Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Ruth Roland
It's been awhile since I last posted a picture from my collection, so here's one of Ruth Roland, one of Evans' favorite subjects (or was he one of her favorite photographers?). The photo was published in Motion Picture Magazine in 1918 to promote her then-current film Hands Up!.
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Marriage Mystery Part Two
As mentioned in Marriage Mystery Part One, in the 1910 census Nelson was listed as being married, but no wife was listed in the household. Was this just a data entry error? Was Nelson married or not?
On September 7th, 1909, Nelson married Helen Hysell in Dundee, Michigan. Since neither of them had connections to Michigan, it would seem that they had eloped. The 19-year-old Helen was the daughter of Francis Hysell, a railroad agent in Columbus, just like Nelson's father, so it's safe to assume that the two men knew one another, perhaps even worked together. It would also seem that at least one father was not too pleased about the marriage. In the 1910 census, Helen is living with her parents and listed as single. The marriage had been annulled.
So what became of Helen? Interestingly, her life somewhat parallels that of Nelson's. She stayed with her parents until her mother Harriet's death in 1949 (her father died in 1928). They moved from Columbus sometime in the late 1910's, to New York City. While in New York, Helen took up writing, authoring a business book, The Science of Purchasing, as well as several short stories for various pulp magazines (like her distant cousin H. P. Lovecraft). She was also briefly the vice president of her father's NY business, the Hysell Cocoa Co. By the mid-Thirties, Helen and her mother had moved west to the Los Angeles area. Helen died in L.A. in 1964. She never married.
How much of an impact did their doomed romance have on the rest of their lives? Is it the reason Helen never married? Was Helen Nelson's inspiration, the face that launched a thousand beautiful portraits? It's a romantic thought, but we will never know.
On September 7th, 1909, Nelson married Helen Hysell in Dundee, Michigan. Since neither of them had connections to Michigan, it would seem that they had eloped. The 19-year-old Helen was the daughter of Francis Hysell, a railroad agent in Columbus, just like Nelson's father, so it's safe to assume that the two men knew one another, perhaps even worked together. It would also seem that at least one father was not too pleased about the marriage. In the 1910 census, Helen is living with her parents and listed as single. The marriage had been annulled.
So what became of Helen? Interestingly, her life somewhat parallels that of Nelson's. She stayed with her parents until her mother Harriet's death in 1949 (her father died in 1928). They moved from Columbus sometime in the late 1910's, to New York City. While in New York, Helen took up writing, authoring a business book, The Science of Purchasing, as well as several short stories for various pulp magazines (like her distant cousin H. P. Lovecraft). She was also briefly the vice president of her father's NY business, the Hysell Cocoa Co. By the mid-Thirties, Helen and her mother had moved west to the Los Angeles area. Helen died in L.A. in 1964. She never married.
How much of an impact did their doomed romance have on the rest of their lives? Is it the reason Helen never married? Was Helen Nelson's inspiration, the face that launched a thousand beautiful portraits? It's a romantic thought, but we will never know.
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