Wedding Wednesday - 1890's Milwaukee, WI Couple (Victorian Era)

This attractive young couple are identified on the back as Max and Lizzie.  They posed for photographer Wollensak of Milwaukee in the 1890's for their wedding photo.  The bride is quite lovely and trim in her white dress. and her dress has just the right amount of frills, but is still elegant.

Wollensak was William Wollensak who had studios at 450 and 500 National Avenue.  He was born in Germany 17 Jun 1851 and died in Milwaukee 3 Jan 1922.  He is buried at Forest Home Cemetery in Milwaukee (FindAGrave).

Wedding Wednesday - 1890's (Victorian Era) Belleville, IL Bride and Groom

This interesting 1890's Cabinet Card shows how many brides did not wear white, but instead wore serviceable dresses that could be worn again and  again for many other occasions.  This lovely bride is wearing a most likely dark brown or black dress, but with the typical white headdress with white flowers you see so often in this time period. The subjects in this photograph are unidentified.

The photographer is Frederick B. Merkel of Belleville, IL who was born 3 Mar 1851 in Belleville to German immigrants, Phillip and Elizabeth Merkel.  He practiced his craft in Belleville between 1880 to at least 1910 when he moved to West Palm Beach, FL.  He died on 27 Feb 1930.  I have published one other photograph for this photographer  - see here:  https://forgottenfacesandlongagoplaces.blogspot.com/search/label/Photographer%20-%20Merker.

Wedding Wednesday - 1890's (Edwardian) Chicago Newlyweds

This attractive young Chicago couple posed for their photograph most likely in the early 1890's.  The bride's veil is similar to other's I have posted about here before.  Her finger-less gloves are the first I have seen though.  I can see a wedding ring on the groom's left hand, but am unable to see one on the bride's hand.  The bride is lovely with a tiny waist, wearing a light colored dress unlike the more serviceable dresses seen before in this time frame.  I'm not sure that it is white, perhaps gray?

The back of this dark grey cabinet card is very interesting.  It is actually much darker than seen here and to me it seems to have a Gothic feel. I have lightened it up so it is easier to see.  The front, of course, notes that the photographer is Rudolph's Studio at 957 Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago.  Not much was found for Louis Rudolph but he shows up once in the 1904 Chicago City Directory and again in the 1930 Chicago Census as a Proprietor of a Picture Show.  He was born circa 1878 in Denmark.

Unfortunately, as so often occurs, there is no identification for the couple.  It's truly a shame as I'm sure there are probably descendants who would love to have this photo.

Women with Hats - Two 1890's Edwardian) St. Cloud Women

I've been away a very long time.  I have excuses....work, my spouse's health issues, my own laziness, etc.  I've missed looking at old photos and more importantly doing the research to find what I can to determine the who, what, when, and where they occurred.  My first foray back into the mix will be simple with this photo of two 1894 St. Cloud, MN women wearing hats and coats.  I always find it interesting that people wore coats in their formal photographs.  In this particular photo on the back it says, " Dec 21th, 1894, Jane Whitelsy Mitchel & Mary."I could not find any trace of  Jane Whitelsy.

The photographer was Fritz who had an address on Germain Street.  If you look closely you can see embossed on the right side, "Fritz, St, Cloud.  This is most likely John J. Fritz, born in July 1868 to Andrew and Mary Fritz. Both parents emigrated from Germany.  He married Anna Hammerell whose parents also came from Germany.  They are seen in the 1902 St. Cloud census with children Willfred, Hugo, Robert and Margaret. He died on 28 Jul, 1918 at the age of 50.

Photographers were experimenting with different types of photo presentation in this period.  This particular one is about the size of a CDV and has saw-tooth edges on each side.    The back side shows the names of the subjects.

Sepia Saturday #257 - Children Sitting on Steps - Century Old Photo Op

It's Sunday, but here is my Sepia Saturday entry for the theme based on the father, son and dog on the front porch steps.  I'm late getting this in, but this week at work some kind person shared their germs and I've been down and out with a terrible cold.  I just crawled out of my bed to publish this post so I'll keep it short and sweet.

This first photograph is a copy of the original and was poorly developed so I tried to darken it up a little to make it easier to view.  It shows three little boys and one girl sitting on the front porch steps of a Victorian style house.  None of these children are identified.  I am estimating this was taken in the 1890's.  I wish I could narrow down the time frame, but I am not good at dating children's clothing.

This second photograph again shows four unidentified children, and I am guessing two girls and two boys sitting on the front porch steps.  They are all dressed in white, but the two on the right have on black shoes and the two on the left have on white.  Note, the little girl second from the left is holding her dolly.  I believe this to have been taken between 1910- 1920.

Well, that's all for me.  To see more fabulous photographs step on over to Sepia Saturday!

Tintype Tuesday - Seven 1890's (Victorian Era) Women Pose in Their Finest

This tintype of seven 1890's women is in poor shape, very dark, scratched and discolored.  I did what I could to make it easier to view, but after I brightened it up and removed some of the scratches I realized that either the photographer was not very good or the women were moving because there is some blur in the photo.  

These ladies are all dressed in their finest clothes and wearing hats. It is very easy to see from the style of their dress, especially the sleeves, that this is probably mid-1890's.  Tintypes began to lose favor towards the end of the nineteenth century.  They were often produced as souvenirs on boardwalks and at carnivals. I wonder who these ladies were and what was the circumstance for this shot.  We'll never know, but from the looks on their faces they weren't afraid to have fun!

Sentimental Sunday - Women with Hats - 1890's Nashville, TN Woman

Sorry I haven't posted much lately, much going on personally, but wanted to share this photo of a young woman from late 1890's Nashville, TN.  The quality of the photograph is not great, in fact it is a little blurry.  I like it for a several reasons; some of my ancestors came from that area, she is sporting a great hat and if you look closely you can see she is wearing eyeglasses.  I'm not sure what you call that thing around her neck, maybe a boa or just the collar of her coat, but it is wonderful as well.  I tried really hard to make out the photographer's name which is embossed right above the location at the lower right hand corner with no luck.

Sepia Saturday #177 - Children on Fences, Columns, Rocks & Other Photographer's Props

I have a lot of wonderful old children's photographs and for some reason rarely post child photos so when I saw the theme prompt for this week's Sepia Saturday I decided to share some of my favorites.  Here are just a few:

This first photo (CDV) is a very young, unidentified Trenton, NJ girl taken between 1864 and 1866 as evidenced by the revenue stamp on the back.  Such a little sweetheart and look at her darling dress.  The photographer was Aller & Brown of Trenton.  This little miss is posing on the photographer's fake balustrade railing.

This next photo (cabinet card) features five young Michigan siblings and their dog posed next to a faux fence and pile of hay.  The photographer was Dave Bradbeer of Charlevoix, Michigan.  This photograph was most likely taken in the late 1880's.

 

Next up is a cabinet card featuring an 1890's boy wearing Little Lord Fauntleroy attire holding the obligatory whip.  This was a very popular costume for boys to wear for their photographs in the 1890's.  This particular young boy was posed by photographer Strunk of Reading, PA seated on a large "rock."

 

This young girl from Trenton, NJ is quite a picture in plaid posed next to a "stone column" and behind an "iron gate."  I've posted  this cabinet card before, but I think she deserves another mention - just love her entire outfit.  The photographer was J. E. North of 31 Centre St.  This photo is also from the 1880's.

 

This young lad leaning on the "stone column" is quite dapper in matching jacket and knickers with  hat and cane and take a look at those plaid leggings!  What a good looking young man.  No photographer is listed, but the boy is identified on the back as Howard Prue Price, I believe.  My guess is this cabinet card is from the late 1870's.

 

And finally we have this sweet young girl leaning on the photographer's "stone fence".  Such a sweetie in her simple dress and lace collar and notice the necklace with long chain around her neck.  The photographer was H. S. Stephens of Rushville, Indiana.  This photo was probably taken in the late 1880's.

If you have enjoyed these photos I hope you will hop, skip or jump over to Sepia Saturday to see even more wonderful photos.

Fashionable Friday - Rose Pierce, 1890's (Edwardian Era) Doctor's Wife

This lovely young is identified on the back of this cabinet card as Rose, Rollin Pierce's wife.  The lovely Rose obviously posed for this cabinet card in sometime in the 1890's as evidenced by her dress and the photographers imprint at the bottom.  I suspect this photo to have been taken around 1894 - 1895.  Rose was married to Dr. Rollin Pierce (see photo below).  I thought it would be easy to identify Dr. and Mrs. Pierce, but I had no luck finding them on Ancestry.com or on Google.  I tried using variations of Rollin Pierce's name but struck out.  Such a shame, they are surely someone's ancestors.

Rose is wearing the very typical large puffy sleeves seen in the 1890's and the teeth-like cut of the bodice is somewhat unusual.  Her collar sits high on her neck adorned with one button and she is wearing a string of beads above that.  Her photograph was taken by photographer Stigleman & Son located at 826 Main St., Richmond, IND.  Interestingly enough, Stigleman is actually "Rolland" Stigleman who had a studio in Richmond until he sold it in 1898.  He took over the business from his father George after the business was destroyed by fire.  I posted a photo taken by George Stigleman previously and I believe these photos were bought together in a large group so it is possible they may be related.

Rose's husband, Dr. Rollin Pierce looks quite fashionable himself in this photograph which was probably taken around 1896 give or take a year.  He is wearing a dark colored three piece suit with white high-collared shirt and white bow-tie.  He was a very handsome young man.  The photographer was Wright and Holloway, 510 1/2 Wabash Ave., Terre Haute, IND.

Sentimental Sunday - Women with Hats - Two Ladies Strolling in Berlin ca 1890

These two lovely ladies, possible sisters, are wearing nearly identical hats, dress styles and are posing with matching umbrellas.  The photographer was Pflaum & Co. of Berlin, Germany.  These unidentified ladies probably posed for this photograph about 1890.  I did not have any luck finding any information on the photographer.

Sentimental Sunday - Women with Hats - Lovely 1900's Woman with Hat & Fur Muff

An unknown turn-of-the-century woman, she is wearing a coat, probably made of wool, leather gloves  and a fur boa with matching fur hand muff.  And what can I say about her fabulous hat except that it is just that, fabulous!

Wedding Wednesday - Newlywed 1890's St.Louis, MO Couple

This unidentified newlywed couple were photographed at the Ludwig Hammer studio located at 1534 South Broadway, St. Louis, Mo. sometime in the 1890's.  The photographer was Ludwig Friedrich Hammer, Jr. born 24 Feb 1834 in Beutelsbach, Germany.  He came to the US sometime before 1861, married Julia ? and settled in St. Louis where he practiced his craft.  There are numerous St. Louis City Directory listings for him between the 1870's and about 1909.

Unidentified 1890's St. Louis, Mo Couple

I believe this attractive young couple were photographed between 1889 and 1895.

Sentimental Sunday - Women with Hats - 1900's Woman with Fur Boa & Large Hat

Unknown woman w/Large Hat

This unidentified turn of the century woman is wearing a walking suit, fur boa, large hat and is holding gloves in her hand on her lap.  The young woman probably posed for this photo sometime in the late 1890's or early 1900's.  This photo was cut down for some reason, most likely to place in a photo album and it appears there may have been a photographer's mark on the lower right hand corner, but it was cut off.

Sepia Saturday #167 - 1890's Couple on Their Floating Home

Unkown 1890s couple on boat

I know absolutely nothing about this photograph of an 1890's couple on a boat, but I thought it would be perfect for this week's Sepia Saturday theme.  I'm not sure what you would call this type of boat, I'm guessing some type of flat-boat, but I'm totally clueless when it comes to boats.  It looks like this couple spent time on their boat on a river somewhere, perhaps as a home away from home or they may have even lived on the boat.  You can see a wooded area to the left and in the far distance what looks like mountains.  I've cropped the photo here, below you can see the actual  4" x 4" photograph in the white cardboard mounting that was popular in the 1890's. 

Sail away with more stories at Sepia Saturday!

Those Places Thursday - Fairlamb Home, Fairmount, PA Late 1880's

Fairlamb Home - Fairmount, PA ca late1880's L-R Retta Fairlamb, Oscar Fairlamb,
Stella Fairlamb, Mary Fairlamb, Bob Walker, Mary Diller, Annie Fairlamb

Last week for my regular Women with Hats post, I ran the picture below of Retta Fairlamb in the large hat.  I recently bought a large lot of photos, over 175 in all, and am finally getting around to going through all of them.  Retta in the flowered hat was one of the first ones I pulled out of the box. I was quite pleasantly surprised to find several more with the name Fairlamb identified on them including two more with Retta so I decided to post them here today.  I realized after I looked at these that the information I posted originally about Retta was incorrect, she was not Margaretta Fairlamb, she was Maretta Vernon Fairlamb (25 Mar 1869 - ?) and if you take a look at the original post you can see the corrections.  Interesting enough both Rettas were music teachers.  

I originally wanted to date the photo above in the early to mid 1880's, but have changed my estimation to the late 1880's due to the type of card this photo is mounted on.  I have cropped it above, but the last photo below shows the entire photograph.  These type of over-sized pictures on natural finished cards were not seen until the very late 1880's and most usually in the 1890's.  Using the Fairlamb girls' ages I am sticking to a late 1880's date as the absolute latest date possible.

Retta Fairlamb Apr 14, 1889 Age 20

Retta Fairlamb Oct 1, 1898 Age 29

Here are two photographs of Retta's older sister Mary Fairlamb 6 Sep (1862 - 5 Dec 1926) who married ? Harkness.  She is in the very middle of the large photograph above in the black dress leaning against the tree.

Mary Fairlamb Nov 1887

Mary Fairlamb Harkness Late 1880's

I also have another photographer identified on the back as Annie Fairlamb (1865 - ?) with a question mark and the date of 1888, but I question it validity as the dress dates it well into the 1890's.  She has a definite resemblance to the other women.

Annie Fairlamb ? 1888

 


There are a number of people with family trees listing the Fairlamb girls, I will contact some of them to see if there is interest in these photographs.

Fairlamb Home Fairmount, PA late 1880's

Women with Hats - 1890's Hopkinton, Iowa Woman Seated in Wicker Chair

Ca 1895 Hopkinton, Iowa Woman with Large Hat

This young woman from Hopkinton, Iowa with the extremely large hat sat for photographer MacArthur sometime in the 1890's, most likely around 1895 +- a year or so.   She is  wearing a dark colored dress with the obligatory large sleeves of the era and if you look closely on her lap around the knee area she appears to be holding a fur hand muff.  She is sitting in a white wicker chair which was a common photographer's prop in the 1890's.

Her hat, her glorious hat from what I can tell, is made out of fabric, both light and dark and has feathery white puffs as well as real feathers sticking out of the top.  I almost thought that there was an artificial black bird on the front, but I am not convinced that is what it is, it may just be dark fabric.

Initial research did not give me any insight on the identify of the photographer.

Sentimental Sunday - Women with Hats - 1898 Woman with Big Hat!

Woman identified as Retta Fairlamb photo dated October 1st, 1898

*UPDATE:  This photo was purchased in a huge lot of 175 photographs and now that I have had a little time to look through all of them I have discovered more photos of Retta Fairlamb and other family members.  In doing so, I have realized that the information below is incorrect.  This woman is Maretta Vernon Fairlamb born 25 Mar 1869 in PA to Samuel E.  (1818 - 1892) and Frances (Kreider) (1829 - 1912) Fairlamb.  She would have been about 29 years old in this photo, not 22. 

In the 1900 Philadelphia Ward 7, Philadelphia PA census she was living with the Charles Carver family and interesting enough listed her occupation as music teacher as did the Margaretta Fairlamb mentioned below.  I suspect she lived with the Carvers as a nanny.  Mrs. Carver (Emily) must have died before 1908 because on 30 Apr 1908 Maretta Fairlamb married her employer Charles Carver as is evidenced in the Pennsylvania Marriage Index and the 1910 Philadelphia census.  Therefore she was not the woman who married William Compton.

This photograph which measures 3' x 4 1/4' was taken by Broadbent Co. in Philadelphia and is dated on the back October first -98.  The subject is identified as Retta Fairlamb who is actually Margaretta Fairlamb, born in January of 1877 in Hinkson's Corner, PA to Joseph and Eliza (Knight) Fairlamb.  Inn the 1900 Glenolden, Delaware County, PA census she listed her occupation as "Music Teacher."  On 10 Apr 1901 she married William Vance Compton and they had a son Joseph Wilbur in 1903.

In this photograph Retta Fairlamb would have been about 21 or 22 years old.  She is quite lovely in her white high-necked dress with large bow and her hat was probably quite the style at the time.  It appears to be made out of straw and is sporting a number of large flowers including roses.  Very chic, Miss Retta!

Sepia Saturday #165 - Those Pesky Unidentified Family Portraits of Yesteryear

The Sepia Saturday theme for this week centers around group portraits of unknown families.  While I do not have any unidentified portraits in my own family tree, I do however, have a number of what I call "other people's ancestors" who are unidentified.  So I submit for your viewing pleasure (or not) these family portraits from the past and we are all left to wonder who they were and what their stories might have been.

Unknown Late 1890s Family in Front of Home (Unk Photographer)

Ca 1900 young (unk)couple with new baby, photographer H. Silberman, appears to
say Boston Road ? 169th St. NY - no luck finding any info on Silberman

Late 1890s or early 1900s immigrant family of unk origin

photographer Leuf, 242 N. 8th St. Philadelphia

Ca 1894, at first glance I thought this was a mother & 3 children, but
at 2nd look believe it is 4 siblings.  Photographer was
Morrison  (Robert Prescott), Kabig Block, Bowling Green, O.

Unknown young couple ca 1900 - 1910 with 2 children,
photographer was Fowler, 299 N. Eighth St. Philadelphia, USA

To see more UFOs (unidentified family objects) head on over to Sepia Saturday!