Some Sargents of Maine: Unknown Family Members?

(Dixie's Note) Yesterday an old quilt was delivered to my door from my granddad's house. It is likely from the 1930's to the 1950's - although some of the prints might be older. Some of the prints might have been from dresses, others are from feedsacks. The maker is unknown. Of course, Mary Sargent often referred to handwork in her journal - making lace, knitting, quilting. It is unlikely that she contributed to this quilt. But perhaps some of the prints are ones she had saved from feedsacks or old clothes. Or it might have come from another family branch, or even outside of the family in some way.

Every family has these kinds of unknown treasures - artwork and handiwork made by someone and photo albums with pictures of people they don't know. Putting together family history is a bit like making a quilt - you find pieces here and there and you try to put it together as best you can to make sense.

Speaking of unknown family photos - here are a few pictures from Mary Butman Sargent's Photo Album that were not marked. It is likely that some of them are from the Maine Pendleton and Butman families, and probably family members and close friends known well enough to not need to be identified at the time. But here we are over 100 years later and have no clue who these people are.

Mary F. Butman Sargent, front right - one mystery solved, and quite close to home! My father emailed and said the couple above is likely to be Margaret and James Parse, her close friends. Margaret was Mary's niece, the daughter of her sister Margaret Ann (Butman) Sargent. The date on the photo finds Mary in Alton, but the following entry from Mary's journal is found from a few days before:

"September 7, Sunday - Took dinner at Margaret’s. James there. Pictures taken while we sat out talking. Jay came at 3:40 and in half an hour we started for Alton. Arrived about 7."