Passport Photos from the Past! (Installment One)

Ancestry.com has recently added a collection of U.S. Passports from the late 1800s through about 1925.  Many of these passports include photos, so I decided to comb through and share the passport photos I could find of Alpena and Presque Isle County residents.    A few well-known figures are included, including Ella M. White of Alpena, wealthy Lansing milliner and first resident of PI Township, Bliss Stebbins, and Catholic priest of Posen, Father Casimir T. Skowronski.

These photos are actually really endearing - you can see half-hidden excitement in many of the faces.It wasn't just every day that one had their photo taken, or traveled overseas!  Traveling overseas was usually reserved only for the very wealthy, so not many folks from the area got the opportunity in those days.

If you ever pose for a passport photo, remember - maybe some day your great grandchildren will be looking at it too! Hope you enjoy!

James Alton Bennett
Born Feb 3, 1889 - Passport Issued Mar 29, 1920
Traveling to attend Boy Scouts conference as Asst. Scout Master and to sightsee in British Isles, France, and Belgium

Anna Elizabeth Bleau (and two small children Gladys Rosetta and Albert Marshall Bleau)
Born Nov 23, 1895 - Passport Issued May 29, 1923
Wife of Joseph Israel Bleau
Traveling to England to reside with her father as his housekeeper

 Frederick Heinrich Bluck
Born June 30, 1882 in Bochpol, Germany
Passport Issued Nov 27, 1922
Traveling to visit friends and relatives in Poland and Germany

 Howard W. Spratt Broad
Born March 4, 1908
Son of Leslie W. Broad
Passport Issued March 6, 1920
Traveling to attend Boy Scout Jamboree and sightsee in Great Britain, France, and Belgium

Mary Ann Carson
Born March 7, 1852
Widow of William Henry Carson
Passport Issued May 28, 1923
Traveling to visit friends in England and Ireland

Wilkie Nelson Collins
Born March 10, 1879
Teacher at Idaho University
Passport Issued on Jul 26, 1915
Traveling to England for business

Marie B. Comstock
Born April 12, 1879, daughter of William B. Comstock (former Governor of Michigan)
Passport issued Jan 19, 1925
Traveling to Italy, France, British Isles, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Egypt, Morocco, Holland on Travel

John Dehring
Born Jan 30, 1854 in Barlozno, Germany/Poland
Father: Michael Dehring
Passport Issued Mar 8, 1922
Visiting Family in Germany and Poland

Nelson W. Eddy
Born December 26, 1894
Father: Nelson M. Eddy
Passport Issued May 9, 1921
Occupation: Instructor
Traveling to France, Spain, and the British Isles as a tourist

 Walter Joseph and Helen Gabrysiak
Walter: Born May 17, 1885
Helen: Born Feb 27, 1889
Passport Issued: Feb 24, 1922
Relocating to Kalyshan, Poland (once Germany)
Letter accompanying the passport (click for full size):

Mrs. Ovidia (Larson) Gjorud
Born September 1, 1865 in Christiana, Norway
Father: Ole Larson
Passport Issued May 11, 1922
Traveling to visit relatives in Norway

Archie J. Goodburne
Born on December 16, 1904
Passport Issued March 11, 1920
Traveling to British Isles, France, and Belgium to attend Boy Scout Jamboree

Henry Killmaster Gustin
Born on May 12, 1868
Passport Issued December 14, 1920
Occupation: Attorney at Law
Passport to be delivered to the Honorable F.B. Scott, United States House of Representatives (perhaps they were traveling together?)
Traveling from Nogales, AZ on the Southern Pacific Railway to Mexico for pleasure

Hans Haakensen (Hakens?)
Born on September 12, 1864 in Leer, Norway
Father: Haaken Haakensen
Passport Issued May 14, 1923
Traveling to Norway, Sweden, and Denmark to visit family

Eldred Orland Hall
Born September 18, 1902
Father: William C. Hall
Passport Issued May 1, 1920
Traveling to British Isles, France, and Belgium to attend the Boy Scout Jamboree