FOUND: 1909 Photo on Ebay (MITCHELL, PRESTON)
My hobby (as a sideline to professional research) is buying old photos from ebay and antique malls that have identifying information on them and trying to reunite them with families.
I purchased this photo on ebay. The photo is of a baby and an older gentleman. On the front “Arthur Mitchel with Grandfather” is written. “Myron Mitchell Jr” (faded in pencil) and “June 27 ‘09 Grandpa William Wallace Preston Cousin Arthur M. Mitchell” is written on the back.
Arthur M. Mitchell Jr. [29 Jun 1909*-12 Dec 1989] is the child of Anna Bell Preston and Arthur Myron Mitchell. Arthur’s maternal grandfather William Wallace Worth Preston [9 Oct 1837-8 Sept 1916] is the child of William Preston and Anna Fiske.
In the familysearch.org “Michigan Marriages, 1822-1995,” there is a record for an Anna Bell Preston marrying Myron A. Mitchell on 30 Jun 1897 in Mt. Pleasant, Isabella, Michigan. Anna Bell (Preston) Mitchell’s parents are listed as W. W. Preston and Arcena Woodworth.
The 1910, 1920, and 1930 Census lists Myron and Anna Mitchell with their son A[rthur] Myron in Battle Creek, Calhoun, Michigan. Arthur Myron Mitchell Jr.
William Wallace Worth Preston died on 8 Sept 1916 and is buried in Riverside Cemetery, Mt. Pleasant, Isabella, Michigan. Arthur Myron Mitchell married Alfadine E. Cleveland on 22 May 1930 in Calhoun, Michigan. He died in 1989 and is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Battle Creek, Calhoun, Michigan.
*Myron Arthur Mitchell Jr.’s birthdate is listed on the SSDI and Ancestry’s Michigan Deaths, 1971-1996, which contradicts what’s written on the back on the photograph matte. The 1910 census also lists his age as 9/12 months which would have had him born in July of 1909. Given the inconsistencies, the fact that the writing on the front is in black pen, the writing on the back is in faded pencil and yet another pen ink, and the fact that the child in the photo appears to NOT be a newborn (my guess would be five months) the person who wrote the date may have remembered the date of the photograph incorrectly.
I am asking cost ($4.49), 25% finder’s fee, and $2 shipping. The total would be $7.61. If you’re interested in getting the photo, please contact me at branchesfamilyhistory(at)gmail(dot)com. Thank you!