Attention Photo Detectives

This page contains various mystery images from the Westcott Society Collection and the first version of the society website, images that require a little sleuthing. Please contact the Westcott Society Historian if you can identify the Westcotts in these photos, resolve their connection to Stukely Westcott, and/or reveal the story behind the story. Click any picture to enlarge it.

The First Case

This framed portrait of a couple was found in the Westcott Society Collection. The identity of the couple, date of the photo, date of acquisition and source are all unknown. It is a 3½” by 3¼” wooden case with an embossed, lacquered cover on both sides, with a cloth hinge (torn) and a hook and eye clasp. It opens to a framed formal portrait printed on glass with clear glass, oval brass-colored metal frame and decorative metal border. The portrait is scratched in several places.

Two More Portraits

These two portraits in the archive appear to be related or at least come from the same era. Note the marking of the photographer on the photo to right: “Thompson, 315 B.Way, N.Y.”

Armor Queen

This clipping from an August 12, 1945 edition of the New York Herald was captioned: “Sergeant William O. Harris, with the assistance of Mrs. Shirley Westcott, of Detroit, dons the new body armor plates designed to protect troops from shrapnel. The armor is being manufactured in Detroit for the use of the Army.”

Dan Wescott

An old, unused postcard in the archive shows the “Residence of Mr. Daniel Wescott, Madison, Maine.” Presumably, the man in the middle is Daniel himself. Given the location and the missing “t”, Daniel may be a descendant of original settler (before 1637) Richard Wescoat of Wethersfield, Connecticut, a cousin of Stukely Westcott.

Mr. Westcott, Painter

“IN HIS SUMMER STUDIO at his home Mr. Westcott works on an oil painting of some of the hills which surround his native town” was the caption in this newspaper clipping.

Unfortunately, the caption itself and anything else that could identify the who, what, when, where and why are missing.

Could “Mr. Westcott, Painter” be F.H. Westcott?

Another mystery in the Westcott Society Collection is a landscape signed F.H. Westcott in the bottom left corner.

Postcard

This group photo is one side of a never-mailed postcard purchased on Ebay by our then Westcott Society Historian, Betty Acker. There is no information about the occasion, location or date of the photo other than a note on the maling side:
A gathering at J. Hazlewood’s. Beginning left: Mrs. Wm Louisdale, Mrs. Jas. Hazlewood, Mrs. Van Hinckle, Mrs. Ainsworth, Mrs. Gene McClerc, Mr. Gene McClerc, James Hazlewood, Geo. Westcott, Wm Lousdale, Frank Westcott, Wm Phelps. Sitting left: Emma Westcott, Corra Engle & Dorothy, Billie Engle, Alvena Villeneuve, Tillie Westcott, Wil Engle, Sate Westcott.