Laura Ann Bailey married Wilson Marcellus Dent

Photographer 

J. H. Callender, 

Photographer and Dentist,

No. --

West Side Public Square

Ripon, Wis

All work warranted 

----

Written in pen:

Laura A. Bailey

Ripon, Wis., 

Aug 

Sept 13 1865

Laura’s parents, Aaron Bailey and Maria Hubbard were married in 1836 in Putnam County, Indiana and settled first in Independent Grove, Cook County, Illinois.  In 1851, when Laura was 4 years old the family moved to Adams Co., Wisconsin and later to Green Lake Prairie in Green Lake County, Wisconsin.

Two of Laura's brothers served during the Civil War.
The children of Aaron Bailey and Maria Hubbard were …

1. Died in infancy
2. Died in infancy
3. John Wesley Bailey born Feb. 15, 1840 at Independent Grove, IL; married Mary Josephine Currier Nov. 8, 1862; died April 17, 1930; 4 children 
4. Andrew Clinton Bailey born May 2, 1842; served in Civil War; married Sept. 3, 1865 Ellen “Nellie” Brown;  On May 29, 1906, he was on his way to visit his son in Santa Cruz and died on the train as it left Oakland, CA. He was 65. 
5. Aaron Francis Bailey born June 28, 1844 at Hanover, IL; was a resident of Green Lake, Wisconsin and enlisted while a student at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin.  He was mustered into Co. E, 40th Reg. Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry as a Private on May 13, 1864.  He died of typhoid fever in the Overton Hospital, Memphis Tennessee on Aug. 8, 1864, age 20 yrs. 1 mo., and 11 days and is buried at the Hillside Cemetery, Ripon, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
6. Laura Ann Bailey (pictured above) born Nov. 17, 1846; married Wilson Dent Nov. 12, 1865; died Feb. 14, 1931; 9 children
7. William Harrison Bailey  born 1849; died Sitka, Alaska Pioneer’s Home in 1936 

Laura Bailey was 18 when she posed for this photograph, taken in September, 1865, shortly before her marriage to Wilson Marcellus Dent on November 12, 1865, at Ripon, Wisconsin.

Wilson, the son of Joseph H. Dent and Elizabeth Emerson, was born April 5, 1845, at Oak Grove, Dodge Co., Wisconsin.  He enlisted at age 17 and was mustered in as a private on Nov. 25, 1862 at Madison,, Wisconsin.  He served 2 yrs., 11 mos. with Company I, 31st Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers, and mustered out and was honorably discharged at Louisville, KY on July 8, 1865.  Four months later, at age 20, he married Laura Bailey.

The children of Laura and Wilson Dent were …

1. Maria Bailey Dent born April 5, 1867 at Green lake Co., Wisconsin; married (1) Wm. Lloyd /1 child married (2) Ira V. Strong / 2 children; died Oct. 18, 1924 after an appendicitis operation.   
2. Ellen Elizabeth “Ella” Dent born Mar. 7, 1869 at Green Lake Co., Wisconsin; married Frank Bailey of Canton, Lincoln County, South Dakota on Mar. 6, 1887; died Dec. 2, 1904 at Medicine Creek, South Dakota, age 35; 5 children.  
3. William Harrison Dent born June 17, 1871 at Canton, Lincoln Co., Dakota Territory; married (1)Anna Mae Young on Nov. 1, 1898, married (2) Mrs. Bina Sloatman on Aug. 16, 1923; died Mar. 31, 1939 at Brule, South Dakota; age 67
4. Frank Wilson Dent born Jan. 22, 1874 at Canton, Lincoln Co., Dakota Territory; married Sadie (Engebretsen) Johnson; died June 14, 1903 at age 29; 2 children. 
5. Jennette Emeline Dent born May 23, 1877 at Canton, Lincoln Co., Dakota Territory; married Constantine Morgan; died May 4, 1950 at Turner, South Dakota; age 72; 4 children
6. Harriet “Hattie” Emily Dent born Aug. 13, 1880 at Canton, Lincoln Co., Dakota Territory; married Lee Henegar June 24, 1897 in Benton, Lafayette, Wisconsin; died June 2, 1951; age 70; 2 children
7. Albert Eugene Dent born Nov. 19, 1883 at Canton, Lincoln Co., Dakota Territory; married Gertrude M. Richie; died 1951; age 67; Occupations: bank book keeper (1910) / express cashier (1920); 1 child
8. Andrew Clinton Dent born Aug. 18, 1885 at Canton, Lincoln Co., Dakota Territory; died Aug. 19, 1885. 
9. Minnie Belle Dent born June 19, 1888 at Canton, Lincoln Co., Dakota Territory;  Sept 24, 1912 married Ernest Boudrou; died Nov. 10, 1959; age 71; 4 children 

Laura and Wilson’s first two children were born in Wisconsin in April, 1867 and March, 1869.  In December, 1869 Laura’s mother Maria (51) died.  A few months later in June, 1870 Laura, Wilson and their daughters appear in the 1870 census in Ripon, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin living in the household of Simon Burlingame, a well to do farmer.

In February, 1871 Laura’s father, Aaron Bailey married for a 2nd time to Mrs. Sarah Ellwood and by June of 1871 Wilson and Laura had traveled west to a homestead in Lincoln County, near Canton, South Dakota where their 3rd child, William Harrison Dent was born on June 17. 1871.  

The population of Lincoln county in 1870 was 712.  The average influx of settlers during the 1870s, was about 500 per year.  The Dents would have been among the early settlers and until the railroad arrived in 1879 their only means of transportation to and from Lincoln County would have been by ox or horse drawn wagon.

Their first years in South Dakota were difficult ones.  The Dent family farmed and would have been affected in the mid 1870's when grasshoppers damaged or completely ruined crops throughout the county for five years in a row.  The devastation wrought by the grasshoppers was the cause of a reverse migration when many of the settlers were forced to give up, but the Dent family remained and 7 more children were born to Laura and Wilson in Canton, Lincoln Co. in the years from 1871 - 1888.

In 1890 Wilson Dent was appointed Boss Foreman for the United States Indian Service at Lower Brule Indian School.

A letter in the annual report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs offers a glimpse into what qualities were considered preferable when hiring teachers in isolated Indian camps, since it was not considered a suitable place for a single person of either sex;  not ladies who were “dependent” nor single young men who were not “adapted to be in charge of a mixed school of boys and girls when many are advanced in years.”

The preference was in hiring married couples who were able to attend to the requirements of both sexes while at the same time modeling Christian family life.

The letter writer further suggests that while anyone hired should be selected first and foremost for their educational qualifications; in addition those qualifications should be combined with a self sacrificing nature, tact in teaching, civilizing and training, and the modeling of a Christian example.  He also recommends those selected and secured should receive compensation commensurate with their worth since “it is not expected those so qualified will accept positions in isolated Indian camps, deprived of every social intercourse with civilization, at the same or less remuneration than where all the enjoyments of home comforts, society, and entertainment are obtainable.”

“ … isolated Indian camps; deprived of every social intercourse with civilization … “  It is difficult to imagine the same young woman who attended Ripon College, sang in the choir and taught a Sunday school class, raising 9 children in such a primitive environment, yet she did just that.

And while married couples may have been the School's preference, the Dent’s eldest (and unmarried) son, William was employed at the Lower Brule boarding school as an Industrial Teacher for 2 years in 1891 and 1892; from there William went on to Medicine Creek, where he engaged in ranching, accumulating a large herd of cattle for a 700 acre ranch known as the Dent Ranch.

In 1892 the region was opened to early settlers for homesteads.  Settlements were along Medicine Creek and settlers were “Ribney’s, Wilson, Dent, Gilman, Byre, Rearick, Seaman, Molash, Hollenbeack, Tieson, Lien, O’Malley, Halversgaard, Hagenson, Selland, Hellickson, Pitans, Zoske, and Zickrick.”

It was in 1892 Wilson and Laura moved from Canton to Chamberlain, where they would live for the rest of their lives. .

On May 7, 1894  Laura’s step-mother, Sarah Jenette Ellwood Bailey died at St. Marie, Wisconsin.  Three years later, in the spring of 1897, Laura’s father, Aaron Bailey took ill and Laura traveled to Wisconsin to care for him.  Her father's health appeared to improve under her care; in June he sold his farm, disposed of his personal effects, and left with his daughter for her home in South Dakota.

Aaron Bailey did not reside long in South Dakota.  He died on Aug. 4, 1897,  age 82 years, 6 months and 9 days.

-- Princeton Wisconsin Republic, August 1897

“The news of the death of Aaron Bailey somewhat startled the community the latter part of last week.  He was well known, having been a resident of this county for forty years or more, and for nearly or quite twenty years has been a resident of the town of St. Marie, within a mile of that village. In the spring and early summer of this season he was very sick for many weeks, but finally under the care of a daughter, who came here from her home in South Dakota to care for him, he improved in strength. Early in June he sold his farm, and on the 23rd of June disposed of his personal effects and in a few days started with his daughter to her Dakota home. We learn that his death was sudden and unexpected. In the morning and forenoon he complained of a pain in his breast, but he became easier in the afternoon. Toward evening he stepped into his room and in a short time was found sitting upon his bed unconscious. A physician was summoned, but upon reaching him death had closed the life of Mr. Bailey.  He was 82 years of age.  His body arrived in Ripon and was interred last Saturday with members of his family who had gone before.  He leaves three sons and a daughter — Wm. H. of Washington, John of Ripon, Andrew C. of Colorado, and a daughter, Laura A. Dent of Chamberlain, S.D. where Mr. Bailey died August 4, 1897.

Mr. Bailey was a man of strong impulses and earnest resolution, and never held a grudge, but was as forgiving as a child.  His friendship in the high order of brotherhood and in the church was very highly prized. His home was always the home of the itinerant minister for nearly sixty years.  His generation has nearly all proceeded him to the other glorified shore.  But there were many of the present who rise to speak well of him.”

The inscription on his stone reads:  

CAVALRYMAN BLACK 

HAWK WAR 1832

WOUNDED BY TOMAHAWK 

THROWN BY INDIAN

Curious about the inscription I found …
“When sixteen, he enlisted in the Cavalry service during the Black Hawk War and remained until the close of the war, which occurred in 1832. He was aid to Col. Thompson of his regiment and received six wounds in the service and was honorably discharged.”

Wilson and Laura are shown on the census for Chamberlain, Brule, South Dakota in 1900 and 1910.
She was interested in the work of the Women's Relief Corps in Chamberlain and was elected President in 1905, she was also a member of the Eastern Star in Chamberlain for many years.

On Nov. 12, 1915 Laura & Wilson Dent celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

On Oct. 2, 1922 Wilson Marcellus Dent aged 77 years and 7 months died of heart failure and was buried at Riverview Cemetery in South Dakota.

In 1925 Laura was still living on the farm she owned.  The 1930 census shows her living with daughter Harriet Heneger and family.

Laura Ann (Bailey) Dent, 1846 - 1931, lover of music and art, whose paintings were "of a high order," died Feb. 14, 1931 and was buried in the Riverview Cemetery, Chamberlain, Brule Co., South Dakota.  She was 84.


Sources:

Sandra Boudrou

Photos From the Past - Wilson M. Dent and Laura Bailey 1865

Wilson Dent (ancestry.com)

Wilson and Laura Bailey Dent  (rootsweb)

Joseph H. Dent Family - by Sandra Boudrou

Aaron Bailey’s Family - by Sandra Boudrou

William H. Dent b. Canton, SD 1871 (genforum)

William H. Dent obituary

Charles Henry and Rebecca (Richmond) Bice

McGibbon Register Report Nov 2005

The History of Lincoln County (rootsweb)

Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 1884
Letter regarding employees of Lower Brule school

The Executive Documents of the House of Representatives for the First Session of the Fifty - Second Congress 1891 - 1892; Congressional edition, Volume 2934

Delia Van Pelt, wife of George Shields

Written in pencil on the reverse:  

Delia V. P. Shields

Photographer:

K. W. BENICZKY

PHOTOGRAPHER

No. 2 New Chambers St.,

COR. CHATHAM ST.

N.Y.

Delia Van Pelt, born April 17, 1844 in Kings Co., New York was descended from one of first Dutch families to settle in New Utrecht.   Delia was the 5th of the 6 children born to John Lott Van Pelt and his wife Anna Maria Cortelyou.

The children of John Lott Van Pelt and Anna Maria Cortelyou were:

• Jacob Lefferts Van Pelt born May 9, 1836. A recluse and bachelor.  It was said that as a young man Jacob was jilted by the girl he loved and afterwards refused to have anything to do with anyone and preferred to keep to himself.  His friends and acquaintances respected his desire to be left alone and kept their distance.   For many years he lived in the old farm house at 86th St. and DeBruyn’s Lane. He confided in no one and little was known of his private life.  He left a fortune in money and real estate to be divided among the children of his brother John and sister Mary when he died of heart failure at age 71.

• Townsend Cortelyou Van Pelt was born Nov., 1837; married Maria Elizabeth Ditmars on Oct. 24, 1866. After his marriage he took up residence in the ancestral home.  At the time the old Van Pelt manor house was a simple house.  Townsend Van Pelt added a second story, a well, and other modern conveniences.  He was the last “lord” of the manor.  He deeded Van Pelt Manor to the city on his death.

• Mary L. Van Pelt born circa 1840 married Jeremiah Van Brunt of New Utrecht

• Anna Cortelyou Van Pelt born April 23, 1841 - married George Shields Dec. 27, 1898

• Delia C. Van Pelt born April 17, 1844 - wife of George Shields; died Nov. 3, 1875, age 31 

• John Vanderbilt Van Pelt born  March 7, 1847  married Josephine G. Miller Sep. 17, 1858, died age 56, Feb. 17, 1904.

When I began researching Delia V. P. Shields there were 2 questions I hoped to answer.
1st … Why had she died so young?,
and 2nd …  Were Delia and her sister Anna married to the same George Shields?

Census records indicate that both of the parents of George Shields were born in Scotland but George himself was born circa 1825 - 28 in Washington county, New York; coming later to Manhattan and engaging in the wholesale butcher business at Washington Market.  I find only the one mention of George Shields being involved in the butcher business.  In the early 1860s he moved to Bath Beach, purchased several pieces of property in the Bath Beach / New Utrecht area and was afterwards known as a wealthy property owner and hotel proprietor. Sometime around 1866 he married Miss Delia Van Pelt.

When I find George and Delia Shields in the 1870 census, George's occupation is listed as “Hotel Keeper,” and in 1871, under Summer Resorts in a local paper, is an ad for the newly renovated and refurbished Bath Hotel, George Shields, Proprietor.  He was also noted as the owner and proprietor of the old Avon Beach Hotel where he had built several cottages; making his home in one of them.

George Shields and Delia Van Pelt had 2 sons:

• William C. Shields born 1868 Kings Co., New York became a large property owner and bath house proprietor.

• John “Jack” Van Pelt Shields - born 1872 in old Bath Beach, Brooklyn (Kings Co., NY) was the well known proprietor of Jack’s Tavern at Bellmore. He married Ann Albert and died at age 42 from injuries received in an automobile accident more than a year before.

Delia Shields died Nov. 3, 1875 at age 31.  I could find no mention of her cause of death.  I did find 2 newspaper articles that mentioned her death … one said she died at home, the other that she died in her husband’s arms.   Her obituary was equally unhelpful.

Obituary
Died.
Shields - At Bath, Wednesday, November 3, Delia, wife of George Shields.  Funeral services on Saturday at 2 P. M., at her late residence.

Delia Van Pelt (31), wife of George Shields was buried in New Utrecht Cemetery, Bensonhurst, Kings County, New York.

I found the answer to my 2nd question; Were Delia and Anna married to the same man? in a newspaper article in the Carroll Herald dated Feb. 22, 1899

ROMANCE OF BATH BEACH

There were other articles written about the love story and marriage of George Shields and Delia’s sister Anna C.; articles that were more factual and less dramatic but the basic story line remained the same.

A couple of years after Delia’s death George asked her sister, Anna C., an attractive, well to do woman in her 30s, to marry him, but she refused, saying her first duty was to her mother who was weak and ailing. Anna told George that as long as her mother lived she would marry no one.

True to her word, Anna never married and she cared for her mother until her mother's death on December 14, 1898.  At the time of her mother's passing George Shields was in his 70s and Anna was 57.  They were married in a simple ceremony, less than 2 weeks later on December 27, 1898.

About his marriage George is quoted as saying, “Oh yes, I know the folks are staring and talking.  They may talk, and the boys and girls, God Bless them, may laugh at us and call us a pair of old fools.  But, you see, they don’t know what it is to wait 24 years for a woman or a man you love.  At 70 years I’ve found rest at last.”

On May 28, 1908, George Shields, one of the largest property owners in the Bath Beach and Bensonhurst sections of Brooklyn, died at his home of heart disease, following pneumonia.

Anna Cortelyou Van Pelt Shields, widow of George Shields died May 25, 1915 at Flatbush, Kings County, New York.


Sources:
Descendents of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven

Historical Sketch of the Zabriskie Homestead

Rumored Bath Beach Wedding - Brooklyn Eagle - Wednesday, December 18, 1895

Mr. Shields Weds Again - Brooklyn Eagle - Dec. 28, 1898

ROMANCE OF BATH BEACH - The Carroll Herald - Feb. 22, 1899

NEPHEWS AND NIECES GET VAN PELT ESTATE - Brooklyn Standard Union, June 13, 1907

George Shields Obituary - New York Daily Tribune - Friday May 29, 1908

Bellmore Hotel Man (John Shields) Succumbs at Mercy Hospital - Nassau Post - April 8, 1914 

Friends of Historic New Utrecht

History of Long Island by Peter Ross

Findagrave

Family Search

Photographer Samuel Broadbent

  

Subject

Unidentified

Photographer

Broadbent & Co.

814 Chestnut St.,

Philadelphia.

Samuel Broadbent was the son of Dr. Samuel Broadbent, a physician and portrait painter who at 49 married the widow Abigail (Harris) Griswold in Hartford, Connecticut.  After the marriage Dr. Broadbent moved onto the Griswold homestead with Abigail and her children. They had two children together;  Samuel born Jan. 12, 1811 and a daughter Rowena born in 1813.

Dr. Broadbent died on April 2, 1828.  His death was attributed to the effects of dropsy and “high living”.   His wife Abigail lived to be 101. There was a lengthy write up, "Westersfield Centenarian 1773 - 1873, Mrs. Abigail Broadbent's 100th Birthday" in the  Hartford Weekly Times.  

By the time his father died, Samuel was already working as an itinerant painter and he'd become a successful portrait and miniature artist by 1840 when Samuel Morse, inventor of the telegraph, introduced him to the daguerreotype process.  Professor Morse, who had learned the process from Daguerre himself, taught it to American photographers Samuel Broadbent, Albert Southworth, Edward Anthony and Mathew Brady.

Samuel Broadbent was not only a fine portrait artist, he was one of the very first to learn the daguerreotype process in America.

New York Sun 
April 10, 1841

DAGUERREOTYPE PORTRAITS, Taken from 10 o'clock A. M. until dark, at Professor Morse's studio, No. 136 Nassau street, opposite Brick Church, by S. BROADBENT. Professor Morse will generally be in attendance. Cloudy and even stormy weather present no obstacles to a successful result of the process.

On Jun. 14, 1841 Samuel Broadbent (30) married Catherine Cook (26).
I've found mention of 5 children:

• Mary born  May 17, 1845; married Albert Gillespie Buzby on Nov. 8, 1865 and died May 16, 1869, five days after the birth of her daughter and the day before her 24th birthday.

• Samuel W., born 1849;  occupation: photographer.  I think I've found him in the 1900 Census, as a single “artist” living in Pennsylvania.

• Katie C. born circa 1853

• Robert C., 1854 - 1918; occupation: photographer

• George born circa 1860

Samuel worked as an itinerant artist before 1851 and moved around quite frequently.  Knowing where he was, and when, can be helpful when dating his photographs. The dates and addresses I've found are included as a separate list following this blog.

By 1845 when Samuel opened a gallery in Columbia, South Carolina his ad carried the title “colored Daguerreotype portraits.”

In addition to his colored daguerreotypes portraits, Samuel Broadbent was said to have often used a painted landscape backdrop for his daguerreotypes.   An 1853 newspaper advertisement for Broadbent & Co. reads, “Beautiful Landscape, Picturesque or Plain Backgrounds, at the option of the Sitter.”

In the 1860s Broadbent returned to painting while still maintaining a photographic studio with various partners.  In 1864 he painted the portrait of artist, Thomas Sully that was exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1869.

Samuel Broadbent, portrait painter and daguerreian died July 24, 1880 and was buried in Mount Moriah Cemetery in Philadelphia.   His sons Samuel W. and Robert C. Broadbent carried on the photography business.

Samuel Broadbent / When & Where:
Below is the list of dates and addresses I've found.

1840 - 41 - New York City, worked in the daguerreotype process for Samuel F. B. Morse

1841 - 42 - Listed as a daguerreian at 136 Nassau Street, New York City.

1843 - 44 - Listed as a daguerreian in Savannah, Georgia.

1845 - Visited Charleston, North Carolina as an itinerant daguerreotypist and operated a gallery at 271 King Street for a couple of months.  In 1845 he was noted as a daguerreian in both Macon and Athens, Georgia; Dec. 1845 - opened a gallery in Columbia, South Carolina.

1846 - 49 -  Listed as “artist” in Hartford, Connecticut.  He was listed without a business address and lived at 93 Main St.

1847 - Daguerreian in Wilmot’s studio in Savannah, and in partnership with Cary.

1848 - Broadbent made stops in Fayetteville and Raleigh, North Carolina to take daguerreotypes.

1849 - Broadbent settled in Wilmington.; 1849 - 50 Broadbent listed as a daguerreian at 211 Baltimore St., Baltimore, MD.; also listed there in partnership as Broadbent & Cary.   From 1849 - 51 Broadbent was also listed as a daguerreian in Wilmington, Delaware, in the Glazier Building, Third and Market Streets.

1851 - Settled in Philadelphia ; listed as a daguerreian at 136 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania., over Barley & Co., There he was listed in business as Broadbent & Co., with Sally G. Hewes.

1852 - 1857 - Listed alone as a daguerreian at 136 Chestnut St., Pennsylvania.

1853 - “Beautiful Landscape, Picturesque or Plain Backgrounds, at the option of the Sitter,” reads an 1853 Broadbent & Co. newspaper advertisement.

1858 - Daguerreian at 428 Chestnut St., Pennsylvania. in business as Broadbent & Co., in partnership with F. A. Wenderoth;  Broadbent & Co. (active 1858-1863)

1859 - 60 - The address changed to 814 Chestnut St. but the partnership continued.

1868 - Partnered with Phillips until 1874, Phillips retained the old name of Broadbent & Phillips at his studio until 1881, a year after Samuel Broadbent’s death.

1870 - Broadbent & Phillips (active 1870-1881)

1878 - Broadbent & Taylor (active 1878-1884)

Sources:

Photographers in The New York Public Library’s Photography Collection

Perceptual Rendering of HDR in Painting and Photography by John J. McCann

CATCHING A SHADOW Daguerreotypes in Philadelphia 1839 - 1860

Craig's Daguerreian Registry

American Portrait Miniatures in the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Samuel F. B. Morse and the Daguerreotype: Art and Science in American by Sarah Catherine Gillespie

Partners With the Sun: South Carolina Photographers, 1840-1940 By Harvey S. Teal

FamilySearch - Samuel Broadbent

Encyclopedia of American Folk Art edited by Gerard C. Wertkin

American Portrait Miniatures in the Manney Collection by Dale T. Johnson

Connecticut Historical Society 

Photographer James Wallace Black

Subject: 

Unidentified

c1862

Photographer:  

J. W. BLACK.

173 

WASHINGTON ST.

BOSTON.

The young woman wasn't identified but her dress was beautiful and the backstamp belonged to an important early American photographer.

James Wallace Black was born in 1825 in Francestown, New Hampshire.  His father died in 1838 when he was just 13 and James took work where he could find it, working first in a tannery and then in a cotton mill before learning daguerreotypy.  In Boston he operated a rotary buffing machine used to polish the silver coated daguerreotype plates at L. H. Hale’s gallery before finally becoming an apprentice to John Adams Whipple, a well known Boston photographer.

In 1856 Black became a full partner under the name Whipple and Black. During this time he honed his portrait skills and became known for capturing the essence of his subjects, but even though J. W. Black took the photographs of some very notable people and was very good at it, it was the photos he took outside of his Boston studio that made him famous.

On June 9, 1859, James Wallace Black (34) married Frances “Fanny” Georgiana Sharp (26), the daughter of painter and lithographer William Sharp. This was the same year he took the photograph of the abolitionist John Brown, and the year Brown led his raid at Harper’s Ferry.

In the fall of 1859 Whipple and Black ended their partnership and soon afterwards Black purchased the studio at 173 Washington St., Boston and entered in a partnership with daguerreotypist Perez M. Batchelder.

In March of 1860 the publishing firm of Thayer and Eldridge commissioned James Black to do a photograph of poet Walt Whitman to promote his 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass.

But it was on Oct. 13, 1860 that James Wallace Black made history, when, with the help of  balloon navigator Samuel King, they went up in the hot air balloon Queen of the Air, and tethered 1200 ft. over Boston, Black took the first successful aerial photograph in the United States.  Black’s photograph would later catch the attention of Oliver Wendell Holmes who gave it the title: Boston, as the Eagle and the Wild Goose See It.

In 1861, James and Frances Black had a daughter, Olive Parker.  The following year Black dissolved his partnership with Batchelder and for a time he enjoyed solo success (it was during this time of “solo success” that I think my photograph was taken, 1862 - 63), before he partnered with John G. Case from July 1864 - Feb. 1867, as Black and Case, Photographic Artists, at 163 and 173 Washington St., Boston, Massachusetts.

On March 11, 1867, a son Otis Fisher was born to James and Frances Black.

In 1869 James Black would take another well known photo … the last known photograph of Col. Kit Carson.

In the 1870s Black began to focus more on the Magic Lantern, a candlelight powered projector and a predecessor of the slide projector.

One evening, while Mr. J. W. Black of Boston, and his assistant, Mr. J. L. Dunmore, were about to begin a lantern exhibition, one of the gas bags (the lamp on the lantern projector was gas fuelled) exploded with tremendous force.  It threw Mr. Dunmore high in the air, burning him about the face and eyes; knocked Mr. Black senseless; drove a stick through the nose of the organist and damaged the organ loft, organ and church.  It was feared Mr. Dunmore would lose his sight but he recovered and a few years later Mr. Black and Mr. Dunmore became partners.

In 1872 Black captured panoramic views of the ruins after the Great Boston Fire.  These images which were published nationally are probably the images for which he is best known.

In 1874 Black changed the firm name to Black and Co. and in 1876 he partnered with his friend and former assistant, John L. Dunmore. By the late 1870s Black and Co.’s business consisted largely of lantern slide production.

James Wallace Black (70), was still doing business when he contracted pneumonia and died in Cambridge,  Massachusetts, Jan. 5, 1896.  He was buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts

His photographs can be found in the Smithsonian, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Boston Public Library, to name a few.

His daughter, Olive Parker Black became a landscape artist; his son, Otis Fisher Black became a chemist and taught at Harvard Medical School after closing his father's business in 1901.

Sources:

• James Wallace Black Photographs - Boston Public Library
• Smithsonian American Art Museum
• CivilWar@Smithsonian
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art - James Wallace Black
• Historic Camera - James Wallace Black
• Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography edited by John Hannavy
• Wikipedia - James Wallace
• Catchers of the Light: The Astrophotographers' Family History by Stefan Hughes

Mary Blakeley married Putney Crowell

On the reverse, written across the top in pencil is:

Putney Crowell’s

wife, Mary

Photographer:

WM. COLLINS,

ARTIST,

EAST ROCKFORD, ILL.

ONE DOZEN PHOTOGRAPHS

for

TWO DOLLARS

Mary E. Blakeley was born June 30, 1845 in Nashua (or Marion) Township, Illinois to Alpheus Stone Blakeley and Mary E. Martin.  In the 1850 census, 5 year old Mary is living with her parents, her younger sister, Emma and her 75 year old grandmother, Mary E. Martin.

The 1860 Census is much more telling, I find four homes …

#943 is the home of Solen Crowell, a wealthy farmer, his wife Sarah and their children.  15 yr. old Mary E. Blakeley is a servant in this household.

#944 is unoccupied

#945 is the home of Mary’s parents; Alpheus and Mary Blakeley, and

#946 is the household of Jeremiah Crowell, his wife Betsey and their 26 year old son Putney.

On May 8, 1861, in the month before her 16th birthday, Mary E. Blakeley (15) is united in marriage to Putney Crowell (26).

Putney, the son of Jeremiah Crowell, a cooper, and Betsy Bickford was born in Hopkinton, New Hampshire on Dec. 26, 1834.  He was 13 years old when his parents settled in Marion.

Putney and Mary made their home with his parents and circa Feb. 1862, a daughter, Celestia Elizabeth Crowell was born.  I say circa because the only time I find a month mentioned in conjunction with Celestia’s birth year (1862) is on the findagrave site but the source isn’t cited and the date of birth on the headstone doesn’t show a month of birth either … it simply reads: 1862 - 1913.

Putney, a well to do farmer and respected citizen of Marion Township and his wife Mary continued to make their home with his parents until their deaths.  In 1865 Mary’s father-in-law, Jeremiah Crowell died; Betsey Crowell continued living with her son and daughter-in-law until her death in 1880.

On May 25, 1885, Mary and Putney’s daughter Celestia (23), married James Franklin Munger (28), the proprietor of the Rock Island House.

June 14, 1895, Putney Crowell, aged 60 yrs., 5 mos. and 18 days died.  Mary, his widow  continued to run the farm.  The 1900 Census shows Mary’s occupation as farmer and besides herself, her household includes one domestic servant and four farm laborers.  By 1910 the staff she employed had dropped to one servant and one farm laborer.

In 1913 Mary’s only living child, Celestia Elizabeth Crowell Munger dies.  After Celestia's death I could find no mention of Mary again until the 1930 census when she is 84 and living in the household of Ben and her granddaughter Nina (Munger) Erford.

Mary E. Crowell died 4 years later on Oct. 10, 1934, age 89 years.

Sources:

• Family Search
• Ogle County Portrait and Biographical Album 1886 
• Descendants of John Blackler Blakely
• History of Lee County IL, Vol. 1 by Frank Everette Stevens 1914
• Findagrave

Sarah Catherine Coulter? ... maybe

This is the 4th and final photograph in the Holden / Reynolds / Wible / George family group, and of all the photos this one excited me the most because it's of a type I enjoy collecting.

I have several CDVs like this one.  The ones I collect all have a plain front with no gold borders or photographer markings.  The subject, either sitting or standing is shown full length, the props are minimal and the wall in the background plain.

I prefer a small photographer's backstamp to identify the location and a handwritten name that identifies the subject.

Needless to say I rarely get it all, but this one was so close. It didn't have the backstamp but I thought all the information written on the back more than made up for it.

On the reverse is written:

*great grandmother Holden

  mother of Margaret Ann

  Holden Reynolds

*Mrs. William Holden

*Sarah Elizabeth (Whiting) Holden

The section in pink is what was originally written by M. A., the writer of other notes I have.
The section in black is in a different handwriting and was added later.

It's rare to find this much information on a photograph.
It's not unusual to find a mistake or two,
but it is a bit unusual to find so many mistakes.

Early on I was disappointed to realize this could not possibly be a photograph of who it said it was, because, assuming a date of circa 1862, Elizabeth Sarah (Whiting) Holden born circa 1804 would have been in her late 50’s at the time it was taken.

That her name  "Elizabeth Sarah" was turned around and written as "Sarah Elizabeth" wasn't unusual, it happens, but she also wasn't Mrs. William Holden.  She was Mrs. James Holden.

My next thought was if this wasn't Elizabeth Holden than perhaps it was her daughter Margaret Holden, only Margaret, born in 1833, wasn't a good fit either because she would have been 29, married and the mother of four small children in 1862.

And this young lady simply doesn't look old enough or tired enough to be the mother of 4 young children.

So, I knew who this wasn't.  She wasn't Elizabeth Holden.  Margaret Holden seemed just as unlikely and a quick search of the George family didn't turn up any prospects there either, though it was interesting to note that just to really confuse things ... William's brother Charles George was married to Sarah's sister, Mary Coulter.

I tried a different tack hoping it might offer up some clues and traced the previous owners of the photos.  The notes that came with them led me to believe they were handed down from Ida Pauline Swem Wible Reynolds to her daughters Maggie Reynolds Arensberg and Bertha Reynolds Wilson.

So where would Ida get this particular photo?  The next generation back from her would be Sarah Catherine Coulter Wible George, the seamstress who married first Samuel Wible after the Civil War and married second, William George in 1881.  The mother, (step, foster or biological) of Ida, Charles, Huge, Noble, John, Bill, Annie and Essie.

Also when Sarah and William died in 1899, their daughter's Annie, 15 and Essie, 8, were still young but Ida was 25 and married, and as the eldest female in the family it seems likely she would have had a photograph of their mother.

And with Sarah the dates do fit, born in 1844 she would have been 18 in 1862.

And so ...

If this is a relative in the direct line of descent and if some of what is written on the back is correct,  (i.e. that her first name was Sarah and she married a William), than my most likely candidate is Sarah Catherine Coulter.

I did manage to find one photograph of Sarah Catherine Coulter to compare to and even though she appears older and thinner than the young lady in my photograph, I think there's a resemblance.

For now it's the best I can do but I believe there are other photographs of Sarah Coulter out there and there's always a chance I'll run across another one to compare to and be able to prove (or disprove) who this is and where she fits in the Holden / Reynolds / Wible / George families.

Ida Pauline Swem (Wible) Reynolds & Anna Belle George - Sisters?

In the previous blog Photo #1 was Margaret Ann (Holden) Reynolds; wife of Augustus Bellamy Reynolds; mother of George Hammond Reynolds.

Photo #2 was son George H. Reynolds and his wife Ida.

The writing on the back of this, the 3rd photo in the group, and the notes that came with it, offer a glimpse into how much time and effort it took for these young women make the drive into town to have this photograph taken.

Ida Reynolds & Anna George

The young women are identified on the reverse as Ida Reynolds and Anna George; before Anna was married; sister Essie George is pictured on Anna’s brooch.

I believe the note, which is signed “M. A.”, was written by Ida’s daughter Margaret (Reynolds) Arensberg, after a visit with her aunt Anna in 1973.  Anna would have been 88 years old when she told Margaret the story about their trip to town.

Anna George was 15 years old in 1899; the year both of her parents died. The photo was taken before she married Charles Phipps on Oct. 27, 1903, the day after she turned 19. My guess is she would be about 18 and Ida about 29 when this was taken.

M. A.,  wrote in her notes …

It was a long drive for Anna.  She drove a horse 9 miles from the old home by Maple Grove School to Ida‘s house where they had lunch and she changed the team, then drove another 9 miles into Sharon, Kansas to have this photograph made; a total of 36 miles for the day.

Ida Reynolds and Anna George were raised as sisters … but were they related?

The story goes like this …

Samuel Noble Wible, a Union soldier wounded in the Civil War married Sarah Catherine “Kate” Coulter on Feb. 13, 1865.

In 1874, hoping the change would be beneficial for his health,  Sarah and Samuel moved from Salem, Indiana to Hutchinson, Kansas.

Once in Kansas two sons were born, Hugh McKinney Wible, born July 21, 1876, and Noble Samuel Wible born October 12, 1879.

In 1880, Samuel Wible (39)  died.  The census that year shows his widow Sarah, along with 3 children; Ida 6, Huge 4, and 8 month old Noble living  in Rock Creek, Wabaunsee, Kansas.  Sarah, a seamstress, supported her family by tailoring men’s suits and overcoats until she married William George on Sept. 8, 1881.

According to the story Huge and Noble on the Kansas Heritage website, the combined household  included the 2 Wible brothers; step-brother, Charles Rethman George born 1877; a “foster” sister, Ida Swain born 1874, and over the next 10 years, 2 sons and 2 daughters were born into Sarah and William George's family; John Coulter in 1882; Anna Belle born Oct. 26, 1884; William B. born 1887 and Eva Ester “Essie” born 1891.

I was curious about Ida being a "foster" sister so I went in search of clues regarding her parentage.

The first mention I find of her is in the 1880 census in Rock Creek, Wabaunsee, Kansas when she is 6 years old.

On the Kansas site it says Samuel and Sarah had TWO sons.
The Ancestry / Roots website shows Samuel and Sarah having FOUR children, all born in Kansas ... well except for one source which shows Ida being born in Ohio.
I find ...
Nannie S. born July 19, 1869 - died April 22, 1870
Ida P. - born Feb. 23, 1874
Hugh McKinney - born 1876
Noble Samuel or Samuel Noble - born 1879.

But even though Ida appears in the Sarah Wible household in the 1880 census, there are a few things that make me wonder. The first being that if the dates are correct, Sarah and Samuel were in Indiana when Nannie (1869) and Ida (1874) were born in Kansas (or Ohio).

And then there is the 1900 census … William and Sarah George both died in 1899, leaving their children to fend for themselves.  The 1900 census shows …
place of birth     Father’s      Mother’s
Head  Hugh M Wible  24     Kansas Indiana  Indiana
Brother Noble S Wible 21 Kansas Indiana  Indiana
Half-brother  John C George 18     Kansas Germany Indiana
Half-sister  Annie B George 16     Kansas Germany Indiana
Half-brother  Willie B George   13     Kansas Germany Indiana
Half-sister Eva E George 9  Kansas Germany Indiana

In every case their  parents place of birth is listed correctly and yet Ida who is 26, married 9 years and living nearby, doesn’t list her parent's place of birth as one would expect if Samuel and Sarah Wible were her parents (Indiana / Indiana), instead everything is filled out correctly for her husband,  her 3 children, and even for herself,  but in the space for her parents place of birth,  is written:  unknown.

Then there is her name: Ida Pauline Swem (or in some cases Swain) Wible.  I can’t help wondering where the Swem came from.

So I’m still unsure if Ida was the daughter of Sarah Coulter and Samuel Wible or if she was in fact a “foster” daughter.

Whichever it was, Ida was raised in the Wible / George household; she married George Reynolds of Hazelton, KS. around 1900, when she would have been all of 16 and had 6 children …

Ella ca. 1891
Jesse ca. 1894
Margaret “Maggie”  ca. 1896
Hugh ca. 1900
Bertha ca. 1908
Alice ca. 1910

Anna George went on to marry Charles Thomas Phipps.  They also had 6 children …

Lois K. ca. 1905
Evelyn  M. ca. 1909
Seward ca. 1911
Carrol ca. 1913
Ruth ca. 1919
Charlene ca. 1928

Ida Swem (Wible) Reynolds (the name typed on the front of photo #2) died March 29, 1920 at age 46.
Anna Belle (George) Phipps died in 1978 at the age of 93.  She outlived the niece who wrote the notes for these photos by 3 years.


Sources:

• The Kansas Heritage Group - Hugh and Noble Wible
• Roots Web - Sarah Catherine Coulter
• Roots Web - Samuel Noble Wible
• Ancestry.com - William George
• Ancestry.com - Anna Belle George 
• Ancestry.com - Margaret Harriet Reynolds 
• Anna B. Phipps Obituary 

Margaret (Holden) Reynolds - The Sod Castle

All together there are 4 photographs in this family group.  All have writing on the back identifying related members in the Holden, Reynolds, Wible and George families.

I began my search with the photograph of an elderly woman looking out through a doorway …

On the reverse is written:

Mrs. A. B. Reynolds

Margaret Anne Holden

Copy of picture found in Maxine Clark Schooley’s mother’s (Nellie Elmore Clark) pictures.  

Probably received via Verda Spicer Diel.

“Red Rock House”

******

Margaret Anne Holden descended from an immigrant English family of farmers and millers.  Born in Suffolk county, England in 1833, she was the daughter of James Buxton Holden, a miller, and his wife Elizabeth S. (Whiting) Holden.

Margaret's parents, both natives of Suffolk county, England, immigrated to America in 1836.  They landed in New York City and then proceeded up the Hudson River, eventually settling in Rochester, New York where for many years James Holden was in charge of a mill. Later the family would move to Hamilton, Canada where James and Elizabeth Holden spent the remainder of their lives.

Their daughter, Margaret was educated in private school in Canada. On Dec. 15, 1853, at age 20, she married Augustus Bellamy Reynolds, 26. The Rev. Bold C. Hill officiated.

Margaret's husband, Augustus Bellamy Reynolds was born near Glens Falls, New York on Oct. 27, 1827.  His father, James Green Reynolds, was a soldier in the war of 1812, serving under General Wool.  His mother, the former Miss Catherine Anderson was born in Scotland and immigrated to America with her parents.

A few years after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. A. B. Reynolds and their 2 small children, Holden and Lizzie started for the west, making the trip by way of the Great Lakes.  The following year they resided in Clinton, Iowa where Augustus Reynolds was engaged in the grain business until 1867 when he moved to Clay county, IL. where he continued in the grain business until 1875.

Margaret and Augustus Reynolds had 9 children:

1. Holden A. born July 19, 1855 in Canada  - a cowboy on the Jones, Plummer and New Western Trail; he homesteaded a farm in Oklahoma; he died Nov. 19, 1934 in Kingfisher, OK
2. Elizabeth Sarah “Lizzie” born ca. 1857 in Canada -  Married Wm. Jarvis in Hamilton, Canada, Feb. 4, 1880; died Wentworth, Ontario, Canada Sept. 12, 1921
3. Harry A. born ca. 1858 in Iowa - died in New York circa 1877 at age 19
4. Edith born 1861 in Iowa - died age 10 (1871) Clay county, IL 
5. Jesse born ca. 1864 in Iowa  - died 1878 in Kansas of a snake bite
6. Frederick “Fred”  W. born ca. 1866 in Iowa  - homesteaded a farm near Syracuse, Kansas
7. George Hammond born July, 1868 in Illinois - also a cowboy on the Jones, Plummer and New Western Trail; he farmed and raised cattle near Hazelton, Kansas
8. Clarence S. born ca. 1872 in Illinois  - died of typhoid fever in Kansas in 1888 (age 16) and buried in Old Kiowa Cemetery. 
9. Augusta “Gussie” born 1875 in New York - she taught school in Barber county, Kansas until her marriage to Hugh Wible.  

In 1877, Augustus (50), Margaret (44) and 6 of  their 7 surviving children; Holden, Jesse, Fred, George, Clarence and Gussie left Whitehall, New York enroute to Barber county, Kansas.  I find no mention of the eldest daughter Lizzie (20) traveling with them, so I am assuming she chose to remain behind.  Two prairie schooners carried their housekeeping items, clothing, bedding and food.  The trip took 5 months.

The family arrived in Kansas in September, 1877.  Augustus selected a homestead on Medicine River and soon after began work on their first dwelling, a large sod house which he appropriately called “Sod Castle.”  The family would live in their Sod Castle for the next 6 years.

In 1878 the Reynolds lost another son Jesse, who died after being bitten by a snake.  Young Jesse was buried  at sundown in an unmarked prairie grave.

In 1884 the family moved to Cedar Hills Farm.  Red sandstone was hauled by sled and oxen to build a one room home.  The house was eventually enlarged with sleeping rooms upstairs.  A deep well was hand dug near the house.

In 1888, son Clarence (16) died of typhoid fever caused by drinking impure water from the river.  Augustus blamed the pollution on the influx of people and cattle into the area.

Over time the ranch of Augustus Reynolds grew to 600 acres and included a large and attractive modern residence, good barns, necessary outbuildings, well tilled fields and excellent pastures; he was successful  in both the raising of cattle and farming.

Augustus Reynolds died at home in 1903.  Margaret, as was the custom, lived with her children until her death in 1925 in rural Hazelton, Kansas.

Son, Geo. Hammond Reynolds and wife Ida
at the Cedar Hill Farm Home 1905 - 1910

Sources:

• A valuable citizen gone
• Reynolds Family Research Home Page 
• Chosen Land - Barber County, Kansas, pg. 380
• A Biographical History of Central Kansas (1902) pg. 1205

E. R. Wilcox - DA's Report on Explosion that Killed 8 Children

Edmund R. Wilcox’s ancestry can be traced to 3 Wilcox brothers, sailors and sons of a vice admiral in the English navy who came to America in 1635 and settled in Connecticut.

Edmund’s paternal grandfather, William Wilcox was the son of one of 5 brothers who fought in the American Revolution.  Early in the 19th century William came to New York from Stonington, Connecticut and in 1817 he settled on Point Peninsula.

Oren Schuyler Wilcox, Edmund’s father, was born September 13, 1833 in Point Peninsula, Jefferson County, NY.  He was involved in the mercantile business until 1885 when he entered the insurance business.  He married Mary E. Cline, the eldest daughter of Henry Cline on August 30, 1858.

Oren and Mary had a large family.  Records indicate his son's Oren (Jr.) and Edmund R. were both born April 25, 1864, so it seems possible Edmund was a twin.

Oren Jr.  became a merchant in Ohio.  Edmund became a lawyer in New York.  The photograph below was taken in Rome, NY by photographer J. M. Brainerd when Edmund was 25 years old.  The reverse reads: E. R. Wilcox, Watertown, Jeff. Co., NY 1889.

E. R. Wilcox seems to have devoted most of his time to his career. While I run across mention of him in regards to the cases he was involved in,  I find very little of a personal nature.  He and his wife Addie Secor did not marry until they were both well into their 50’s, and it appears to have been a first marriage for each of them.

Of all the cases of E. R. Wilcox, his most sensational was probably the Watertown Trunk Murder.  He was counsel for Mary Farmer who was accused of murdering her neighbor with an axe, dismembering the body and stuffing it into a trunk; part of a plan to take over her neighbor's identity and acquire her property.

Mary Farmer was the 2nd woman put to death in the state of New York.  There is an account of the murder case on Muderpedia:  Mary O’Brien Farmer

Another newspaper article I transcribed, appeared in the Watertown Daily Times in August, 1922.

It centers on the Workman's and Salisbury’s, two families who lived in the same house.  The Salisbury’s on the upper level, and the Workman's on the lower level.  The Workman’s had two children, Edna and Anson; the Salisbury’s had one son, Monroe.

On July 16, 1921 the families were berry picking at Pine Camp (now Fort Drum), a military reservation and testing ground.  It was a few weeks after the Buffalo guardsmen had been training there and Mrs. William Salisbury and Edna Workman found an unexploded 155 mm shell lying on the ground.  The shell measured about 6 inches in diameter at the base and was 22 inches long.  It weighed approximately 100 lbs and contained 15 lbs of TNT.

Edward Workman’s 12 year old son, Anson wanted to keep the shell as a memento and so they transported it by automobile from Pine Plains to the city of Watertown, where it was set upright on the back porch of the home the families shared.  And there it remained for nearly a year, until July 12, 1922, when it exploded, killing 8 children who were playing nearby.  The victims included both of the Workman’s children as well as the Salisbury’s son, Monroe.

Source: Watertown Daily Times August 26, 1922

WILCOX BLAMES ARTILLERY UNIT
Criticizes 106th Field Artillery of Buffalo in Report on Shell Explosion

FOR NEGLIGENCE IN NOT PROPERLY POLICING FIELD

DISTRICT ATTORNEY HOLDS, HOWEVER THAT THERE WAS NO CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE

LEFT 41 SHELLS ON PINE PLAINS

Finds that Hot Weather Had Brought Fulminate of Mercury in Priming Cap Close to Explosion Point and That Only Slight Blow was Necessary to Explode It.

The 106th Heavy Field Artillery of Buffalo is criticized by District Attorney E. Robert Wilcox for the manner in which it left shells scattered about the Pine Plains and negligence in not properly policing the field of fire in the report of his inquest into the death of eight children through the explosion of a 155 millimeter shell on the back porch of Edward G. Workman’s home, 423 Dimmick street, July 12.  He holds, however, that the militia company was not guilty of any criminal intent or act of criminal negligence.

District Attorney Wilcox finds in his report that the shell was brought by Workman from Pine Plains a few weeks after the Buffalo guardsmen had been there for training last summer.  In his findings the county officer charges that 41 shells similar to the one that exploded have been found about Pine Plains, and this he says is evidence of the negligence of the militiamen.

In regard to the actual cause of the explosion Mr. Wilcox offers no opinion other than that revealed by early investigation.  He finds that hot weather had prevailed and that this had brought the fulminate of mercury in the priming cap close to the explosion point so that only a slight blow or jar was necessary to release its death dealing force.

The report is a volume of 114 typewritten pages and includes testimony of witnesses, reports of physicians, exhibits and the findings.  The report says in part:

District Attorney’s Report.

Coroner’s inquest, Jefferson county in the matter of the investigation into the death of Sarah Bardon, Anson Workman, Edna Workman, Monroe Salisbury, Vivian Jones, Olin Brown, Frances Wylie and Donald Horton:

Inquest held at the city of Watertown and other places in said county by E. R. Wilcox, district, attorney of said county, acting as coroner by virtue of chapter 110, page 346 of the laws of 1916, on the 12th day of July, 1922, and continued at different times until the 17th day of August, 1922.

Dr. Harlow G. Farmer and Dr. Maurice D. Barnette were appointed as coroner’s physicians in the investigation at the scene of the accident on the 12th day of July, 1922, and their report is made a part of these proceedings.

After examining Hugh Picard, Robert Moore, Edwin R. Green, Mrs. Anna Workman, Edward Workman, William A. Knapp, Frances S. Green, Mr. and Mrs. William L. Salisbury, Harriet R. Sc??per, Lillie W. Golding, Leon LaRock, Claude J.  Solar, Fred C. Simmons, Charles A. Phelps, Lieut. Harry G. Reanegal, Sergt. J. J. Greene, Lieut. Gerald S. Mickle, Rosa B. Bush, Kitty A. Bush, George A. Brown and said coroner’s physicians, being the principal witnesses who had knowledge of the explosion and the facts appurtenant thereto. I find as follows:

1. - That Sarah Bardon, aged 10 years; Frances Wylie, aged 13 years; Anson Workman, aged 13 years: Edna Workman aged 15 years; Olin Brown, aged 10 years; Vivian Jones aged 9 years; Donald Horton, aged 14 years, and Monroe Salisbury, aged 16 years came to their death by an explosion of a 155 mm shell on the 12th day of July, 1922, about 2: 55 in the afternoon.  In the rear of the premises, 423 Dimmick Street, in said city, occupied by Edward Workman on the lower, and William Salisbury on the upper floor of said dwelling.

2. - That said shell was found at Pine Camp, a military reservation and testing ground and the property of the United States, about a mile and a half from the Great Bend entrance and 100 feet to the right of the main road, on the surface of the ground by Mrs. William Salisbury and Edna Workman on or about the 16th of July, 1921; and said shell was brought on that day to the city of Watertown by Edward Workman in an automobile to his residence on said Dimmick street at the request of his son, Anson Workman, who wished to keep it as a memento of the war, and place it on the back veranda of said house where it remained until the time of the explosion.

3. - That said shell was standing in an upright position on said veranda, although it had been moved about on said veranda and shaken about two months before its explosion, but at the time of the accident it was situated about seven feet from the rear wall of the house and seven feet from the northeast corner of the lower platform on which it rested and near the front balustrade of said platform, and had been in that position for a number of months subject to the changes of temperature through the different seasons and had been played upon by the sun’s rays from early in the morning until after 1 o’clock in the afternoon, though the hot days of June and forepart of July, 1922.

4. - That said veranda was made of cement and reinforced steel, having a lower and upper platform about 8x10 feet, both of which were enclosed by a balustrade of the same material, the lower platform having on its east side an entrance by means of steps from the ground; and on said platform near and about shell were divers and sundry domestic and household articles, lawn mowers, bicycle, rubber tubing, garbage can and other articles, and in front of said platform was a croquet ground where the children of the neighborhood, including those killed, were accustomed to play.

5. - That said shell was made of steel and other metals and was known as a 155 mm. shell - practically six inches in diameter at its base and about 22 inches in height and weighed about 100 pounds and contained about 15 pounds of trinitro??luol, commonly know as T.N.T., and was capped by a detonator containing fulminate of mercury but a small portion of the upper part of the detonator of said shell had been removed - probably broken off at the time this shell was fired from a howitzer; and after such firing with detonation, being fully charged and unexploded, it became known as a “dud” among military men.

6. - That on July 12, 1922, at 2:55 in the afternoon, Monroe Salisbury was on the lower part of said platform near the shell and Edna Workman and Vivian Jones were on the ground in front of him, and within a foot or so of him and the other children were on the croquet ground in front and a few feet away from them, and while in these positions said shell exploded, killing the eight children instantly, except Monroe Salisbury, who died on the way to the hospital within ten minutes after the explosion.

7. - The shell exploded by reason of being hit or jarred, or in some manner detonated, but how or by whom the evidence does not now disclose.  The priming cap was still intact or at least enough of it to detonate the shell.  This priming cap being charged with fulminate of mercury and at the time of the explosion in a heated condition was very sensitive to a slight blow or jar and might have been detonated from a number of causes which it is impossible to now determine.

The temperature had been very warm for a number of days proceeding the explosion and on that day at 1 o’clock in the afternoon the Fahrenheit thermometer in the shade in other parts of the city stood at 86 degrees but in that vicinity, especially back of the Workman house on that platform where there was no breeze and with the sun shining on the cement building and platform and playing on this shell, in all likelihood the heat was raised upon it to a much higher degree, and the fulminate of mercury had become superheated to such an extent that it was at or near the exploding point, so that a very slight stroke or pressure upon the priming cap would cause detonation followed by explosion.

8. - The position of some of the children and many of the articles near the shell, as well as the platform upon which it stood, were blown to fragments and scattered practically in a semi-circle whose center was at the point where the shell had stood and was obviously the center of the force which radiated in this semi-circular manner, so no other conclusion can be drawn save that the children were killed by the explosion of the shell.

9. - Pine Camp had been used for a number of years by different military organizations for military maneuvers and the practice of artillery.  No unit or division of the regular army of the United States had ever used any shell at Pine Camp exceeding three inches in diameter, but in the month of June, 1921, the 106th Heavy Field Artillery of the National Guard of the state of New York did use and fire there, shells of 155 mm. similar in all respects to the shell which caused the death of these children: and a smaller shell than a 155 mm., in all likelihood could not have caused the damage to persons and property as was caused by the explosion of the shell in question.

10. - The 106th Heavy Field Artillery, after the firing of a number of shells of 155 mm, in its practice did not sufficiently, in a military sense, police the field of fire as it was in duty bound to do; as since the 12th of July, 1922, there have been found 41 155 mm shells, similar in all particulars to the one in question at Pine Camp on the surface of the ground and in possession of citizens in the city of Watertown and Jefferson county.

11. - That in conclusion the causes of the death of the aforesaid children was the explosion of said shell in the manner and by the means heretofore stated, and that the 106th Heavy Field Artillery, while not guilty of any criminal intent or act or criminal negligence, are subject to criticism for the manner in which they left said 41 shells scattered about the firing area of said camp and their negligence in not properly policing in a military sense the field of fire.

Dated Aug. 2?, 1922
E. R. Wilcox
District Attorney.


Additional articles found:

• Souvenir Shell Kills 8 Children on Dimmick Street
• SEEK $35,000 EACH FOR DEATH OF SEVEN CHILDREN - (Journal and Republican, Lowville, NY, Thursday, January 8, 1923)

Sources:

• Family Tree Maker’s Genealogy 
• Rome Citizen Marriages 1858
• Watertown Daily Times - August 26, 1922   
• Murderpedia - The Watertown Trunk Murder 
• Watertown Daily Times - March 4, 2011

Caroline Thacher & the Rev. John Philander Perry

Henry Thacher, son of Peter, organized the second temperance society in America.  He was a prominent man in Yarmouth, Massachusetts and was a representative to the General Court at Boston.  He married Elizabeth Gray of Yarmouth on Nov. 25, 1802. Elizabeth was the daughter of Capt. Joshua Gray, who commanded a company of minute men which marched towards Marshfield in 1775, and his wife Mary Hedge.

Henry and Elizabeth Thacher had 12 children, but only 4 would live long enough to marry.

1. Eliza Jane born July 25, 1803 married Nathaniel S. Simpkins May, 1824.  She died Aug. 30, 1836 at age 33, just 2 months after the birth of her 4th child. 
2. Henry Gray born April, 1805, was a storekeeper and died unmarried at age 27 on Jan. 10, 1833.
3. Winslow Lewis born June 27, 1807, also an unmarried storekeeper, died Apr. 14, 1834 at age 26.
4. Mary Burr born Nov. 7, 1809 died Nov. 9, 1827 at age 18.
5. Sally born Dec. 22, 1811 died Mar. 19, 1826 at age 14.
6. Maria Edith born April, 1814 died unmarried at age 23 on Aug. 31, 1837.
7. George born Dec. 7, 1816 died Dec. 31, 1835 when he was 19.
8. Thomas born June 19, 1819 married (1) Mary Gorham Hallett (2) Catherine Worcester and lived to age 77.  He died May 15, 1897.
9. Charles born Dec. 2, 1821, died at age 32 months and 20 days, Aug. 21, 1824.
10. Caroline, the subject of this blog, was a twin.  She was born Oct. 6, 1824, married Rev. John Philander Perry and died at age 43 years in April, 1868 of consumption. 
11. Cornelia her twin, born Oct. 6, 1824 died at age 21 months on July 20, 1826. 
12. Charles, the youngest was born Oct. 6, 1829 and baptized Charles Thacher but after the death of his brother, Henry Gray Thacher and his father Henry Thacher, both who died in 1833, his name was changed to Henry Charles Thatcher by the Massachusetts Legislature. He married Martha Bray and died at age 70 on Apr. 28, 1900. 

Caroline lived in Yarmouth and Boston, Massachusetts.  Before her marriage she was an author of children’s books, one which was entitled Morning Ride.  When she was twenty-eight she married the Rev. John Philander Perry of New Ipswich, New Hampshire.  They were married by the Rev. Thomas Worcester in Boston, on April 28, 1853.

John Philander Perry born Feb. 23, 1819, was the son of Chauncey Perry and Abigail Stearns.  Four of their sons became clergymen and two became lawyers in Brooklyn, New York.  “Their aged father, having assisted his sons to a liberal education, could review with proud satisfaction their honorable careers.”

John Philander, though hampered by imperfect eyesight, graduated Dartmouth College in 1842.

After their marriage the couple lived in Yarmouthport. In 1853 Rev. Perry was settled as pastor of the Swedenborgian Church at Yarmouthport, Massachusetts, where he remained until his retirement in 1870.

The Rev. John Philander and Caroline (Thacher) Perry had 2 sons.

Infant son / still born Jan. 20, 1854
Infant son / still born May 22, 1855.

John Perry was apparently an acquaintance of Ralph Waldo Emerson.  I found this in The Letters of Ralph Waldo Emerson: 1860-1869 ... 

To John Philander Perry, September 17, 1861

Concord
17 September 1861

Dear Sir,
I have received your note containing your kind and hospitable invitation that I should come to your house on the 27th instant, which I accept with much pleasure.

With thanks,

Yours respectfully,

R.W. Emerson

The addressee is the Reverend John Philander Perry, first minister of the Society of the New Jerusalem and a director of the Union Library, which was apparently also a club (History of Barnstable County, Massachusetts, ed. Simeon L. Deyo). The letter was originally owned by Perry's granddaughter, Margaret P. Stimmel.

This photograph of Carrie Thacher is dated June 1862.  She is 38 years old and looks ill, but she would live another 5 years.

 

The photograph of J. P. Perry is taken a couple of years later in 1864, when he would have been 45.

Caroline died of consumption in Yarmouth, Massachusetts in April of 1868, at age 43 years 5 mos. and 27 days.

John Philander Perry married a 2nd time to Emma Rusch, born circa 1835 in Elsinore, Denmark.
They had 3 children; 2 sons and 1 daughter:

1. John Cromwell born Dec. 29, 1870 married Feb. 21, 1899, to Ester C. Skinner and resided in Los Angeles, CA. (4 children) 
2. Chauncey Rusch born May 6, 1872 married Jun. 21, 1896, to Mabel Tuttle. (4 children) 
3. Emily Stearns born Dec. 18, 1873.  She was an artist and lived in Los Angeles, CA.

John Perry’s later years were passed in “the place most dear to him,” New Ipswich, NH.  He died July 30, 1886 in New Ipswich, Hillsborough, NH, at age 67.

Note:  Of special interest were these items passed down through the Thacher family that are mentioned in Frederick Freeman’s book The History of Cape Cod (1862) …

“Relics are less frequently found among the representatives of ancient families on the Cape than might be expected; but we recollect having seen with in a few years, at the house of Mrs. Peter Thacher, a cradle about 200 years old, ingeniously made of oak by Col. John Thacher, a father of 21 children; and also the scarlet blanket in which the infant of Mr. Anthony Thatcher was wrapped when drowned by the wreck at Thacher’s island near Newburyport, in 1635.  The cradle and blanket above referred to were left by will to Peter Thatcher of Hyannis, MA., and by him were disposed to Mr. *Henry C. Thacher of Yarmouth, MA.”

*Henry Charles Thacher was the youngest brother of Caroline.


Sources:

• The History of Cape Cod by Frederick Freeman
• Thacher - Thatcher genealogy
• Genealogy, and biographical sketches of the descedants of Thomas and Anthony Thacher by David W. Allen
• The NY Genealogical and Biographical Record Vol. 45
• The Letters of Ralph Waldo Emerson: 1860-1869 by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Henry H. Winslow - Son of a Sea Captain

At the time I wrote about Margaret Ella Winslow née Givens, I didn't have a photograph of her husband, Henry H. Winslow ... not until someone saw a picture of Grandpa Henry Hidden Winslow, and was nice enough to let me know that a photograph of him, along with several other related photos, were up for sale.

Over the past few weeks I've collected quite a few Winslow family photographs, including photos of Margaret and Henry; two of their daughters, Mary and Edith; one granddaughter Margaret “Peggy” Sterns, and even Margaret’s sister and her husband - the McDuffy’s.

And now that I have the photos of Henry H. Winslow, I wanted to tell his story ...

Henry Hidden Winslow was born May 5, 1847, in Elizabeth, New Jersey, the son of a sea captain, Joshua Baker Winslow, and his wife Mary Dehart (Bruen) Winslow.

American Offshore Whaling Voyages shows Joshua B. Winslow at command of the Tamerlane on 3 voyages to the North Pacific over a period of 15 years; Sept. 1854 - June 1858; Oct. 1858 - July 1862; Aug. 1865 - May 1869. The Capt. and Mrs. Winslow made their home in New Bedford, Massachusetts but unless Mary and Henry sailed aboard the Tamerlane with Capt. Winslow, they saw precious little of him, and were separated for years at a time.

Henry was educated in New Bedford and graduated high school May, 1864, at age 17.   One week later, on May 28, 1864 he sailed on board the whaler, James Arnold, under Capt. Jacob L. Cleaveland, cruising the Atlantic whaling grounds until Nov., 1865, when the James Arnold returned to New Bedford with 491 barrels sperm oil, 10 barrels whale oil and 300 pounds in bones on board.  During the voyage they'd sent home an additional 215 barrels of sperm oil.

On May 29, 1866 Henry Winslow shipped out again on board the James Arnold.  This time under the command of Capt. Thomas Sullivan, they sailed for the Pacific whaling grounds. The voyage lasted over 3 years and was considered a success. They returned Aug. 1, 1869, with 1,350 barrels sperm oil on board; having sent home 1,629 barrels sperm oil during the voyage.

At this point it appears Henry Winslow's sailing days came to an end. In 1870 he commenced to read law with the distinguished firm of Chandler, Thayer and Hudson.  He graduated Harvard Law School in 1872 and was admitted to the bar in Boston on Dec. 20, 1872.

Feb. 4, 1875 Henry Hedden Winslow (27) wed Margaret Ella (Givens) Fuller (30), a widow with a young daughter.  They were married in New Bedford, Bristol, Massachusetts and in 1876 they moved to Cambridge where Henry opened a second law office, keeping one in Boston and one in Cambridge.

Henry Hedden Winslow was a member and trustee of Cambridgeport Savings Bank and Assistant District Attorney for Middlesex county from 1875 to 1880. The only public office he held was as Overseer of the Poor for the City of Cambridge.

Henry and Margaret Winslow had 3 children together; all born in Cambridge, MA.

Mary H. Winslow  born Feb. 11, 1876 (graduated Radcliffe)
Edith Baker Winslow (Mrs. H. N. Sterns) born Aug. 10, 1878 (graduated Radcliffe)
Henry Joshua Winslow b. June 27, 1880 (graduated Harvard)

Henry's wife, Margaret Winslow died in 1899.

Cambridge Tribune, Vol. XXVIII, Number 34, Oct. 21, 1905

H.H. Winslow, ESQ.
Assigned by Superior Court as
Senior Counsel in a Murder
Case - Well Known Lawyer.

"Henry H. Winslow, Esq., of this city, has been assigned as senior counsel to defend John Schidlofski, who is now confined in the local jail for the murder of his wife, on the Arlington golf links, last August.  P.H. Sullivan, of Boston, has been assigned as junior counsel.

Mr. Winslow is not without experience in murder cases, having been senior counsel for Samuel Whitaker, who shot his wife, in this city, in 1897.  Principally through Mr. Winslow's efforts the court accepted a plea of guilty in the second degree and Whitaker was given only a life sentence.

Mr. Winslow was assistant district attorney of Middlesex county from 1875 to 1880.  He is a member of the overseers of the poor."

†

I wasn't able to find any record of the death of Henry H. Winslow, the last mention I find of him is in the 1920 Census, at age 72, living in Cambridge, Massachusetts with his daughter Mary.

†

Sources:

• 1870 letter referencing Henry Winslow 
• American Offshore Whaling Voyages 
• Ancient Middlesex with brief biological sketches of the men who have served the country officially since its settlement (pg 12 of 16)
• National Maritime Digital Library - Voyages of the James Arnold
• ShipStamps.co.uk - James Arnold Whaler 1852
• Family Search 

Note:

Spellings I found for Henry's middle name include: Heden, Hedden, Haden and Hidden and in the case of Mary, his daughter - Mary Hidder Winslow.