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