The Demaree Family: 1940's and Earlier

This is the online photo album of the Demaree family from the 1940's and earlier. Please look to the photos for additional details on each.

The Shuler Family (Laura's Parents)

This earliest photo of Sweetie's maternal grandparents and family is from approx. 1895 when Laura is approx. 9 years old. Sitting in front on the left is Hannah Lucetta Shuler (nee Dow) (Sweetie's maternal grandmother) and sitting on the right is Henry C. Shuler (Sweetie's maternal grandfather). Standing between them is Sarah Rosanna Shuler (Sweetie's "Aunt Rosanna'). Standing in the back row (from left to right) are: Cordia Belle Shuler, William Henry Shuler, Lorenzo Clark Shuler, and Laura Kathryn Shuler (Sweetie's mother).

The Shuler Family (Laura's Parents)

This photos is from approx. 1910. This is the second photo of the Shuler family in the collection. Henry C. Shuler sits in front with John Jasper Shuler, and Hannah Lucetta Shuler (nee Dow) is on the right. Henry and Hannah are Sweetie's maternal grandparents. Standing in an arc behind them are (from left to right): Cordia Belle Shuler, William Henry Shuler, Laura Kathryn Shuler (Sweetie's mother), Lorenzo Clark Shuler, and Sarah Rosanna Shuler (Sweetie's "Aunt Rosanna"). As this photo is dated approx. 1910, Laura (Sweetie's mother) is approx. 24 years old.

Margaret Elizabeth, Velma Jeanne, and Frank Edward Demaree

This early photo of three of the five Demaree siblings can be dated to approx. 1920.

Inscribed on the back of the photo is the following: "I think this was taken about the first of May. We think it's the best ever." This was written by Laura Kathryn Demaree (nee Shuler), Sweetie's mother. Velma Jeanne had been born on November 8, 1920, and since she's clearly a baby in this photo, and we have photos to reference of her on her first birthday a year later, we can from this inscription date the photo as May 1, 1921.

Frank Edward, on the right, would have been 1 year old, as he was born in August 1919 (but was approaching his second birthday).

Margaret Elizabeth Demaree is sitting on the left, and is the eldest of the Demaree siblings. She was born on December 23, 1913, and her nickname was "Sister." In the photo, she would have been seven years old.

Velma Jeanne Demaree's First Birthday

This image of Velma Jeanne Demaree is on her first birthday. The child is identified as Jeanne because another photo in which the same child appears is indicated as "J" and the handwriting on the back of the photo matches the same cursive script that belonged to Laura Kathryn Demaree (nee Shuler), Sweetie's mother.

The back of the photo has the words "This is the old "year of age" dress of Sisters on your one year old birthday."

This reference to Sister also indicates that this is one of Sweetie's siblings, because "Sister" was the nickname of her eldest sibling, Margaret Elizabeth.

Velma Jeanne was born on November 8, 1920, so this photo can be dated November 8, 1921.

Frank Edward Demaree and Velma Jeanne Demaree

This photo of the two siblings, Frank Edward Demaree and Velma Jeanne Demaree, is believed to be from 1921, when Velma Jeanne is 1 year old. Sweetie had two brothers, Robert Chester and Frank Edward. However, Robert Chester was a brunet! Frank's hair was lighter in tone, and so it can be deduced that it is Frank in this picture. If that's not enough evidence, on the back, the male child is identified as "F" - for Frank.

Written on the back of this photo, in Sweetie's mother's handwriting is the following: "As they are now, taken this month. J. has on the unbleached muslin dress you made her. F. his everyday suit. The title of this one is "bean candy."

I guess Jeanne was interested in a bag of beans from a garden, as Frank is holding it open for her.

Frank Edward Demaree was born on August 24, 1919, so he is likely two years old in this photo.

Dr. Chester Demaree's Model T Ford

This is Dr. Chester Demaree's Model T Ford from the 1920's. On the back of the photo is the note from Laura Shuler Demaree "camping out on our way to Dakota."

After inquiring with car enthusiasts, it is thought that the specific model is pre-1925, and not later than 1926. Jeanne Demaree (Sweetie's sister) would later write a brief history of the Demaree family prior to the 1940's, and indicates that the family moved to White, Brookings County, South Dakota, in 1927, so the dates do line up.

The Demaree Family - Sweetie and her Siblings

This photo is from 1926, and features all of the Demaree children (Sweetie with her siblings). The boy on the left is Frank Edward Demaree, and the boy on the right is Robert Chester Demaree. Standing in the back in the middle is Margaret Elizabeth Demaree a.k.a. "Sister" (the eldest sibling), and in the front, the girl on the right is Velma Jeanne Demaree. Sweetie herself is in the front, the youngest of the five children. She is 4 years old in this photograph.

The Demaree Family Home (Lacona, Iowa)

This is the Demaree Family home in Lacona, Warren County, Iowa. It is the only home Chester Demaree, M.D. ever purchased, and the family moved there in 1945.

While Dr. Demaree had an office in town, his practice eventually moved into the home. Patients were seen in the first floor on the right-hand side. Behind his practice was his dark room for developing photographs. The left-hand side had the kitchen.

This home had no bathroom; rather there was an outhouse in the back and a water pump.

The house is no longer standing, and this is the only known photograph of the Demaree home. At one point, a garage was built; that is no longer standing, either.