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Post by Midge on Mar 15, 2010 13:36:03 GMT -6
You've accomplished a lot so far, Larry. Maybe you can try the church again and see if any of Gladys's friends would be willing to talk to you.
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Post by Larry's 66 Diner on Mar 15, 2010 13:37:51 GMT -6
Yes, Midge, I think you're right. And I have the feeling that the church may be the only other hope that I have left, because I have a very eerie feeling that Sally may now be deceased or in a nursing facility herself.
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Post by Midge on Mar 15, 2010 13:42:04 GMT -6
Yes, I think it's a good possibility. If Gladys had some younger church friends, they might be very helpful.
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Post by Larry's 66 Diner on Mar 15, 2010 13:44:57 GMT -6
Right.
The pastor's voice (on the out-going message) sounded fairly "young", so my guess is that there could have been a different pastor of the church at the time when Gladys would have been in attendance, so your suggestion of another congregation member would probably be a more likely possibility. :thumbsup:
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Post by Larry's 66 Diner on Mar 15, 2010 16:41:21 GMT -6
I just received correspondence from David Shepard (silent film historian) of Flicker Alley. He suggested to me that perhaps there could be an individual who pays an annual maintenance fee for that plot at the cemetery. :unsure:
I suppose I should telephone White Haven again tomorrow and check into that. :thumbsup:
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Post by Kimmer on Mar 15, 2010 18:07:03 GMT -6
Check your pm's, Larry.
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Post by spruance on Mar 15, 2010 18:39:21 GMT -6
I have been looking at this as well Larry but all I can find in Parkersburg WV (via the www.intelius.com people search website) is a Sally L Maxwell aged 77 at the same address as a Charles B Maxwell who is listed as 93 or 99 As you have managed to piece together quite a lot of information, have you considered contacting the local newspaper and seeing if they will publish an appeal or run it as a public interest story? As far as I can determine, this is the publication in question.... www.newsandsentinel.com/
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Post by Larry's 66 Diner on Mar 15, 2010 18:50:25 GMT -6
Thank you, Brian. Kimmer just sent me some information in a PM that pretty well coincides with what you had just sent, along with a birthdate on Sally Maxwell. However, the birthdate she'd sent would make Sally a different age than the age (77) you had mentioned. As for the News-Sentinel, that was actually the place my search began, but they had no information or archives older than two years. They, in turn, directed me to the Logan County Public Library in Parkersburg, which is where my investigation REALLY sky-rocketed! :thumbsup:
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Post by spruance on Mar 15, 2010 19:01:09 GMT -6
Also..... Having established that Parkersburg is in Wood County, it appears that you can search Wood County public records online via this link.... www.woodcountywv.com/webinquiryThere is a listing for a 1997 death under Gladys Beal but if you search for Sally Maxwell it gives the mailing address of Sally and CB Maxwell!
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Post by Larry's 66 Diner on Mar 15, 2010 19:06:12 GMT -6
I will check that out, Brian. :thumbsup: I noticed in your previous link you did this "Intelius" search. I had that pop up several times in my investigations and it appeared to me to be a paid-subscription search, which is why I didn't further use that resource.
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Post by spruance on Mar 15, 2010 19:25:00 GMT -6
I'm just looking at the Wood County site listing for Sally Maxwell and it is actually a record of her selling her property in 1999. She is listed as a widow with Charles Maxwell having passed away in 1980, which is rather curious as he still appears on that Intellius listing. It is a paid for service but it is handy to confirm already known information (without paying) and it also lists former places of residence. 123People offers a good free people search option but the information isn't set out very well so it takes a lot of searching before you get anywhere..... www.123people.co.uk/Just input the first and last name and for USA searches the city and state. By the way I have just found Sally L Maxwell listed under an alias of Sally L Zavitz. It is obviously the same person but I still cannot drill down any further. Maybe she remarried?
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Post by Larry's 66 Diner on Mar 15, 2010 19:50:51 GMT -6
Thank you, Brian! Another name to check into! WOW! I'm getting help from all the way across the Big Pond! ;D Perhaps your closer in geographic proximity to her than I am, which is why the information is coming to you quicker! :uhuh:
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Post by Larry's 66 Diner on Mar 15, 2010 20:03:11 GMT -6
Brian, you're awesome! :thumbsup: For those unaware, Brian just sent me some information about Sally Maxwell/Zavitz. One of the links he provided took me to an outstanding photograph with Sally: Does anyone know this lady documented as Sally Zavitz? Brian's link also mentioned that she and her husband, Perry Zavitz, seemed to had relocated to Canada for a time, but it is assumed that Perry has passed away also, and she may have returned to the States!
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Post by spruance on Mar 15, 2010 20:20:22 GMT -6
Thanks Larry. :embarrassed: Assuming that Sally Zavitz and Sally Maxwell are one and the same the obvious point of contact would seem to be the TWR charitable organisation which Sally seems to be heavily involved with.... www.twralumni.org/index.htmAnyway, happy hunting. I must call it a day now.
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Post by Larry's 66 Diner on Mar 15, 2010 20:20:47 GMT -6
Here's another photo of Sally Zavitz:
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Post by Larry's 66 Diner on Mar 15, 2010 20:22:00 GMT -6
We both apparently posted at the same time, Brian. ;D
Thank you for your outstanding efforts. I shall get back on the telephone again tomorrow! :thumbsup:
Good night! :sleep:
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Post by Larry's 66 Diner on Mar 16, 2010 7:50:20 GMT -6
I just contacted the TWR Alumni, in an attempt to get hold of Sally Zavitz and, without any questions asked, the lady I spoke to willingly gave me Sally's telephone number in Canada! I tried calling the number and left a brief message to please return my call. :thumbsup: Now, I sit and wait ......... :angel: ;D
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Post by Larry's 66 Diner on Mar 16, 2010 9:19:19 GMT -6
Well, I finally had contact with Sally Zavitz, but I'm afraid the news is quite disturbing. She confirmed her mother's name as it was printed in the obituary of the newspaper from AUG 4, 1997. However, as I had already surmised when our conversation began, this would be a let-down. She informed me that her mother was not the person I was looking for, and that she was not familiar with the actress Gladys Egan. She seemed to be a very pleasant lady and wished me well in my endeavors. Back to Ground Zero.
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Post by Roger Thornhill on Mar 16, 2010 9:41:41 GMT -6
Sorry to hear that Larry, keep on trying, nil desperandum. :thumbsup:
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Post by Midge on Mar 16, 2010 14:33:16 GMT -6
Awww, that's a shame. I have to admit I was a bit skeptical because this Gladys's parents were not named Egan.
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Post by Larry's 66 Diner on Mar 16, 2010 15:15:57 GMT -6
Well, admittedly, I acted very quickly — perhaps too quickly — on this. The mis-information at IMDb is where it all began, and the very information I acted upon. From that point, I contacted the News-Sentinental in Parkersburg; but since they had nothing in their archives that dated that far back, they referred me to the Wood County Public Library. In my e-mail to the library, I asked for information on Gladys Egan, but I purposefully did not mention that I was searching for a movie star. As you noticed in the reply e-mail which came back from Jennifer King at the library, she indicated that she saw Gladys was a child movie star. I contacted the Willows Nursing Home and the individual I spoke to gave me all the information she had on Gladys Beal (or Beale, whichever). Yes I also contacted Leavitt Funeral Home and was given the information where she was buried (although the obituary said cremated), which was White Haven Memorial Park. Yesterday, it had appeared I lost Sally's trail, but Brian had picked up on her trail very quickly. So all of us who have been reasearching have indeed been following the right leads — on Gladys Beal! The wrong information apparently began at IMDb and somehow is cross-referenced into what Ms King located at Wood County Public Library. IMDb is clearly — and without a doubt — mistaken; however, Ms King could also have read the search results in error. The rest of us have been going off what she resourced. When I began searching this, in my mind I questioned the dates on IMDb because, as I recall, a couple years ago they had her birthdates listed as 1896-1984. But this time, when I saw the same dates listed on Wikipedia, I acted more aggressively on this information. In the back of my mind, I knew that Wikipedia was mostly contributed by its users so I never completely take the information on there as being Gospel. However, I hadn't given it a thought that IMDb was solely dependent on its users; I assumed they had a research department somewhere. Then again, I didn't see any such link on their website. So really, I have no idea who the heck put that information up on there, but one would think they would like to verify the authenticity of any submitted information before posting it. (Jill, that's exactly why I made the comment to you here that I did not want to post it on Find A Grave yet until I was 101% certain. ) Perhaps, this was a time when I acted foolishly myself by taking information which began at IMDb to heart. However, when Jennifer King's reference of a child movie star surfaced, that was my reasoning for accelerating it. Although I am disappointed, I am not depressed over this; as Midge indicated, there were a few things that didn't quite come together. I still questioned the last name myself; I questioned her appearance of age in her films; and (as Jill mentioned over at Golden Silents) why wasn't her silent film career mentioned in her obituary, as it should be something to be proud of? Now my own thoughts on the latter were that, perhaps, Gladys went on to do other accomplishments that she, herself, may have felt more note-worthy. (Perhaps, being an animal-rights activist, or many years of serving and working for the Lord, or a host of other ideas.) Since her career in [early] films was so short, she may have thought no one would remember, or even preferred no one remember this. Realistically, I knew, when undertaking this "mission" a long time ago, that it would be difficult, considering we're dealing with century-old information. And as I told TC the other night, in a way it would almost be disappointing if I do find her because that would mean it's done and over with ... mystery solved ... then what? ?? ;D She said, "Start looking for the other girl, Adele DeGarde." As I've mentioned many times before: some one — some where — knows some thing!!!! I WILL find her, even if I'm searching from my death bed and it's the final thing I solve before I die. :jump: I WILL find her — and Gladys will come home! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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Post by Kimmer on Mar 16, 2010 15:43:36 GMT -6
Thank you, Brian. Kimmer just sent me some information in a PM that pretty well coincides with what you had just sent, along with a birthdate on Sally Maxwell. However, the birthdate she'd sent would make Sally a different age than the age (77) you had mentioned.http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c307/lwsroute66/smileys/thumbsup.gif [/IMG] [/quote]Actually, Larry, the age does match. We're now in 2010, the birth year I gave you was 1933, subtract it and the difference is....77!! But, since it's not the right person, I guess it doesn't matter...DRAT!!
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Post by Larry's 66 Diner on Mar 16, 2010 16:36:46 GMT -6
Well, Brian, here's another interesting lead to follow up on! WCFields (over at Jill's message board) relayed this information to me: As I told WC, I knew that Gladys was in that 1909 production with Marguerite Clark, but I never knew anything about any other member of her family. Perhaps, this could be another start! :thumbsup: Hopefully the Gladys Egan he located will not turn out to be the Gladys Engle we just finished following, since they both had birth years of 1905.
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Post by spruance on Mar 17, 2010 9:45:45 GMT -6
That's bad luck Larry but all the same it was good of Mrs Zavitz to take the time to speak to you.
So are we back to looking for Gladys Egan again then (?)
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Post by Larry's 66 Diner on Mar 17, 2010 10:01:47 GMT -6
So are we back to looking for Gladys Egan again then (?) You betcha! Keeps life interesting, doesn't it? :thumbsup: The mystery .... the intrigue .... the suspense .... :huh: ;D Brian, if you get the opportunity, you think you might have a chance to explore the information that WCFields (Joe, from Jill's message board) brought up?
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Post by spruance on Mar 17, 2010 10:12:03 GMT -6
Just broadening the search a little, we know that Gladys worked with D.W. Griffith and that the movies were made/produced by Biograph Studios. As luck would have it, Biograph are still in the movie business, now trading as American Mutoscope and Biograph Co., with contact information on the following link... www.biographcompany.com/contact_home.htmlIt would be a bonus if they know what happened to Gladys but they may just have some information in their archives that could provide some pointers. Gladys' parents' names/addresses etc given that she was a minor.
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Post by Larry's 66 Diner on Mar 17, 2010 11:26:00 GMT -6
Brian, you would not believe how many times I've attempted calling that so-called Biograph Studios over the past 4+ years! I believe they are not even the same as the Biograph Studios, if memory serves correctly. Great effort on your part, :thumbsup: but I meant to mention before about the many attempted contacts I've tried with this company. My sincere apologies.
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Post by spruance on Mar 17, 2010 17:13:08 GMT -6
They might be uncooperative but they are the same company that Gladys worked with as indicated by their history tab. Perhaps they might be more obliging to someone from the old country! I'll let you know if they respond. ;D
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Post by Hedvig on Mar 17, 2010 18:57:27 GMT -6
Brian, you would not believe how many times I've attempted calling that so-called Biograph Studios over the past 4+ years! I believe they are not even the same as the Biograph Studios, if memory serves correctly. I don't think it would be, very few studios from that time period survive. I think the oldest film studio still in existence is either Gaumont or Nordisk films kompagni in Denmark, and I believe they're both from 1906; Biograph would be older than that.
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Post by Larry's 66 Diner on Mar 17, 2010 19:07:59 GMT -6
From WC again today at Jill's message board: Here is some more information. I found Gladys, Eleanor and Pearl (real first name Margarette) in the 1910 census. They lived at 425 W 30th St NY, NY. It shows Gladys as being 10 years of age. This would make her birth year 1900. I hope this link to the census page works: search.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=View&r=an&dbid=7884&iid=NYT624_1044-0577&fn=Gladys&ln=Egan&st=r&ssrc=&pid=118080288WC FIELDS PS: I got the address from a ship registry from when Pearl came back from Hawaii in 1908. PPS: This is ironic. When I did a Google Map search for that address. It shows a U.S. Postal facility. In the census it lists her father as a letter carrier!
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