ROWE, Charles and Evelyn

Chas. B. Rowe

These two photos were located at the Stuart Florida Fairgrounds at a booth in the Antique Fair.

The first is labeled "Chas B. Rowe" and was taken circa 1897 at the Stoddard Photographic Studio in New Haven, Connecticut.

I estimate the young man was around 25 years of age at the time, thus an approximate birth year of 1872 is assumed.

The second photo, found in the same box of photos, is of a man holding a toddler outside in front of a house. The location is not known. The back of the photo bears the inscription: "For Mother, May 15th, 1909, Chas & Evelyn Rowe".

The child looks to be probably not over 3 years of age, therefore an approximate year of birth for the child would be around 1906 or 1907.

Chas & Evelyn Rowe, May 1909

Ancestry.com was able to help quite a bit, once I got past my prejudices. 

Having assumed the child named Evelyn was a girl, I ended up running into dead-ends in the research. Once I realized that Evelyn can also be a boy's name, I came upon a family which fit the bill perfectly.

In the 1910 Census for Simbury Connecticut, there is a farming family headed up by 55 year old Edward Brockett and his wife Caroline E. Also living at the residence are son-in-law Charles B. Rowe (age 39), daughter May (32) and grandson Evelyn (2).

Charles B. Rowe was therefore born about 1871 and son Evelyn was born in 1907 or 1908.

By the time of the 1930 Census, Charles Rowe's wife is listed as Ethel H. and Evelyn is going by the name "E. Brocket Rowe." (Can't say that I blame him.) By the 1940 Census, he has adjusted it further to "Evans Rowe."

Armed with that information, Find-A-Grave.com was able to locate the family's headstone and fill in the remaining data.

UPDATE - the people in these photographs are relatives also of "Mrs. Justin CASE" whom you can read about in the next story. These photos were acquired from the same box at the antique fair.