Saturday, January 19, 2013

I Should Have Guessed It


One of the things most frustrating about researching Leona Bean Grant is the source of her married name. Well, yes, I realize one gets one’s married name from one’s husband.

What I mean to say is that I’ve never come upon any information about just who Leona’s husband might have been. Other than the obvious—yes, his last name was Grant—I have come up empty-handed from any plunges into data-rich online environments.

Until, of course, I encountered one slip of a photo in the trash-collection-turned-treasure-box that contained all those unmarked Bean family photos.

I nearly missed the photograph. The face was one I didn’t recognize, and I must have passed it over in the several other times I’ve been through this box. But this time, I didn’t miss the note on the back, despite the faded ink.

The photo was marked:
Bob Grant, 1914.
Alameda CA Leona Bean Grant
The photo itself was cut up at odd angles, as if to fit in some sort of ancient scrap book.

I’m not even sure I’d want to find out what the story behind this photo might have been—or what the man was holding in his left hand. Knowing Leona’s strong personality, though, whoever she chose as husband would have had to be either bland as vanilla, or a real character in his own right.

Even though I was now armed with the man’s actual name, I haven’t made any further progress in discovering more about his identity than I had in searching for “First Name Unknown” Grant. None of the “Bob”—or even “Robert”—entries in all the usual databases seem to be a viable match.

It doesn’t help that “Grant” happens to be a fairly common surname. This quest has certainly tried my patience. Sometimes I’m inclined to give up the search because, after all, Leona never had any children of her own. There’s not really anyone left who might care about this line.

One day, however—and you knew this would have to happen—I stumbled upon a hint. I’m not sure I even remember where I saw this note. It was something I found while catching a spare moment’s look online. One of those snatched moments that vaporizes when a more pressing matter (read crisis) pops up.

The hint was: try “Bob” as a middle name.

Of course! Hadn’t my own family been rife with those middle name issues? I should have thought of that.

But what to do with “Bob”? Was it short for Robert? Or assumed as a nickname to substitute for another, less popular name.

I played around with what I could find online. It didn’t take long to do what the online social media crowd now calls “head desk.” Yep, *slams palm to forehead*—why did I not think of this?

As a first name for Mr. Grant: try Ulysses.

19 comments:

  1. My first thought was "why is he holding that toilet seat?" Perhaps that was a business he had.

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    1. That was my first thought, too, Claudia! Seemed incongruous with the office background.

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  2. Ulysses - I wouldn't be surprised. My family seemed to like naming children after presidents. I have a couple James Madisons, Thomas Jeffersons, and a set of twins named Franklin Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt.

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    1. With a last name like Grant, I suppose it was a gimme. Don't know how I missed it at first.

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  3. He looks like Clark Gable! Just a thought on that picture : maybe he invented it and he got a patent on it listed in the Patent Office ? There should be a searchable database of patent products and the creator. Maybe that is why they took a picture of it ? Another thought is he might be a manufacturer or in sales.

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    1. Good thought on the patent office records. That's one area I've never researched before. I'd at least like to find him in census records, if nothing else!

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  4. He looks like Clark Gable! Just a thought on that picture : maybe he invented it and he got a patent on it listed in the Patent Office ? There should be a searchable database of patent products and the creator. Maybe that is why they took a picture of it ? Another thought is he might be a manufacturer or in sales.

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  5. I don't think this guy was "vanilla." He looks like a character to me. Especially holding that toilet seat. I bet there is an interesting story behind this photograph.

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    1. I'm with you on that one, Andrea. He must have been a kick to know. With a wife like Leona, they must have made quite the pair!

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  6. This man appears to be holding a stainless steel bedpan. It makes me think that he may have been a phrmacist or a doctor.

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    1. Now that I've found an address on the reverse of one of these photos, I'm planning on seeing if Bob shows up in a city directory, since he hasn't showed up in the census records yet. That may tell the missing piece of this story.

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  7. That bemused look on his face and his jaunty posture suggest that he was a character in his own right - probably the kind of person you'd have to be when posing with a toilet seat. It's interesting that he appears to be in an office of some sort, too - an incongruous place for the toilet seat, but there may be clues in that, too.

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    1. Linda, I imagine it would take a special kind of guy to pose for his picture with a toilet seat in his hand. Indeed!

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  8. Perhaps the history of toilet seats will help..this may be a prototype that didn't catch on..he looks like a character:)

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    1. Of all the research bunny trails I've gladly taken as detour, I can't think of any more improbable than the one requiring me to learn the history of toilet seats. Hmmm. Prototype, indeed! ;)

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  9. Thanks for stopping by my blog. I love the picture of Bob...he looks quite the character.

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    1. Yes, Bob--or Ulysses, if that's what his name turns out to be--does seem quite the character. I'm looking forward to learning more about him. I'm sure there are some whoppers in the stories about this one.

      Best wishes as you continue your own blogging project. And thanks for stopping by here!

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  10. I agree with Kathryn that it looks more like a bedpan. Would be uncomfortable as a toilet seat (1) Maybe Bob was a maker or seller of medical devices for hospitals or nursing homes. (It's a strangely high desk to be and office desk, too.) He looks proud of his product, all right. If you're doing that patent search, I'd include bedpans.

    Is this the man that we saw in later photos with a little nephew and a car? I'll pop over to your newer posts and check it out. What a "find" this photo was. You've persuaded me to bring out my old photos again...

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    1. Yes, Mariann, this man and the one in the photos with liitle Sammie is one and the same--if the labels on the back of each picture may be trusted.

      By all means, do take a fresh look at your photographs. I was pleasantly surprised at all the progress I've made in this most recent attempt.

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