The Love Family Revisted

In the July/August 2016 issue of Family Tree Magazine, the Photo Detective column, “An Afternoon Outside” focused on this photo. It’s from the collection of Bradley Richardson. His mother inherited the photo and knew it was from either the Love or Allan sides of her family.

Bradley shared his exhaustive family research (which included Excel spreadsheets of analysis) with me, as well as another photo.

One of the clues in this picture is the house number “1204.” The 1901 and 1902 city directories for Kansas City, Mo., list William Allan at 1204 West 25th St. in those years. Allan, his wife Alta E. Love and two children lived here. By 1903, they’d moved to another area. His father lived with the family and Alta’s sisters often visited. The 1905 Kansas state census enumerated the family along with Allan’s father and two of Alta’s siblings, Lois and Laura.

Photo identification is a process based on genealogical research and picture details. It seemed to fit that the women standing behind the rocker were Lois and Laura, but maybe not. Take a close look at the woman in the blouse.

Is the opening in the bottom of her shirt due to her pulling it slightly open by putting her hands behind her back, which also puffs out the front of her skirt? Or could she be pregnant? In the early part of the 20th century, pregnant women generally avoided the camera, especially unmarried pregnant women. This woman looks young. In 1902, Laura was 16.