The Severe Family

Did this family ever laugh?  If they were asked to smile for the camera, they failed.  There is a very faded stamp on the back.  I can't make out all of it, but I've got "ROLLINS STUDIO" and "SEDALIA."  Presumably Sedalia, Missouri.  I suspect Mr. Rollins did the processing and printing rather than taking the picture.

Back To Missouri

Back to Sedalia as well.  The last post had an envelope with an address for W. F. Rages.  Today, the husband of Anna Rages, Mr. Henry Kingen.  I did a search and found  a few Henry Kingens, including one on Facebook.  The oldest Henry Kingen I could find was born July 7, 1857 in Glassen, Erftkreis, Nordhein-Westfalen, Germany.  Of course, Germany didn't exist in 1857, but on his 1880 census form he listed his birthplace as Prussia.  In 1880 he was living in Pierz, Minnesota, a bit of a trek from Sedalia, Missouri, but not that far away.  He died on February 11, 1932, location unknown.  Father, mother, siblings, spouse and children unknown.  So, the same Henry Kingen?  Kingen is such a rare last name, that it's possible, though I have my doubts.  The real mystery is why someone went to all the trouble of starting a webpage for such a cipher.

Missouri

What to do?  As can be seen, the second photo is pasted onto part of an old envelope.  I had two choices, breaking out the alcohol and matte knives and try and separate the two, possibly harming an already damaged  print, or leave things as is and save the photo.  In the end, despite the fact that there is info on both the print and envelope, I left things as they were.  On the print, I can make out part of a word, "loy," and the bottom half of a studio mark, "DAY AND NIGHT STUDIOS."   And on the envelope, a bit of postmark, '8-PM, 1947, MO."  Also, a typed address, "Mr. W. F. Rages, Smithton, Missouri."  I think, based on it's position, that it's a return address.

The top print has a studio mark, complete, and easy to read.  "Kodak Prints, 3 cents Each, Young's Studio, Sedalia, Mo."  Sedalia and Smithton are both in Pettis County, south of the Missouri River, just west of the center of the state.  Both towns were founded by George Rapeen Smith, a railroad promoter.  As of the 2010 census, Sedalia had a population of 21,476 and Smithton, 570.  Mr. Smith chose the wrong town to name after himself.  Surprisingly, Sedalia is the home of The Daum Museum of Contemporary Art.  I visited their website, but for some reason, I couldn't bring up images from the permanent collection.  I will try again latter.

I did a web search for William, Wilma, Willard, and half a dozen other names starting with a W, but couldn't find anything about W. F. Rages, but did find a Mildred and a Charles.  Too, I suspect that the envelope was a much latter addition to the print.  I've seen too many dated photos from the 1920s where the little girls had those bobbed haircuts.  1947, I think not.