Those Places Thursday - Rochester, NY, Civil War Era Photographer Myron Hawley Monroe

This CDV (Cartes de Visite) of an unknown Rochester, NY woman was taken approximately 1863 by photographer Myron Hawley Monroe. Monroe was born 3 Jul 1824 in Monroe County, NY to Joseph and Sophia (Dunham) Monroe. On 14 Jun 1848 he married Mary Elizabeth Hibbard.  

Monroe was a photographer in Rochester from at least 1858 and maybe earlier to 1883 and possibly later.    The 1861 and 1863 Rochester City Directories listed him first as having "daguerrean rooms" then as a photographer at 83 Main and 8 Pearl.

The following is a July 1863 New York State draft registration record for the Civil War, but I could find no record of him actually serving in the war.

Monroe and his wife had six children, George born ca 1851, Frank 1854, Charlotte 1859, Charles 1861, Sarah 1863 and Carrie 1866.  According to family history records on Ancestry.com, it appears that Monroe died 18 Jan 1912 in Allegany, Cattaraugus, NY, but I did not find any records to substantiate this fact.

The subject's dress and hairstyle are quite common for the era.  Her dress is particularly striking with the trim tiers around the bottom of the skirt and the fitted belt.  Her hair is parted in the middle and drawn back to the back of the neck and may possibly be in a snood.  This photograph is a favorite of mine, quite indicative of the fashions of the era.