Wandering Around The Family Tree

 TThis photograph of my grandfather, Francis William Hankins, was probably taken in December 1897. On the back it says aged 3 months. Since he was born on 8 September 1897 - three months later would be December.  The photograph was taken at Joseph French's studio, located over 125 Genesee Street in Auburn. French was a longtime photographer in Auburn. He first appears as a proprietor of Standard Copying Co in 1882. Two years later, he did photo copying. Between 1885 and 1898, he was listed in city directories as a photographer.  Francis William Hankins, the son of William Lucas Hankins (1872-1930) and Mary Jane Kellam (1874-1944) was born 8 September 1897 in Auburn, Cayuga County, New York. He married Evelyn Clara Call (1895-1962), daughter of Charles Joslin Call (1859-1939) and Elizabeth Ann Coe (1862-1956), on 31 December 1920 at her parents home in Stafford, Genesee County, New York. Francis and Evelyn had three children, Ralph William (1927-1997), Elizabeth Ann (1929-...

Long before FindAGrave  and other genealogy websites existed, genealogists still photographed family markers in cemeteries. I found this set of photo of my great grandparents William Lucas Hankins and Mary Jane Kellam's graves in Lake View Cemetery in Skaneateles, Onondaga County, New York. Their son, Francis William Hankins, was one of many previous family historians in the family.  William Lucas Hankins died in 1930, his widow, Mary Jane died in 1944. Since William's death date is on the stone, but Mary Jane's isn't, my guess is the photos were taken between 1930 and 1944. I noticed the fourth photo has a car in the background - so I ran the image through a couple of LLM's to see if it was possible to narrow the time frame. Google Gemini 3.1 dated the car to the late 1920s/early 1930s based on the wooden spokes on the tire and the boxy shape of the car. Gemini also said the spare was mounted on the front of car (it looks like it's on the back to me!).  Perplex...

This photograph of my great grandfather William Lucas Hankins was likely taken about 1893-1894 in Auburn, Cayuga County, New York.   City directories indicate that he moved to Auburn sometime between August 1893 and July 1894. His brother, Howard Ross Hankins, moved to Auburn in 1892. When William moved to Auburn, he boarded at the same location as his brother.  The photographer, Horatio Seymour Squyer (1849-1905) had a studio in Auburn for many years. He was first listed in the city directory in 1871, and maintained his studio until his death in 1905. Looking at the photograph itself, it likely dates from before 1895. The centered monograms at the bottom of the card were popular between 1889-1894. William's shirt and tie are consistent with fashions of about 1893-1894. His hairstyle also would indicate the photo was taken about 1893-1894.  So William may have had his photograph taken by H. Seymour Squyer shortly after arriving in Auburn.    William Lucas H...

 I found three portraits of my great grandmother Mary Jane Kellam. I suspect all date from the 1890s.  This first photograph likely dates from the mid-1890s. The photographer, Walter Nelson Manchester, had a studio in Factoryville, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania in the 1890s. The style of the photographers imprint and frame on the card are consistent with the 1890s. The sleeves of Mary Jane's dress also suggest the mid-1890s.  The second photograph has been removed from its original backing card, so no information is available about the photographer or the style of card to help with dating. Mary Jane looks a bit younger than in the previous photo. The sleeves could help date the photo to the earlier in the 1890s. The third photograph of Mary Jane has also been removed from its backing card. The sleeves could indicate the photo dates from the early 1890s.  Mary Jane Kellam, daughter of John Ross Kellam (1830-1903) and Frances Maria Shafer (1846-1924) was born 2 Septembe...

 I found three photos of my great grandmother's brother Frank Marion Kellam. My guess is his legal name was Francis - but I have never seen any record that has anything other Frank Marion or Frank M.  The first photograph was taken by the photographer Davis in Deposit, Delaware County, New York. This is the same studio where Mary Ellen (Ross) Hankins had her photo taken. I haven't found any information about the photographer.  This photo was likely taken in the late 1880s. Frank was born in 1877.  This photograph was clearly stacked with the 1898 photograph of William Lucas Hankins's family since you can see a transfer of that image onto the back of this card. This second photograph was likely taken in the mid-1890s based on the border around the photograph and the style of the photographer's imprint. The photographer, Walter Nelson Manchester (1856-1923) had a studio in Factoryville, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania in the 1890s.  The third photograph of Frank was...

This photograph of my grandfather Francis William Hankins and his parents, William Lucas Hankins and Mary Jane Kellam likely dates from about 1898. My grandfather was born in September 1897, and he doesn't look much more than a year old in this photo.  The photograph was taken by photographer F.L. Tournier of Auburn, Cayuga County, New York. Fred L. Tournier seems to had a long career as a photographer. He had a studio in Auburn between 1884-1903. He later worked in both Johnstown, Fulton County, and in Albany. [1]  I provided the identification of William, Mary Jane and Francis based on other individual photographs of the three of them.  William Lucas Hankins, son of Lucas Wurtz Hankins (1831-1910) and Mary Ellen Ross (1835-1914) was born 11 October 1872 in Manchester, Wayne County, Pennsylvania.  Mary Jane Kellam, daughter of John Ross Kellam (1830-1903) and Frances Maria Shafer (1846-1924) was born 2 September 1874 at Hankins, Sullivan County, New York.  Will...