Friday, May 31, 2024

The Dormans at Home on a Summer Day

A great-grandnephew of John and Ella Dorman recently sent me this wonderful family photo:

2024-05-31. John Dorman Patriot at Summit Lawn
(Click on image to enlarge)
Image courtesy of James Dorman Greene.


It was taken circa 1907 at Summit Lawn, where the Indian Ridge Golf Course now operates.

Ella Dorman is standing at center. John is seated at right. The boy in the toy automobile is little Winston, who would not live to be named in the 1910 census. The boy standing behind him is probably his brother, Harold. The others are not identified.

It's summer, obviously — leaves everywhere; light clothing, shirtsleeves, and bare feet. Looking at the two American flags on display, I'm inclined to think the family is celebrating Independence Day.

Winston's toy auto is interesting, isn't it? It's probably a pedal car, resembling the full-size autos of the time (minus the headlights). Automobiles for adults were just beginning to be popular in this area. A little boy with a miniature auto suggests financially comfortable parents, who liked to give their children nice things.

The other boy is riding a tricycle of the penny-farthing style that was popular in the 1880s.

♦    ♦    ♦

From the same Dorman descendant comes this circa-1935 photo of the Summit Lawn house …

2024-05-31. Dorman home circa 1935
(Click on images to enlarge)
Images courtesy of James Dorman Greene.


… and these portraits, also circa 1935, of Ella and John Dorman:

2024-05-31. Ella and John Dorman ca. 1935


These images are from a complete copy of Rose Mathew Dorman's family history booklet, which I will soon substitute for the incomplete copy I posted earlier.

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