Tag Archives: Photographs

Keeping memory alive

Family Stories, ,
Mount Royal Apartments
Edward Hughes Glidden, Mount Royal Apartments, 101-103 East Mount Royal Avenue, Baltimore (1900)

I have written here before about the family of my maternal grandmother, Pauline Glidden Bell (1903–1968), who died when I was a small boy – I only just remember her. With her, one could say, died a part of my family history, although in fact her daughter and her husband both died in 1994, when I was an adult. Grandmother’s brother and sister outlived her, and I’m sorry I never met Uncle Ted or Aunt Miriam in person. Still, a lot of Glidden family stories came down to me through my mother, and I wish I could have discussed (and checked!) them with my grandmother. Continue reading Keeping memory alive →

Cinema royalty

Family Stories, , , ,
Herbert Marshall by Bredell for VB
Herbert Marshall, who starred with Moyna Macgill in “As You Like It” (1920) and “Interference” (1927). Photograph by Elwood Bredell

I am currently helping to research the ancestry of Dame Angela Lansbury for an event NEHGS will hold in November, and part of my work is focused on the theatrical tradition in the family of Miss Lansbury’s mother, Moyna Macgill (1895–1975). Miss Macgill’s career spanned the almost fifty years between 1918 and 1965, but it’s worth noting that at least one of her great-uncles and several of her father’s first cousins preceded her on the London and New York stage, while two of Miss Macgill’s brothers, all four of her children, and assorted descendants and in-laws (including Sir Peter Ustinov and Ally Sheedy) continued in the field.

As I’ve mentioned in some of my blog posts, one of my research interests is old photographs, whether of my own family or as part of an aesthetic appreciation of the form. Continue reading Cinema royalty →

Beautiful Detroit

Family Stories, Research Methods,
Arthur Belforti and friend
Arthur Belforti is shown at left

A current research preoccupation of mine is a photo of my maternal grandfather, Arthur David Belforti (born Achille Alessio Riccardo Belforti, 1902-1996), which my mother recently gave me and which is pictured here.  Having had a close relationship with this grandparent, I have always been particularly keen on researching his past and his branch of the family.  There is no handwriting on the reverse of the photo, and my mother has no details about it.  My first thought upon seeing it was that it might have been taken in or near Detroit.  My reasons for believing this were several – 1) before my grandfather was married, he lived in the Detroit area for a couple of years around 1929, drawn there to work at Henry Ford’s newly opened and highly innovative River Rouge plant; 2) his apparent age in the photo seems to match up with that time period; 3) I didn’t recognize the person who sits next to him in the photo, and neither did my mother; and 4) we didn’t recognize the place.  My grandfather lived in just three places during his life – Italy, Massachusetts, and Michigan.  I’m pretty familiar with the first two, but not so much with the third. Continue reading Beautiful Detroit →

An answer – and more questions

Family Stories, News, , , , ,
Edward Hughes Glidden in front of the Homewood Apartments, face obscured
Courtesy of the Hughes Company Glass Negatives Collection, the Photography Collections, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

As a follow-up to my first post at Vita Brevis, back in early January, I am happy to report that a likely photograph of my great-grandfather Edward Hughes Glidden (1873-1924) has surfaced – but, initially (and tantalizingly), an accident to the glass plate meant that his face was obscured.

The caption for the photograph reads ”1920. Man in Overcoat walking by Homewood Apartments. Man could be Lt. Glidden, architect and resident of Homewood apts.” on North Charles Street in Baltimore. According to the collection’s online catalogue, the captioner provided the identification for the photograph’s subject, and I wonder if the original notation was for E. H. Glidden, the name he most often used professionally. Continue reading An answer – and more questions →