April 8, 2018

Young and handsome Ollie Matthews

This old photograph was found at a flea market at Perryville, Arkansas on April 7, 2018.  On the back in very faint and faded handwriting I was able to read “Compliments of Ollie Matthews, Atkins, Ark. Presented to Miss Hattie Gillium.”  I did a quick and easy lookup in the Tree at FamilySearch.org using only the name Ollie Matthews and birth place of Arkansas. I found an Ollie Matthews who was born December 18, 1888 in Pope County, Arkansas.  Atkins is located in Pope County, so this looks like a likely match. Plus if we estimate the age of Ollie as about 16-18 in the photo, then the style of dress seems to match the 1905-1910 era. I’ve sent a message to one of the contributors of Ollie’s profile on FamilySearch and am awaiting a response to see if they are a descendant of Ollie Matthews. The Ollie on FamilySearch.org was born in Pope County, Arkansas, then married Antoinette Thompson Craig in Maryville, Missouri in 1912. He died in Richmond, Virginia and was buried in Brooksville, Florida.

UPDATE: I heard back from the FamilySearch.org contributor I had messaged and got a positive response that Ollie is related to her family. The photo has been mailed to this family member in Arizona. Another happy return

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