Tag Archives: Cleantha Cannie Cochran

Tarbox

Mystery Photo – Cleantha Cochran Tarbox, 1859-1942 and ???

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Cleantha (Cannie) Cochran, left and ???

This is a photo in my collection that is just half a mystery. My cousin Charles passed this copy on to me of “Aunt Cannie” Tarbox, the wife of Charles Franklin Tarbox.

Cleantha was born in April 1859 in New Brunswick, Canada and died in 1942 in Attleboro, Bristol, Massachusetts. As cousin Charles and his mother lived in Providence for decades, I imagine that they visited Aunt Cannie and Uncle Charles many times.

I don’t think that the mystery lady in this picture is related to me. In fact, Aunt Cannie is an aunt by marriage. She was the sister-in-law of my 2X great grandmother, Nellie Tarbox Adams. Charles Franklin Tarbox was Nellie’s younger (by 3 years) brother.

I know one special thing about her though – she was, by family lore, the first woman operated on for cataracts at Boston General Hospital.

Cannie and our mystery subject were very stylishly dressed and I imagine this other person either lived in Washington County, Maine or just over the water in New Brunswick, Canada. That narrows it down, doesn’t it?

Both ladies appear to be in their young 20s. Their highly curled hair in front with the rest pulled back and the high necklines of their clothing were “in” during the 1880s. As Cannie was born in 1859 and 21 in 1880, the photo clues fit her age.

Cannie doesn’t really look like the other lady in terms of a family resemblance. She didn’t have any sisters, but did have five brothers. Could the mystery lady be the wife of one of her brothers? Or, could this be a cousin? Her mother’s maiden name was unusual – Zellma, while Cochran is quite common. Both of her parents were born in Nova Scotia. It’s also very possible she was just a friend.

Cochran Family

Charles C. Cochran married Salome-Salina (perhaps?) Zellma. They were born c1823 and c1824 in Nova Scotia, Canada. Their children were all born in New Brunswick, Canada. In 1881, the family lived in Milltown, New Brunswick, Canada. Except for Cannie and her brother, Osgood, nothing has been found after the 1881 census.

Children:
1. Ferdinand, born c1856
2. Cleantha, born 23 April 1859; died 1942, Attleboro, Bristol, Massachusetts; married Charles Franklin Tarbox, 19 October 1881, Milltown, New Brunswick, Canada.
3. John, born c1862
4. George, born c1864
5. William, born c1868
6. Osgood, born c1870; died 31 October 1910, Danforth, Washington, Maine; married Sarah Awilda Feero, 22 November 1892, Calais, Maine. She was born c1875; died 27 June 1913, Danforth, Washingtone, Maine. In both 1900 and 1910, they lived in Danforth.

Do you recognize this mystery lady? Please leave a comment if you do.

Calais, Dating Old Photos, Mystery Photos

George Rogers Tarbox Family

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Tarbox is one of those unique names, worthy of a One Name Study. Most people in the United States with this surname are all descended from John Tarbox, who was settled in Lynn, Massachusetts by the 1640’s.

My 3x great grandfather, George Rogers Tarbox, born 14 December 1818 in New Gloucester, Cumberland, Maine, married Mary Elizabeth Scripture, born 2 Dec 1827 in Mason, Hillsboro, New Hampshire on 29 November 1848 in Nashville, Hillsboro, New Hampshire.

GeorgeTarbox      

       George Rogers Tarbox                           Mary Elizabeth Scripture

They were the parents of seven children, five of whom lived to adulthood, including my great great grandmother, Nellie F. Tarbox, born 28 June 1856 in Robbinston, Washington, Maine and died 23 December 1927 in Boston, MA. Her mother Mary died on 11 March 1866 and is buried at Calais Cemetery in Calais, Maine. Mary’s cause of death is unknown, but as her last surviving child was born in1863 and she was only 39 when she died, it is possible she died giving birth with neither she nor the baby surviving.

George owned a granite quarry in Red Beach, next to Calais. His sons and son-in-law Charles Vickery all worked as stone cutters and quarrymen. George died 27 January 1895 in Calais and, like many others in my family, is buried at Calais Cemetery.

I was given a treasure trove of old family photos in 1981, including the tintypes above of George and Mary and these below:

Here is my great great grandmother, Nellie, who married Calvin Segee Adams:


Nellie F. Tarbox Adams

Although this photo is from the side, Nellie has the same long oval shaped face as her mother. Nellie had an older sister, Elizabeth (called Lizzie) born 19 July 1851 in Newburyport, Essex, Massachusetts. Lizzie married Charles Vickery and they, too, lived in Calais.

Here are photos that my cousin thought were of Lizzie and Charles when we viewed them together in 1981:

ChasVickeryMaybe     LizzieTarboxVickeryMaybe
Charles Vickery and Elizabeth Tarbox Vickery

Charles died at the young age of 53 on 22 January 1900 of tuberculosis; Lizzie outlived her sister Nellie by only five months, passing away on 27 May 1928.

Nellie and Lizzie’s youngest brother, Oliver Scripture Tarbox, was born 2 July 1863 in Robbinston and died 15 Jan 1924 in Calais. Oliver was named for his maternal grandfather. Here he is as a child:

OliverTarbox                                                   Oliver Scripture Tarbox

Oliver married Jenny Mingo, but they had no children. I have no photo of Oliver as an adult, but there is certainly a family resemblance to his brother, Charles:

                          OliverTarboxOlderMan
Charles Franklin Tarbox

Charles, born 13 May 1859,  married Cleantha (Cannie) Cochran, born 23 April 1864, on 19 Oct 1881 in Milltown, New Brunswick, Canada, right over the border from Calais. They had four children and have numerous descendants today.

Here is Aunt Cannie (on the left) with a friend:

CannieTarboxLeft
Cannie Cochran Tarbox (left)

Family lore is that Aunt Cannie was the first woman to have cataract surgery at Boston General Hospital, but I have never searched out records to determine if that is true!

The last Tarbox sibling is Horace W. Tarbox, born April 1861 in Robbinston. Horace died on 8 June 1914 of bronchial pneumonia in Sharon, Massachusetts. He married Elizabeth Eugenia Lane about 1880, probably in Calais. She was born 26 June 1859 in Calais and died 9 April 1947, also in Calais.

Horace and Elizabeth moved to Massachusetts shortly after the birth of their daughter, Elsie Venner Tarbox, in September 1881. They lived in Everett and Sharon and possibly in some other towns. I have no photo of Horace to share.

George and Mary Scripture Tarbox had two other children who died young. Mary Elizabeth, their first child, was born 24 Nov 1849, in Newburyport, Essex, MA. She died there on 23 September 1850. The other child they lost was a son, George Rogers Tarbox, born in 1853 in Maine and who died in Calais on 10 July 1864. There are no surviving photos of either of these children.

If there are other descendants of George R. Tarbox who read this post, I would love to share information and photos with you. Please post a comment.

Tomorrow, I will share a few photos of George Tarbox’s brother, Benjamin Franklin Tarbox, and his family.