Wandering Around The Family Tree

 I found three photos of my great grandmother's brother Frank Marion Kellam. My guess is his legal name was Francis - but I have never seen any record that has anything other Frank Marion or Frank M.  The first photograph was taken by the photographer Davis in Deposit, Delaware County, New York. This is the same studio where Mary Ellen (Ross) Hankins had her photo taken. I haven't found any information about the photographer.  This photo was likely taken in the late 1880s. Frank was born in 1877.  This photograph was clearly stacked with the 1898 photograph of William Lucas Hankins's family since you can see a transfer of that image onto the back of this card. This second photograph was likely taken in the mid-1890s based on the border around the photograph and the style of the photographer's imprint. The photographer, Walter Nelson Manchester (1856-1923) had a studio in Factoryville, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania in the 1890s.  The third photograph of Frank was...

This photograph of my grandfather Francis William Hankins and his parents, William Lucas Hankins and Mary Jane Kellam likely dates from about 1898. My grandfather was born in September 1897, and he doesn't look much more than a year old in this photo.  The photograph was taken by photographer F.L. Tournier of Auburn, Cayuga County, New York. Fred L. Tournier seems to had a long career as a photographer. He had a studio in Auburn between 1884-1903. He later worked in both Johnstown, Fulton County, and in Albany. [1]  I provided the identification of William, Mary Jane and Francis based on other individual photographs of the three of them.  William Lucas Hankins, son of Lucas Wurtz Hankins (1831-1910) and Mary Ellen Ross (1835-1914) was born 11 October 1872 in Manchester, Wayne County, Pennsylvania.  Mary Jane Kellam, daughter of John Ross Kellam (1830-1903) and Frances Maria Shafer (1846-1924) was born 2 September 1874 at Hankins, Sullivan County, New York.  Will...

 This carte de viste photograph of my great grandmother Mary Jane Kellam was likely taken about 1875-1876, when she was probably no more than one or two years old.  The photographer was likely either J. Watson Vail or his brother Alzono. The Vail Brothers had a studio at 254 Main Street in Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York, for about 20 years in the 1870s-1890s. [1] This may be a "hidden mother" photograph, where a child's mother held her still for the photograph. The flowing cloth on the right side of the photo could be covering her mother's arm, and that could be the top of her mother's hat sticking up behind the chair.  Written in pencil at the top of the back "Weren't you a sweet little darling. I used to take you out in your carriage when you were like this" in an unknown hand. I have to wonder if it was written by someone in the Hankins family, since they lived next door to the Kellam's in Hankins, New York, if it was passed down thro...

This gem tintype of my great-great grandmother Frances Maria Shafer likely dates from the 1860s or 1870s. The tintype is mounted in a carte de viste size paper mat. The tintype itself measures 1 1/4 by 1 3/4 inches. Some tinting was applied to give a bit of color to the image. There is no information about the photographer on the image or the mat. It is unknown who provided the identification on the back.  Frances Maria Shafer, daughter of Philip P Shafer (1795-1873) and Sarah Melvina Benedict (1805-1880), was born with her twin brother Francis Marion Shafer, on 10 March 1846 in Andes, Delaware County, New York. She married John Ross Kellam, son of John Kellam (1787-1874) and Jane Ross (1801-1856) on 27 May 1872 at Long Eddy, Sullivan County, New York. Frances died on 4 February 1924 at Auburn, Cayuga County, New York.  John Ross Kellam and Frances Maria Shafer had four children: John Ross (1873-1875), Mary Jane (1874-1944), Frank Marion (1877-1952) and Clara Belle (1883-1966)...

This carte de viste photograph of my great-great grandfather John Ross Kellam likely dates from the 1860s. Cards with two borders of different widths were popular from 1864-1869. [1]  The standing pose was more popular in the early 1860s than in later years. [2] The photographer, W.J. Tait had his studio at the corner of Cortlandt & Greenwich Streets in New York. The I.R.S. Tax Assessment Lists for 1863 include a W.J. Tait, a photographer located at 51 Cortlandt Street in New York City. [3] The 1862 Commercial Directory confirms this address. [4] So far, these are the only references I've found to identify when William J. Tait had a studio on Cortlandt Street. If the studio didn't exist for very long, then the photo likely dates from about 1863-1864.  John Ross Kellam is identified as the father of Mary, Frank & Clara on the back. They were his three children that survived to adulthood. Since the photo came down through my part of the family, I assume someone in the fa...

This photograph of Susan Abigail (Hankins) Bush likely dates from the mid-1870s. The photographer, Addison Delavan Harding, opened his studio in Susquehanna in 1873. [1] Susan and her husband David Tyler Bush were living in Susquehanna by 1870, and remained there until at least the 1880s.  The script words "Cabinet Portrait" indicate that this may be an early cabinet card, where the photographer was trying to distinguish a new format of photography from earlier formats such as carte de vistes.  The identification of the subject as "Aunt Abbie Bush" suggests that it was labeled by one of her nephews - either Howard Ross Hankins or William Lucas Hankins. While Susan Abigail had other nieces and nephews, this likely belonged to someone in her brother Lucas Wurtz Hankins' family, since it has been passed down through is part of the family. This next photograph of Susan Abigail Hankins was likely taken about 1894-1896. The photographer was G.E. Priest of Tully, New Y...