Twins and Triplets

Handwritten note on the back of this cabinet photo: "Sister Annie's. Martin - Samuel Heffner (twins)." Photo studio: "J. D. Strunk, 730 Penn St., Reading, Pa."

For previous comments about this real photo postcard, see the discussion on Flickr: Two Girls with Bows .

"J. E. Taylor, 16 S. 2nd St., Dillsburg, Pa." Handwritten notes on the back of this photo: "4 month old" (earlier note, in pencil). "The Baker Triplets, 'I think'" (later note, in pen). As far as I have been able to determine, this cabinet card photo shows Rebecca, Sarah, and Adalene Baker, who were born on February 5, 1898, and lived in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania. A brief article that appeared in the Reading Eagle on February 10, 1933, p. 19, identified the sisters only by their married names (I added their first names in brackets): Berks Woman One of Triplet Sisters York, Feb. 10 (Special).--Mrs. Walter Cassel [Rebecca], of Fleetwood, Berks County, is one of three triplet sisters, who observed their 35th birthday anniversary at the home of their mother, Mrs. Emma Baker, this county. The others of the triplets are Mrs. Clarence Spahr [Sarah], of this city, and Mrs. Ira Kimmel [Adalene], of Dillsburg. The three sisters were feted at a dinner and family gathering on the occasion of their birthday anniversaries.

Although this photo was in poor shape when I bought it and required significant touch-up to make the image somewhat more visible for posting, I thought that the appeal for assistance printed on the back of the card made it worthwhile. I did some searching for further information about the triplets, but didn't uncover a definitive account of their story. The Find A Grave Web site contains some information regarding the girls' parents, Jarred Washington Tracey (1857-1906) and Emma Barton Tracey (1858-1949) (I'm not sure why the parents' middle names don't match their middle intials on the card). Emma Tracey's entry includes a different photo of the mother with her three daughters. Find A Grave also contains entries for the children, Mabel V. Tracey McKelvey (1886-1967) , Edith Grace Tracey Thompson (1886-1967) , and Bessie Barton Tracey Willard (1886-1966) . -------- Printed on the back of the card: The Triplet Children of J. M. and Emma C. Tracey, Fountaindale, Pa. Mable Viola, Born April 4, 1886, noon, weighed 6 lbs. Edith Grace, Born April 5, 1886, noon, weighed 6 lbs. Bessie Barton, Born April 6, 1886, 4 p.m., weighed 7 lbs. Mrs. Tracey, the mother of these babes, was born with but one arm. Photographs taken Aug. 26, 1886. Cabinet photographs of these children will be mailed to any address for 25 cents. Address J. M. Tracey, Fountain Dale, Adams co., Pa. The profit from the sale of photographs will be devoted to rearing and educating the triplets. -------- Printed on the front of the card below the photo (too faint to be visible here): "Tipton Photo, Gettysburg, Pa."

Yet another Halloween photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A real photo postcard with a Halloween portrait of kids (including twins?), a cat, and a jack-o'-lantern all posing on the front porch (see also a cropped version of the photo). The family sent this as a Christmas greeting (notice the decorative holly leaves and berries added at the bottom) to Miss Geneva B. Haley, Cornish, Maine. The card was postmarked in Brunswick, Maine, on December 17, 1943. Handwritten message on the other side: "Yours was a lovely card. Peter read it to the other children. It's their favorite Christmas carol. Greetings from all, Cecil & Marion." I don't recall ever seeing any other Halloween-themed Christmas cards.

For more information, see the full version of this real photo postcard.

A photo of cows for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Mouse over the image above for a better view of the calves and cow. Caption at the bottom of the photo: "[Tommyhill?] triplet calves, Rooks Co., Kans." A real photo postcard addressed on the other side to John A. Ginck, Gettysburg, Pa., RR 10, and postmarked Solomon, Kansas, July 21, with the year illegible. Handwritten message: "Solomon, Kans., July 20. Dear Johnnie, I have not got a letter from you since I left. Heard from Aunt Dall the other day. Finished harvesting Sat. noon. Am starting with a threshing outfit tomorrow morning. Am about 100 miles from where I was working when you [incomplete sentence]. Write address in care of Fred Roltz, Solomon, Kans. Write soon."

For more information, see the full version of this real photo postcard.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of barns, barnyards, and barnyard animals . This is a real photo postcard of a man and woman posing outside a barn with a cow and the cow's twin calves. The photographer's shadow fell across the woman and one of the calves. The postcard is unused with a divided back, but there's no stamp box or other details on the other side to help determine when or where the photo was taken. It's likely, however, that the image dates to the late 1900s or 1910s, and the location may be somewhere in Pennsylvania. For some comparable photos, see Fancy Cow and Calf and Triplet Calves, Rooks County, Kansas .