This carte-de-visite purports to show Isaac Harper, and is conveniently dated for us, with a Civil War era tax stamp, canceled with the photographer’s initials (N & J) and the date June 11, 1866. Was there any such person, and if so what can learn about him?

Isaac Norton in Kewanee IL 1866

Looking at the photograph, everything is completely consistent with the supposed 1866 date. This is important, as some photograph dealers on sites like eBay have taken to adding spurious tax-stamps to improve the saleability of their cards. No doubt those unscrupulous characters are also adding false identifying information. That seems unlikely in this case since this CDV has been in my possession over 25 years, and so was purchased back when these cards were little valued (I think I paid 20 cents for it). If you were purchasing a card like this today, it might sell for a couple dollars, or it might fetch $20 or $30 if it caught the attention of descendants of the subject or photographers, whose special interest may cause them to get caught up in the bidding frenzy.

Finding Isaac Harper

As it happens, we had no trouble finding evidence on the life of Isaac Harper. Based on census data we know he was born in England in 1810 or 1811, so he was about 55 years old when this photo was taken. The 1850 census shows him living in Ridgefield (Huron county) Ohio, with four children – 17 year old Isabell, 15 year old John, 4 year old Mary and four month old Linda. All four children were born in Ohio, and Isaac’s occupation was Brewer.

With a baby in the house, but no wife listed, it was easy to assume that the wife probably died very recently when the census was taken. Luckily for us, the 1850 census include mortality rolls, listing names of every person who died in the preceding 12 months. Sure enough, there we found Maria Harper listed, also in Ridgefield, who died in childbirth in April 1850 at the age of 36.

On 7 Apr 1853 Isaac married again, to Adaline Sutton, born ca 1825 in Peru (Huron county) Ohio, the daughter of Levi Reed Sutton (7 Sep 1794 – 3 Sep 1872) and Catherine Kile (11 Dec 1791 – 1879), according to an online genealogy — I haven’t confirmed these details, but they are consistent with the records I did examine.

Census and Tax Records Tell the Story

The 1860 census shows Isaac and Adeline living in Woodstock (McHenry county) Illinois, with John, Mary and Lydia (Linda) mentioned above, plus a new child Alice, age 6. Isabell probably was married and in her own home by then, as she would be 27 years old. Both Isaac and his son John are listed as grocers, apparently John the more successful since he is listed with $400 in real estate and $500 in personal property, while Isaac has only $100 in personal property.

In the 1870 census we find Isaac and Adeline living in Kewanee (Henry county) Illinois, where our photograph was taken. Isaac’s fortunes have improved, he is shown as a merchant with $1500 in real estate, and $1500 personal property. Another child, six year-old Charles, has been added to the family, the first of the children born in Illinois. Only Linda, Alice and Charles are still at home, though Linda’s name is given as ‘Lynden’.

The 1880 census shows us Adeline was widowed, and only Linda and Charles still live at home, along with five boarders — clearly it was a large home, so Isaac had not squandered his prosperity. By 1900 Adeline was living with Charles and his family in Marshall, Iowa.

A Tale of Two Photographers

Turning to the photographers who took this image, we see it is neatly imprinted ‘Norton & Johnson, Photographers, Kewanee, Ill’ inside a decorative cartouche on the back of the card — very typical for mid-1860s.

Norton is almost certainly N B Norton, whom Craig lists as a daguerreian in Kewanee in 1860. He must have arrived there after the census was taken, however, since I went through each page of the census for Kewanee and found only one photographer listed, daguerreian J E Snow.

I did find N B Norton listed in the Civil War tax records, however. To support the Civil War effort, income taxes were levied on all Americans earning over $600 per year, and most businesses had to buy annual licenses. I found N B Norton paid for photographer licenses in 1862, 1863 and 1864. Each of those years he was operating alone. I don’t know why he was not listed in 1865, the last year for which records are available (some areas have 1866 records, but not the district Kenwanee is in). Maybe he and Johnson were already partners then, and they used Johnson’s name when paying for the license, rather than the partnership name. The 1870 census shows photographer M B Norton, age 38, born New York, living in a boarding house.

The Johnson part of the photographic team is a bit harder to pin down, since there are so many photographers of that name around. There were S E Johnson and W G Johnson listed in Henry county, both in Geneseo. Only one Johnson, however, was listed in Kewanee, so he is most likely the partner in this case: Andrew Johnson, born ca 1835 in Sweden. He is listed as a farm hand in the 1860 census. About 1862 he married Anna Erickson, and their first child (Emma) was born the following year. The next year, 1864, we find in the tax records that Andrew paid for a photographer’s license, and again in 1865. Oddly, Andrew Johnson is listed as ‘Domestic Servant’ in the 1870 census — as were many other young men listed on the same page. It is unusual for a servant to be listed with any real estate, but Andrew is shown with $1000 worth. The 1880 census again lists him as a photographer.

Most likely, then, M B Norton established himself as a photographer in Kewanee late in 1860. Andrew Johnson started operating there late in 1863 or early in 1864. No doubt they found the town too small to support two photographers. Norton may have tried elsewhere in 1865, but in the end they decided to join forces and worked a studio in partnership by 1866, when this card was produced. Both were still living in Kewanee in 1870, though Johnson is not listed as a photographer — that could be an error, or he may have been working two jobs, each part time. In any case, the partnership probably dissolved some time in the 1870s, as Johnson is listed as a photographer there in 1880, but Norton is not.

Edith Margaret Rogers May 1883, age 5 months

This baby photo has an inscription on back that reads ‘Edith Margaret Rogers, age 5 months, weight 16 pounds’ as well as a photographer’s imprint: ‘J W Upham, Jamestown, NY, 1883.’ Only a small percentage of photographer imprints include a date — J W Upham seems to have included the year on his 1881 to 1883 cards, judging by Darrah’s CDV collection, which shows 46 CDVs by J W Upham of Jamestown, New York — of which nine are dated, all 1881 through 1883.

We do not know exactly what years Upham was a photographer in Jamestown, but we know it was a much longer span than the dated CDVs would suggest. Craig mentions the partnership of Hoord and Upham in Jamestown in 1859. I do not find Hoord in the 1860 census for Jamestown. Upham is there (Joseph W Upham), but his occupation is listed as ‘Tanner and Courier’ — not photographer. Perhaps his experience working with Hoord interested him photography, but he didn’t have funds to open his own studio right away. By the 1870 census Joseph W Upham is listed as photographer, so we know he started his own business some time prior to that. He is also listed as photographer in the 1880 census, as we would expect. By the 1900 census he was apparently retired, as no occupation is listed. He was 70 years old by then, head of a household that included his wife, his brother Ebenezer and his wife and adult son, a niece and nephew surnamed Kinney, and a domestic servant.

We found Edith Elizabeth Rogers age 17 in the 1900 census, which showed her living at 627 East Sixth Street in Jamestown, born January 1883, daughter of Rovillus R and Celeste E Rogers. She is listed again in 1910, still living at home, working as a school teacher in the public schools. Not too surprising as her father’s occupation is Superintendent of Jamestown public schools. Edith had one brother, Harold L Rogers. In the 1920 census her parents are living in the same house, but neither of their children are there. By the 1930 census we find her mother Celeste still living in the same house, a widow, with two boarders, a young woman who was Primary Supervisor in the public schools, and her widowed mother. Harold Rogers is living in Glen Ridge NJ with wife Helen and three children. But I didn’t find Edith. Here is a complete transcript of the biography of Edith’s father — Rovillus Rollin Rodgers — which I think clear’s up the mystery of what happened to Edith, though it does so through an erroneous statement:

The Historic annals of southwestern New York, Lewis Historical Pub Co, 1940
Rovillus Rollin Rogers, A. M., LL. D., pgs 680-682

Rovillus Rollin Rogers, A.M., LL. D.

In the history of the public school system of Jamestown there have been only five superintendents of schools. Each played well his part in the development of education, and it is worthy of more than passing note that nearly all of these executive heads have been captains of their own careers, men who acquired their schooling under the most difficult circumstances. Outstanding among these leaders was Dr Rovillus Rollin Rogers, second in order of service as superintendent, who administered Jamestown’s school affairs from early in 1890 to 1919. he had been identified with the schools of the Chautauqua County metropolis for thirty-eight years, a most extraordinary record.

The family background of Dr Rogers was notable. On the paternal side he traced his ancestry to the Mayflower Pilgrims; on the maternal side he was descended from Colonial progenitors of French Huguenot origin. It is interesting to note that the name Rogers is evidently derived from the ancient _Rodgarus_, meaning ’strong counselor.’ The English descent is traced from Sir John Fitz Rogers. Exceptional ancestry does not assure ease in life.

Dr Rogers, with whom this record is primarily concerned, lost his mother when he was six weeks old and he was reared in the family of Benjamin H Glazner, a farmer of Broome County, New York. During the following years, until he was nineteen years of age, he experienced all the hardships of pioneer agriculture in New York, Ohio and Iowa. During these early years he was a definite family asset, life was no doubt dull and drab, but he remained until his foster parents had become established and he had developed the character and efficiency that primitive farm life so abundantly produce.

Schooling came only as he could get it — winter terms in the old red schoolhouse of the period; four terms in an old-time academy at Kingsville, Ohio. He learned rapidly, however, and did a great deal of study that was no part of the curricula of that day. He taught for a time before he decided to enter the Oberlin Preparatory School and maintained himself while there and in Oberlin College, Ohio, from which he was graduated a Bachelor of Arts in 1876. Up to the date of receiving his degree, he had taught nine terms in the schools, and had managed to pay his way with the exception of a small amount.

Whether Dr Rogers would have made a career of education after Oberlin College, probably no one knows. He had a debt to pay, however, and in order to do so he entered the profession with which he was already familiar. This obligation he paid after a year as teacher of a ‘union’ school. Over a period of four years he was principal of the Ellington Union School and Academy, at Ellington, New York. Then he was head of a Gowanda school for a year, and in 1881 accepted appointment as principal of the academic department of a Jamestown public school, then known as the Union School and Collegiate Institute of that city. This it should be recalled was the time when the evolution of the private academy, by way of the union school, became the high school of today.

In March 1890, Dr Rogers succeeded Professor Samuel G Love, as superintendent of the Jamestown city school system, an office he held most capably until August 1, 1919, when he resigned to accept appointment as a State director of the Americanization Department, then one of the comparatively new and important educational activities of New York State. A whole story of education in southwestern New York could be written about the doctor’s activities during almost three decades. His ideas were always constructive and progressive; he was not only a natural teacher but a genuine leader. He initiated, and put into effective execution, numerous forward-looking policies; established high curricular standards; and broadened the range of the service of the schools to the public.

One of the high years in Dr Rogers’ career was 1915. On May 1, of that year, he was tendered a banquet in recognition of a quarter of a century’s service as superintendent of schools. He was also given a like testimonial and tribute upon his resignation four years later. In 1915 he was awarded the honorary degree of Master of Arts, by his _alma mater_, Oberlin College. In June, 1915, he also was honored by Oberlin College with the degree of Doctor of Laws, in recognition of his scholarship and attainments as an educator. Dr Rogers was twice president of the Chautauqua County Teachers Association, and at one time was president of the Schoolmasters Club. Twice he served on the State Council of City and Village Superintendents. The outstanding accomplishments of Dr Rogers’ long service to the schools of Jamestown include public kindergartens, free night schools, free textbooks, free vocation schools and summer playgrounds. Many other progressive steps taken during his service have become so familiar that their inception is forgotten.

On August 4, 1880, at Ellington, New York, Rovillus Rollin Rogers married Celeste E Williams, an adopted daughter of the late Dr James Brooks, of Ellington. Dr and Mrs Rogers became the parents of two children: 1. Edith Margaret, born February 2, 1919. 2. Harold Lee, of Glen Ridge, New Jersey.

Dr Rovillus Rollin Rogers died on February 26, 1929.

Today, there is a school in Jamestown named for Dr Rogers: Rovillus R Rogers Elementary School.

Everything in that biography fits the records we found, except the ludicrous statement that Edith Margaret was born February 2nd, 1919. More likely, that is when she died. I can even make an educated guess about why a single, apparently healthy woman would die shortly after her 36th birthday — that was the winter of the Great Flu Epidemic. She was a school teacher, and so exposed to plenty of germs from her students. She was in the 15 to 45 year age range hardest hit by the flu. If she had married, her father’s biography would have mentioned her by her married name. I can’t find her listed in the 1920 census by her maiden name. This biography mentions a wildly improbable date for her birth. It all adds up to the cited date being her death, rather than birth. I don’t have access to 1919 newspapers from Jamestown, nor death records there — either one could easily confirm or refute my theory.

Syrina E Bennett with Fort Dodge Iowa imprint

When the photographs of Syrina E Bennett and Horace J Bennett were added to the ClassyArts.com database, I speculated that they might be husband and wife, despite the fact that one card has no photographer’s imprint, but the other does (W A Culver, Fort Dodge, IA). Both photos are inscribed with the names of the subjects and the date May 27, 1873. It only took a few minutes research to find that yes, indeed they were married. With a bit of scouring the records, we found quite a bit of information on this couple.

But what about this photographer, W A Culver, listed on Syrina’s carte-de-visite (or Syrena, as she is usually listed in the records), but not on that of her husband? What’s up with that? Cards with no photographer’s imprint are often copies of earlier images — but there is no reason to think that is the case here.

The ClassyArts database shows several W Culver’s. W A Culver born about 1841 in New York seems the closest match, though he was living in Chicago in 1880. Craig’s Daguerrean Register shows a William Culver in Attica NY 1850-51, and Niagara Falls in 1859, but if the Iowa photographer is the same as the Chicago one, then he is too young to have been working in 1850. There is also William H Culver listed in the 1880 census living in Fort Benton MT, born 1854 in Michigan; and W W Culver in Lebanon NH about 1870 — but those two seem less likely matches — but not impossible, middle initials are notorious for being listed wrong in the records.

The Chicago photographer, William A Culver, is probably the same W A Culver as the Ft Dodge, Iowa photographer who took these photos in May 1873. He first appears in the Chicago city directories in the 1874-75 edition, partnered with Weible. After a short time as Culver and Weible, he appears on his own, and is listed in various directories from 1875 to 1885.

The William H Culver in Montana became a well known photographer in Lewistown, when he established his studio there from 1888 onward. His middle initial was indeed correctly listed as H.

Horace J Bennett

Researching Syrina E Bennett and Horace J Bennett was no problem, the fairly uncommon first names make it easy. The most informative single record, is perhaps the 1900 census, since that gives the month and year of birth, rather than just the year. I also found them in the 1880 and 1910 censuses. They are also listed in the 1920 census, though no longer living in Iowa — by that time they had moved to Seattle, Washington.

Horace J Bennett was a Civil War veteran, so I found both war records and pension claims for him. Horace enlisted from Okoboji, Iowa on 12 Jul 1863 as a private, but apparently was not actually called to service until 7 Dec 1863, when he was enlisted as a private in Company I, Iowa 2nd Cavalry Regiment. He was promoted to ‘Full Bugler’ on 01 Jan 1865, which kind of suggests he was some sort of apprentice or under-bugler prior to that. He was mustered out the service on 19 Sep 1865 at Selma, AL.

On 4 Oct 1890 he made an invalid pension claim from his home in Iowa. Then on 7 Jul 1928 his widow, Syrena, made a widows pension claim. By that time she was living in Washington, as we saw in the 1920 census.

Syrena and Horace had three children, all of whom lived to adulthood: Harlan A was the eldest, born Nov 1873 (which means that at the time of this photograph, Syrena was about three months pregnant); Linton P was second, born Sep 1875, and the only daughter Jessie E was born Jun 1880. In 1900, Horace’s mother, 81 year old Sally Bennett was living with them — widow, mother of four children only one (Horace) still living.

I also found some compiled genealogies online for this family, which state they were married 18 Dec 1872 in Dickinson, IA, and showing Syrena’s maiden name was Syrena Eliza Pillsbury. Horace’s death is listed as 22 Jun 1928 in Seattle. Their son Harlan married Jane Mary Brookover, and had three children: Esther J, Elton Harlan, and Margaret. I didn’t bother to verify any of these details, they fit with what I found and I have no motive to follow the matter further — but when doing your own genealogy, always remember to verify the claims of others with original records.

Dick Cornwell of Rochester NY

Oftentimes, the problem with trying to identify a particular subject is that you will find too many possible matches. Or you may find none at all. In one sense, this example suites both situations.

This image is inscribed ‘Dick Cornwell, Feb 1862. Rochester, NY’ and bears the photographer’s imprint Powelson, 58 State Street & 302 Main Street, Buffalo, NY.

We have no reason to doubt the 1862 date, as the image is a small vignette, and the card has the double gilt or brown lines around the border typical of that era. Also, the photographer is Powelson — that would be Benjamin F Powelson, who was in business in Buffalo from 1848 to the 1860s, and also had a gallery in Rochester after 1861.

So, our first question is why does someone from Rochester have their picture taken in Buffalo? There are many possible reasons why he may have, but with this photographer, there is also the possibility that he didn’t — the same photographer had a studio in Rochester, he may have used the Buffalo imprinted cards because he ran out (or had not yet ordered) cards imprinted for Rochester. Our research shows the Rochester studio was opened in 1861 — if it was late in the year they may not have received their printed cardstock by February 1862.

It would also help our case if we could determine how old the gentleman is. To me, he looks about 18 to 22 years old, though I have no accurate means of gauging ages. There is just a hint of receding hairline, or that could be a false-impression caused by the lock of hair dipping onto his high forehead. Or perhaps he is the sort who will go prematurely bald.

The next obvious step is to search the census records for a Dick or Richard Cornwell living in Rochester NY in the 1860 census, which is the nearest we have to the actual date. He should be about 16 to 20 years old at the time of the census.

We find just five Cornwell’s in Rochester that year: Peter and Mary with their 16 year old son Francis M; 70 year old Phebe Cornwell living in the Osborn household; and 29 year old Eliza Cornwell, a domestic in the Appleby family. Nothing even close to our target. He may have moved there after 1860, or the fact that the surname occurs in town means he may have been visiting relatives.

Given his apparent age, Mr Cornwell may have been in Rochester to attend the University of Rochester, which was established in 1850. Unfortunately, that university does not provide public access to it’s alumni list — obviously recent records need some limits to protect privacy, but why records over 100 years old are ‘protected’ is beyond my ken.

So we return to the census records, and see if we can find any Richard Cornwell’s of the appropriate age in other places. This is where we run into the problem of too many possible matches. If we limit the search to Richard Cornwell’s born between 1840 and 1843, we find three possibilities in New York state, none of them anywhere near Rochester.

Curiously, if we expand the search to other states, there are no other Richard Cornwell’s listed in that age range. If we use his nickname, there is only one Dick Cornwell aged 16 to 20 — 18 years old and living in Port Huron, Michigan, working as a clerk for the grocer Theodore Tucker.

So we have four candidates for the subject of this photographer, without any really good reason to choose one over the others. And there is always the chance that he is not among these choices, since a large fraction of census records have names that are recorded wrong or indexed wrong.

If this were found among photos belonging to a particular family, we would have additional clues to search for — but once an image gets assigned to the junk-heap of eBay, such valuable provenance is lost.

Dorothy and Elanore Pieper 1906

According to the information recorded with this photograph, this is a portrait of “Dorothy and Elanore Pieper, 1906. Dorothy married 28 June 1911, now Mrs. P. S. Bomberger.” The photographer is noted as
F A Free, of Davenport.

The first thing we want to do is to take a good look at the image, see if the information we have ‘fits’ — and can we discern any other pertinent details. As with any genealogical record, there are many reasons why the information we find on old photos may be wrong, or at least not what it seems. A sound knowledge of photographic techniques and styles allows us to judge when something is not-quite-right.

In this photo, however, there are no apparent problems. The photographer’s name, F A Free and the word Davenport are right there on front. Now, there are about 16 Davenport’s in the United States — but the mere fact that the photographer didn’t feel he needed to mention the state suggests that this is the largest one — Davenport Iowa.

The card mount is a textured beige, with embossed lines framing the photograph, and the photographers imprint at lower right in red ink. The wide boarders around the picture and the style of the card mount are consistent with a date of 1906.

The image shows two attractive young ladies, holding ribbon-tied scrolls, so we can probably conclude this is a graduation picture. The girls look similar, and so are probably sisters, which is consistent with the identification — though they could also be cousins. We must wonder why the two would be graduating at the same time.

The girls each have very large light-colored ribbons at the back of their hair. They are wearing simple pearl necklaces, and identical dresses with billowing three-quarter length sleeves. The bodices come straight down to belts set high at the waist — flowing outward toward the waist. Each has a ribbon pinned near the left shoulder. The skirts fall to below mid-calf, and the white shoes have ribbons on them too. All of this fits well with the attributed date of 1906.

First, let’s look up the photographer and see if this is, indeed, Davenport Iowa. Checking the 1900 census we find Frank A Free is listed as Photographer in the 1900 census for Davenport IA, born Aug 1875 in IL; living with his wife of less than a year, Emma R Free, born Nov 1881 in IL. Frank is listed again, as F A Free, as a photographer (own studio) in the 1910 Census for Davenport IA, age 36, living with wife Emma E Free, 29, married for 10 years; two sons aged 3 and 9, both born IA. Frank Free is also listed as a photographer in the 1930 census for Davenport IA, age 54; living with wife Emma, age 48 born IL, and son Henry who is also a photographer. So yes, we have the F A Free who was a photographer in Davenport in 1906.

Turning to our subjects, we search for Dorothy and Elanore Pieper. That last name is not very common, but it is the sort that often gets incorrectly indexed. We can not assume they lived in Davenport, since a graduation photo may have warranted a visit to the city if they lived anywhere nearby — but that leaves us still searching within Iowa.

We did find the family living in the city of Davenport in the 1900 census, with William H Pieper as head of house, born September 1853 in Germany. He immigrated to the United States in 1868 and was a naturalized citizen. His wife, Maggie E Pieper, was born August 1861 in Ohio. In 1900 they had been married 22 years, and she had born nine children, though only five were still living. Those five surviving children were Herman, born May 1884 (age 16), Laura F, born Feb 1887 (age 13), William H Jr, born May 1889 (age 11), and twins Dora and Nora, born October 1891 (age 8).

Thus in the census, Dorothy is listed as Dora, and Elanore as Nora. That explains why they would both be graduating at the same time — they were twins! But that raises the question as to why they would be graduating at age 14-1/2 (assuming the photo is Spring 1906, since most classes graduate in Spring or early Summer). Seems a bit young. Nor do they look that young. My guess is that the year was more likely 1908, and was either mis-read or mis-written. Further research could clarify that, but none of the resources I have easily to hand are sufficient, so I will leave that to someone with more pressing interest in the issue.

The inscription also told us that Dorothy married on 28 June 1911, and became Mrs. P. S. Bomberger. We found the Bombergers in Modesto, California in 1920. Mr Bomberger is Paul S Bomberger, age 28 in 1920, born in Pennsylvania, and working as a broker for a grain company. Dora is listed as Dorothy P Bomberger, his wife, also 28 years old, born Iowa. They had three children at that time, John W – age 7, Dorothy E – age 6 and Robert P – age 2-3/12. All three children were born in California.

So we can conclude that this image was correctly identified as to subjects, though we are slightly suspicious about the date. Still, it is certainly within a couple years of being correct, and may be exactly right — a bit more research would clarify that point.