North America on the Mayflower in 1620, after having spent some time in the Netherlands - had separated from the Church of England and were called "Separatists" because of it. They were establishing their own "pure" religion, following the tenets of John Calvin.

The Puritans remained within the Church of England but were trying to rid the Church of any Roman Catholic remnants within it. They were Calvinists, as were the Pilgrims, but after conceding that changes weren't possible, many left England in 1630 and migrated to the Massachusetts area - many others followed and a decade later there were almost 20,000 Puritans in the area.

The original Pilgrims were more tolerant of others - including Native Americans - but the overwhelming numbers of Puritans held sway. They "believed in their God-given superiority". So when we celebrate Thanksgiving, we are celebrating the Pilgrims, not the Puritans.

A photo of John Sidney McCain III - son and grandson of 4 star admirals in the U.S. Navy.

He attended the United States Naval Academy (graduating, as he joked, 5th from the bottom in his class in 1958 - he was a bit of a rebel) and after graduation became a naval aviator. In 1967, he requested combat duty and was assigned to an aircraft carrier in the Gulf in Tonkin. On October 26, 1967 his plane was shot down and he became a prisoner of war.

After 5 and a half years as a prisoner of war and being severely tortured, John was released. The physical effects of his torture lasted the rest of his life.

In the early 1980s, he entered politics in the state of Arizona, eventually becoming a U.S. Senator. While he was nominated for President by the Republican Party in 2008, he lost the race to Democrat Barack Obama. He remained the senior Senator from Arizona until his death from brain cancer in 2018.

A photo of Marlene Dietrich

A photo of Edna Walker, daughter of Frank and Nora (nee Wells) Walker.

Back of photo says, "I don't always have my head so much in the air, but Joe says I am throwing off a funny fit....December 24, 1917, on my last Christmas shopping."
Photo found in an antique fair in San Jose and though I don't know who the woman in the photo is, I liked her outfit...

A photo of Richard Harry Kelly and his wife Edna in Reno, Nevada 1939

A photo of Bertha Hummel with Eleonor and Brunhilde.

A photo of the Decena sisters - left to right: Elizabeth, Encarnation and Mamie
People in photo include: Elizabeth Decena, Encarnation Decena, and Mamie Decena

A photo of Christine Silver - British Actress born "Christine Isie Silver" on 17 December 1883 in Fulham, London. Her parents were Arthur Silver (1853-1896) and Isabella Charlotte Walenn (1856-1936). Her father was a textile designer and founder of the influential "Silver Studios". She married theatre manager, Walter Hamilton Maxwell (1878-1960) in 1908. They had one daughter Ellen Barbara Maxwell Sturgis (1912-2004). She then married writer, Roland Jocelyn Russell Sturgis (1888-1980) in 1918.

Christine Silver made her stage debut in "The New Idol" at the Royalty Theatre, London in 1902. She went on to play the part of "Nibs" in the original stage production of Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie in 1904. She appeared in "Fanny's First Play" by George Bernard Shaw in 1911 and performed the role of "Titania" in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in 1913. She was in the film "The Pleydell Mystery" in 1916 and worked for the London Film Company in the early 1920s. Involvement in other well known productions include the title role in "Tess of the D'urbervilles" by Thomas Hardy in 1926. Film credits include "Barrabas" in 1935, "Dead Men Tell No Tales" 1939, "Heaven is Around The Corner" 1944, "Room to Let" 1950, "The Hornet's Nest" 1955 and "Companions in Crime" 1954. In the 1950s she took parts in six television series, lastly "Stryker of the Yard" in 1960.

Christine Silver had a long and successful acting career lasting nearly sixty years, appearing on stage, in over twenty films and on television until the year of her death. She died 23 November 1960 in Kensington, London aged 76.

Additional information: Christine Silver wrote the play "Doorsteps" which was made into a film, "Chicken Casey" in 1917.

A photo of Bird Millman (1890-1940) Highwire Artiste born "Jenna Dean Engleman" 20 October 1890 in Canon City, Colorado to high wire performing parents Dyke Frank Engleman (1868-1943) and Genevieve Patton (1869-1941). In 1904 the Millman Family Trio of wire walkers toured the Vaudeville stages. By 1913 Bird became a solo premiere attraction with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus.

Bird Millman's first marriage with Harry Underwood in 1909 was annulled. Her second marriage to ticket agent Charles Thomas (1889-) in 1920 ended in a quick divorce. Her third marriage was to military veteran Joseph Francis O'Day (1893-1931) in 1925, who died in 1931 after losing his fortune in the 1929 stock market crash. Devastated and destitute Bird returned to Canon City, Colorado where she died of uterine cancer at the age of 49.

additional information:

Bird Millman appeared in The Ziegfeld Follies of 1916 and Ziegfeld's Frolics. In 1920, she performed a specialty number in 'The Deep Purple', a silent film directed by Raoul Walsh (1887-1980).

A photo of Elsie Leslie (1879-1966) - Stage Actress was born Elsie Leslie Lyde on 14 August 1879 in Orange, Essex, New Jersey to parents Benjamin Tanner Lyde (1846-1911) and Evelyn Burdick (1848-1905). She made appearances on the stage for a period of 27 years from 1884, aged 5 until 1911.

Elsie Leslie married actor writer William Jefferson Winter (1878-1929) in 1901 and divorced in 1918, when she married banker Edwin James Milliken (1877-1972). After leaving the theatre she travelled around the world, eventually settled in New York City and died there on 15 October 1966 aged 87.

additional information:

Among the canon of "Child Stars" Elsie Leslie was one of the earliest, was one of the most popular and highest paid of her era. Her most famous roles were in "Little Lord Fauntleroy" and "The Prince and The Pauper". She corresponded with many friends throughout her life and career, including Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) and Helen Keller (1880-1968).

A photo of Ruth "Siastenu" Sehome Shelton.

A photo of Greta Nissen - actress and dancer was born 30 January 1905 as Grethe Rutz Nissen in Oslo, Norway to parents Carl Andreas Frantz Nissen (1870-) and Agnes Magdalene Larsen (1879-1949). The couple separated in 1908 and Greta moved with her mother to Copenhagen, where she attended the National Ballet School and studied with Mikhail Fokine (1880-1942) from 1918-1919. In 1922 she was a solo ballerina with the Danish National Company and toured with them to New York in 1924.

Greta Nissen appeared in two Danish films before going to America and acted in more than twenty films altogether from 1925-1937. She married actor Weldon Heyburn (1903-1951) in 1932, which was eventually annulled in 1936. Meanwhile in 1933 she moved to Britain and continued with her film career until 1937. Returning to the United States she married industrialist Stuart Drake Eckert (1907-1993) in 1941. They had one son, Tor Bruce Nissen Eckert (1943-). She died 17 May 1988 in Montecito, California aged 83.