Many years ago, I connected with a lady in Arizona whose aunt was married to my great uncle. One day soon after, I brought in my mail and there was a small package. I opened it and it was a box that checks had come in. When I opened the box, it was filled with photos that had belonged to my great uncle and a note. The note said that when Uncle Bee died in 1975, the sender had inherited his possessions. She was so glad to have made contact with someone in his family because she wanted the pictures to be returned to the Carder family. The rest of the box contained photos and a letter that Uncle Bee had written to his older brother when he was a child. What wonderful gift and treasure this sweet lady had given me!
The photo on my website is one of the photos that were in this little checkbox. Conveniently, Uncle Bee had labeled some of the photos and this was one of the labeled ones. At the bottom of the Home page of my website, I have a description identifying the photo and the people in it. I’m including that label here also.
The photo is of my great grandmother, Mary Alice Alford Rider Carder surrounded by most of her children. Alice, as she was known, was the widow of Albert Rider when she married my great grandfather, Nathan Isaac Carder. She was born on June 12, 1873.
The photo was taken in the winter of 1916 because there is snow on the ground and the baby on my great grandmother’s lap is my great aunt, Margaret Eleanore Carder Finicle who had been born on April 24, 1915. It is the only photo I have of Aunt Marge when she was a baby.
The house in the photo is numbered 635. Although I have the address of numerous places my family lived, I haven’t found an address with the house number, 635. My guess would be that it was probably in Kenton, Hardin County, Ohio. I’m basing my guess on the fact that Aunt Marge is the baby in the photo and she was born in Kenton.
It is, of course, possible that they might have moved when she was a baby, but I don’t know. They were living in Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio by the time she was four, but their address in Bellefontaine was 504 Walker Street.
The boy on the left with the big bow tie is my grandpa, Wilbur Silas Carder. His mother called him, “Wibbie”. He was born on February 20, 1909. As an adult, he was called “Nick” after the dime novel, radio program, and movie character, “Nick Carter, Master Detective”.
To the right of Alice, is her youngest son, Clarence Melvin Carder. Alice gave him the nickname, “Taunt” because she said that he always teased and taunted everyone. Taunt was born on March 1, 1911.
Behind them are Alice’s children from her marriage to Albert Rider. On the left on the step is Charles Edward Rider. He was called “Bee,” because she said he buzzed around like a little bee. He was born on June 20, 1903.
In the middle, is Alice’s oldest child, Florence Evylin Rider Harvey who went by Nina (9 ah). Nina was born on June 26, 1890.
Although, on the back of the picture, the young man on the end is labeled as Bill Carder, it is not. There were a few family members named Bill Carder, but this is neither of them. It is Alice’s oldest son, Frances Earl Rider who was called “Billy”. Perhaps, he was labeled as Bill Carder because it is a Carder family photo and he was the stepson of Nathan Carder and went by Billy. Billy Rider was born on December 10, 1900.
I doubt that the Carders owned a camera in 1916. Most people didn’t and they certainly were not in an income bracket that they could afford one so it's not likely that one of the missing family members took the picture. Missing from the picture are my great grandfather, Alice’s husband, Nathan Isaac Carder, born on May 21, 1875, and their son, Nathan Eugene Carder, born on March 8, 1907. So, where were they?
[Photo: About 1916. Front, Left to right-Wilbur Silas Carder (my grandfather), Mary Alice Alford Rider Carder (my great grandmother), holding Margaret Eleanore Carder, Clarence Melvin Carder. Back, Left to right-Charles Edward Rider, Nina Evylin Rider, and Francis Earl Rider (Billy), children of Mary Alice from her first marriage. Mary Alice was the widow of Albert Rider when she married my great grandfather, Nathan Isaac Carder.]