Chosen Families Project #13: Caught on Film: Ralph Kingsley Blake’s Story
Hello everyone! Welcome to the next blog in the series of the Chosen Families Project. This photograph I recovered as part of a photo lot from an antique store near me. The photograph is that of a baby in a stroller, wrapped in a white fuzzy blanket, resting in the stroller outside. On the back of the photograph it lists “Ralph Kingsley Blake, Age 5 Months, Oct 6th, 1914, Weight 15 lbs.” There is no location clues for this photograph. But because of his distinct name I was able to locate him. This is the story of Ralph Kingsley Blake.
Ralph Kingsley Blake was born in New York City May 6th, 1914 to parents Ralph Pitman Blake and Marion Kee. His birth was announced in The Central New Jersey Home News stating:
The photograph was taken Oct 6, 1914, which is when he was 5 months old. In 1915 he lived in Franklin Township with his parents (NJ Census). I found Ralph noted quite as often as Kingsley Blake on many records, as well as R. Kingsley Blake across different records. In 1925 he was living with his parents in the Bronx. Through research, I saw early on in there marriage, the couple seemed to be doing okay, with Marion still active in her hometown community. However, by 1930, his parents seem to have separated. In 1930, he was living with his father with a woman Eleanor S in White Plains. His mother Marion Kee, I have had trouble locating records for her for a long period of time until she is living as a widow in the 1950 census under the surname Nichols in Maricopa,Arizona.
Ralph Kingsley Blake graduated from Rutgers, Newark in 1937 with a B.S in Physics. I found him in his 1937 Scarlet Letter Yearbook from that time period too, and it has his picture.
In 1938 he went for his masters as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he got his M.S in Physics, and was a member of Society Sigma XI. From there on, he worked for Dupont in their Photo Products Department. Dupont still exists today. However they are marked by controversy, DuPont is notorious dumped PFAS into the Ohio River in West Virginia, killing farm animals and poisoning the water of surrounding communities. The contamination in Parkersburg and subsequent lawsuit were the subject of an acclaimed feature film released in 2020. In 1940 he lived in Sayreville, still single at this point, working as a Physicist. From the late 1950s onward, even posthumously, he has over 30 patents for photochemical processes, and photographic products. His WWII draft card describes him as 5’10, 185 lbs, with brown hair and blue eyes.
On April 8, 1950 at the age of 35, he would marry June Arlene Blair. There marriage is described in full detail in the Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, NY) on 9 Apr 1950.
In 1956 the family moved to Scotch Plains, NJ. They had two sons Paul & Alan Blake around that time. I found some articles from December 1960 of research his published, one of the articles includes another photograph.
In Novemebr, 1962 he was appointed as a Research fellow. It includes his photograph. And in May 1966 he earned an award for his work.
On June 4,1970, his son would earn his Eagle Scout award.
Sadly, only a few years later, Ralph would pass away on September 23,1975 in Plainfield. He was only 61 years old.
Speaking of his mother, his parents had very interesting histories themselves. After they seperated early on in Ralph’s childhood, Ralph Pitman Blake, his father would live with Ralph until his passing in January of 1971 likely in White Plains, New York. His step mother, Eleanor, would pass away on Dec 6, 1978 in Westfield, NJ.
His mother, Marion, was slightly harder to track down. Her obituary from her July 15th, 1978 passing provided some clues.
I looked into Arizona to see what records where available. I found a death announcement from May 1949 of a William J. Nichols, living in Maricopa. He died May 28, 1949 from Uremia. I could not locate a marriage record for him and Marion definitively, with Marion going by Marion K (her maidan name); I did find a marriage record for a Marion K Blake, but could not connect to Nichols. However, her living as a widow in the area on the 1950 census, although the adresses didn’t match, led me to think this was the couple. William was born in New York. His death certificate or burial card does not list Marion (strange), however it lists they lived in Arizona for almost 9 years. I did not find the couple living together on census records either. William was a Bugler in WWI, serving with 68th Coast Artillery. She later, as her obituary states, moved back in with her son. Ralph appeared to be her and Ralph Pitman’s only child.
If you are related to Ralph Kingsley Blake, please reach out to me at thechosenfamiliesproject@gmail.com so I can arrange to send the photograph over to you. I have created a full researched tree on ancestry for Ralph and his parents and children. His wife and children are likely alive, and I would love to be able to return it to them.
