Our sitter in this 1860s ambrotype photo is Mrs. Jemima P. (Goodfellow) Brittain. When she died in 1905, at the age of 93, she was the oldest woman in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. Miss Jemima Goodfellow married Alem Brittain, a Methodist Reverend, in 1834. She was the mother of eight children. Thanks to the detail oriented individual … More Vigorous for her Age
I came across this tintype of a lovely young couple on etsy. I immediately recognized the name scrawled on the pale pink paper frame…Fayette Selleck. It took me a few minutes to realize why that name was familiar but I soon put it all together. Fayette was the husband of Sarah A. Thomas of Glens … More It’s a Small World
These carte de visites of John Clement and Olivia (Brown) Clifford and their children were taken in June of 1864. This seemingly happy little family didn’t remain little for long. And when it came to happy…I’ll let you decide. Before we get into the Clifford’s life story let’s take a moment to appreciate this tattered … More Whiskey and Beer
Spoiler…I’ve since found proof that this is not Sarah (Thomas) Selleck but I’m leaving this post as it was originally written. Click here to see a photo of the true Sarah. This cased ambrotype was picked up by a fellow collector in Connecticut. I loved the subject’s expression and pose and decided to add it … More Sarah A. Thomas…Is it you?
Sallie (Burch) Baysore was widowed at the age of 43 when her husband, George, died in 1897. The couple lived in the village of Mason, Ohio which is near Cincinnati. Sallie and her late husband’s friend, Albert Dill, continued a friendship after George’s death. Albert even boarded with Sallie, although he made use of a … More Murder, She Heard
I came for the embroidered cape, but stuck around for the genealogy. Seated in the middle of this handsome group is Louis Boudon. On the right are his maternal cousins Alfred and Marie Camus, with Alfred’s wife Laura (Staes) on the left. The Boudon and Camus families immigrated to the United States from France. The … More Everybody Blew Glass
The young woman in this cabinet card photo, Miss Anna Price, wore a dress with tight sleeves and small pointed puffs at the shoulders. This helps to date her portrait from about 1889 to 1891 when she would have been 14-16 years old. Sarah Anna Price was born in 1875 in Tonica, Illinois. She married … More The Best of the Best
Lottie and Daisy Dale of Butler, Pennsylvania were sisters. They graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio in 1890 and 1891 respectively. The word “Athenaeum” is written on the reverse of the cabinet card photos and references a literary society at the university. The girls’ father, David, was an oil producer. About 1907 the … More Lottie and Daisy
You might think you’re looking at a young married couple but these sitters were siblings. A clue to this fact is the length of the young woman’s dress which would have been floor length if she were considered an adult. Adam and Emma Fisher were the youngest of eight children born to John and Mary … More Not a Couple
Although the posing seems odd for a wedding photo, with the young woman literally turning her back on her beau, the fashion dates this image to the early 1890s and that’s when our sitters tied the knot. Miss Myra Drake and Jerry Barlow said their vows in December 1892 in Flint, Michigan. Myra was a … More Myra and Jerry Barlow
the rescued photo 