Elizabeth Davis

A photo of Ethel Granger, who had the smallest waist size in recent history measuring in at 36-13-39.

She first put on a corset to please her husband, astronomer William Arnold Granger. And then he bought smaller and smaller corsets, asking her to wear them 24 hours a day - she complied. Her beginning waist size was 23 inches.

She made the Guinness Book of Records and was the record holder until 1998, when they changed the category to "Woman alive with the smallest waist".

A photo of Bette Davis

A photo of Thomas and Mary Ashenden with their car. Found at a Texas antique store with other photos of the Ashenden family of Massachusetts. Written on the back "Uncle Tom Newby + Aunt Mary + their car". This photo was probably taken in England

A photo taken by professional photographer/documentarian Robert Frank in 1955 Tennessee. This photo was
included in his book "The Americans."

Born in Switzerland in 1924, Robert's family (who was Jewish) lived under the threat from Nazi Germany although they were safe in Switzerland. This early stress colored his view of the world and he turned to photography to express himself.

In 1947, he emigrated to New York City and began his career as a fashion photographer. He soon turned to documenting the lives of people around him and traveled extensively, photographing real people and their circumstances. In America, he thought that there was an overemphasis on money and endeavored to show the bleakness and loneliness of the people in his groundbreaking (and controversial) book "The Americans" (Many people thought the photos were too "dark" and diverged too much from the (less gritty) photography of the day.)

Frank went on to become a celebrated photographer and moved on to filmmaking (including a documentary on the Rolling Stones) although he returned to photography in the 1970s.

Married twice, he was predeceased by both his son and daughter. He died in Nova Scotia Canada at the age of 94.

A photo of Valerie Kathryn Harper.

Known professionally as Valerie Harper and born (a Catholic) to a lighting salesman and a nurse in Suffern, New York, Valerie was the middle of three children.

She trained as a dancer and began her career in NYC as a chorus girl. She moved on to the comedy group Second City, where she met and married comedian Dick Schaal. They were married in 1964 and divorced in 1978.

In 1970, while living in Los Angeles. she auditioned for the role of "Rhoda" on the Mary Tyler Moore Show - and starred on the show for 4 years. Her spin-off from the Mary Tyler Moore Show, "Rhoda", was on tv for another 4 years, making her a fixture on 1970s tv.

A popular actress and comedian, she appeared in numerous television shows, movies, and theater productions and was nominated for Emmys (won 4), Golden Globes (won 1), and a Tony . She was also an activist for the E.R.A. and the Women's Liberation Movement and co-founded a charity that feeds the needy in L.A.

In 2009, she was diagnosed with lung cancer and in 2013, with brain cancer, both of which she courageously fought for several years.

On August 30, 2019, Valerie succumbed to her illnesses at age 80. She was survived by her husband, Tony Cacciotti, her husband since 1987, and their (adopted) daughter, actress Cristina Cacciotti.

There's no name or any other identifying information on this photo. I found him in central Texas, so I think it's likely the photo was taken somewhere in that area. He looks like he's enjoying that rare snowfall.

Internet searches revealed that the winter of 1894-1895 was unusually cold in much of the northern hemisphere. The coast of the Gulf of Mexico got unusually heavy snowfalls in February 1895. Much of Texas got hit around the middle of February, especially along the coast.

The National Weather Service website says this: "February 12-15, 1895 - Widespread snow over the state, even as far south as the lower Valley. North Texas received between 3-5 inches, but a band of 10-20 inches blanketed the upper Texas coast, including Houston and Beaumont/Port Arthur."

Eskfir was only 10 when she was sadly murdered during the Drobitskiy Yar murder site on Kharkov, Ukraine on October 1941

A photo of John W. May with Flag at 14 months. Married 8/23/1946 Virginia Lorena Graham

A photo of L J Deel taken circa 1905

A photo of Mrs. Alice (Roosevelt) Longworth, full-length portrait

Alice Roosevelt was the only child of President Teddy Roosevelt and his first wife, Alice Hathaway Lee. (Her mother died when she was 2 days old.)

A strong woman, not bound by the "rules" of the time, Alice came to public attention at the age of 17 when her father became President. Even the color of the blue dress that she wore this same year became a fashion trend - called "Alice Blue".

She did such scandalous things as ride in cars with men, smoke cigarettes in public, keep a snake in the White House, and jump into a pool fully clothed while on a diplomatic trip to Japan.

In February 1906, Alice married (later) Speaker of the House Nicholas Longworth III, wearing a blue wedding dress. But she was still independent, campaigning against her own husband and carrying on numerous affairs. Senator William Borah (R-ID) was the father of her only child, daughter Paulina Longworth (born in 1925), but she and Longworth remained married until his death in 1931.

Her rambunctious attitude never changed - she buried a voodoo doll of Nellie Taft (the new First Lady) in the front yard of the White House when the Roosevelts had to leave at the end of Teddy's term - and was banned from the White House a few times because of her behavior. And after her daughter died in 1957, she raised her granddaughter.

A life-long Republican, she nonetheless was close to the Kennedy family and voted for Lyndon Johnson (because she thought Goldwater was "too mean"). She was a friend to Richard Nixon and encouraged him to run for President - he invited her to a White House dinner and his daughter's wedding.

Alice died in 1980 at the age of 96. Along the path of her very long life, she made quite an impression. To Joe McCarthy (he of "commie witch hunt" fame) who had said: "Here's my blind date. I am going to call you Alice", she replied "Senator McCarthy, you are not going to call me Alice. The truckman, the trashman and the policeman on my block may call me Alice, but you may not." And she told President Johnson that she "wore wide-brimmed hats so he couldn't kiss her".

Pesha Rasnick and Barnett Fine, married in New York City in 1898. Pesha was the daughter of Dov and Dvora Rasnick. Barnett was the son of Berl and Perle Feinstein Fine, and the grandson of Rabbi Barnett and Mina Feinstein.

A photo of Elizabeth Janet Baldridge, abt 1932-33, Paintsville, Johnson Co., KY: My mother at age 3 or so, with her best bud at that time (I've forgotten the doggies name)! So cute! Her parents were Ernest and Hazel Risner Baldridge. She married James E. Nelson and they produced 5 little girls!

A photo of George Roberts, slave to freeman privateer. In the fall of 1812 he served onboard Captain Richard Moon’s privateer 'Sarah Ann' and was among six American seamen accused of being British subjects and taken prisoner when the Sarah Ann was captured by HMS Statira off the Bahamas on September 13, 1812. Captain Moon denied that they were British:

Eventually, Roberts and the other American seamen were released. After the war, it is unknown what trade he had as a freeman or if he continued serving on-board various merchant vessels from the port of Baltimore, Maryland. What is known is that he was allowed to participate as one of the Old Defenders’ of Baltimore of 1814 during parades commemorating the anniversary for many years.

He lived to the age of 95 (1766 -- 1861)

A photo of Harriet Kendall Gove. Harriet was born in Vermont; married Sabin Pond Gove on March 22, 1851 and moved to Aurora, IL in 1855. In 1864 moved to Kellogg, Jasper Co. IA. 4 sons: Albert Kendall, William Sabin, Harry M, and Tracy Lincoln Gove