Pleasant Remembrance

From an unnamed photographer's studio in an unnamed city in America, we have the picture of a young mother and her baby. We can guess about the date this portrait was captured, based on the style of dress of the mother, or even by her hairstyle, but if it weren't for the thoughtfulness of an unnamed family member's dutiful listing of the woman's name, we wouldn't know whom the picture represented.

Thankfully, someone wrote on the reverse, "Pleasant Fuller + Tarence." And since I've already found other photos with the Fuller surname from the same antique shop in northern California where I found this one, I had at least a few clues with which to direct my search.

If I assumed that this Pleasant Fuller would have been listed in, say, the 1900 census, I'd have at least six possibilities to choose from—plus an additional one with the first name entered only as "Pleas"—which isn't too difficult a quest to conquer for genealogical purposes. Having a secondary clue of a child named Tarence helped narrow the field to one.

Learning that young Tarence was born in 1887—February 10, to be precise—helped us zero in on the date of his infant photograph. At that point, his mother Pleasant was about twenty four years of age, and had been married to John Fuller for about three years.

John and Pleasant Purkey Fuller went on to have at least two other children by the time of that 1900 census: Theresa, whom we'll meet tomorrow, and Harold.

When I went to look for any further information on Pleasant's firstborn, the son in this photograph, I ran into some other puzzling details, which of course demand that I follow through and find the correct information. So, after we meet Theresa Fuller through the photograph I found with her name attached, we'll move on to the puzzle of what became of Tarence.

Above: Undated photograph labeled "Pleasant Fuller + Tarence" found at antique shop in Sonora, California; currently in possession of author until claimed by direct descendant of Pleasant Fuller.