Sunday, January 23, 2011

Apples from the John C. Derrick tree

Some years back, while researching the 1927 drowning of William Weston in White River north of Chadron, Nebraska, we had the pleasure of chatting by telephone with Winfred Dalrymple, a distant "cousin."  He told me that he  and his family were visiting the Maiden family north of Chadron when young William drowned while trying to save his sister.  She survived the ordeal.  

Winfred's grandfather was Albert John Derrick, a son to the much-discussed John C. Derrick. Also, his grandmother, Martha (married to Albert John), was a Maiden.   

It's another example of the maze of relationships that would result when someone married into a family to which they were already related by marriage.  We've found it several times in the Derrick family -- with both the Maiden and Miller families.  And -- more than once -- its complexity has caused this writer to fall into a "relative" stupor.

Alas, we've lost touch with the Dalrymple clan, but hope that we can reconnect one day soon.  He lived in the Seattle vicinity when we chatted in 1994.   Finding the photograph above, which was tucked in the back of an envelope, was quite fun -- especially since someone had taken the time to write down who was in the picture!  If only they'd also dated it!

I find it intriguing that many of these old photos reproduce so well.  This original black & white photo is 2 x 3 inches.  It  hasn't been particularly cared for over the years, but the clarity and resolution is still pretty good -- a testament to the quality of the camera and lens used in capturing the image.

We're guessing the photo was taken in about 1924 or 1925, before young Weston drowned.  Shown left-to-right are Dorothy Maiden, Bobby Dalrymple, Henry Maiden, Winnie Dalrymple, and Lettie Miller.