Treasure Chest Thursday ~ Vintage Thanksgiving 1909

Treasure Chest Thursday ~ ACHESON Log House circa 1865

~ ACHESON Homestead ~ Proton Station, Proton Township, Grey Country, Ontario ~ circa 1865 ~
There is a woman and a child standing on the porch.

One of the family Treasures is our Grandpa George Albert Johnson's suitcase. Early 1960, nearing the end of his life, George gave a suitcase with various documents, funeral cards, photographs and other memorabilia to the eldest of his two surviving sons at this time. This son, William JOHNSON, passed his suitcase on to one of his five sons at the time of his own death in 1995.

In January 2003, I began contacting relatives to help celebrate my Mother's 90th birthday, March 2003. The cousin I mentioned above, sent me a package with funeral cards and photographs from Grandpa George's suitcase.

This log house was one of those photographs. Although there was nothing written on the back, I'm certain that it belongs to George's ACHESON family in Proton Township, Grey County, Ontario. There are other photographs and postcards from the ACHESON family to George in Saskatchewan.

In a booklet entitled "The Acheson Family 1850-1950," there are various references to the first log homes that the ACHESON families build when there arrived from Ireland in 1850.

"In 1863, they [William ACHESON and his wife Christina FALLIS] moved again, this time to what was to be knows to future generations as "the Acheson homestead" - Lot 205, Range 3, Proton Township, in Grey County - then covered by virgin forest."
SOURCE: "THE ACHESON FAMILY 1850-1950" page 11.

"They [Acheson pioneers] knew nothing of luxury in those early days; everything they had was acquired only by had work. Even the logs from which their homes and stables were made had to be labouriously hewn by hand, the simple household furnishings usually being also homemade."
SOURCE: "THE ACHESON FAMILY 1850-1950" page 12.

". . . a log cottage on the groom's fifty acre farm." [1896]
SOURCE: "THE ACHESON FAMILY 1850-1950" page 23.

Treasure Chest Thursday ~ Winter in Saskatchewan ~ Circa 1916 and 1928

         PIONEER LIFE AND WINTER TRANSPORTATION

Joseph Samuel JOHNSON Circa 1928

 Homestead: Section 34,Township 20, Range 11, West 3rd.

 The Village of Milden, Saskatchewan, incorporated 1910.

Uncle Joe with his team of prise winning horses and cutter.

He was and avid horseman and showed his horses at local county fairs and won many ribbons.

Jane "Jenny" Victoria (MORTIMER) JOHNSON - 1916

holding Arlive Mortimer JOHNSON
Handwriting at top is Jenny and Joe's daughter, Hazel Bernice.

In about 1910, my Uncle Joe headed West to join his elder brother, George Albert JOHNSON. Joe and his wife, Jenny, homesteaded on an adjoining Quarter Section. When George and his wife, Emma CLARK, arrived in 1905, the only source of building material was the Prairie sod. George and Emma lived in their sod house from 1905 to 1908, when they were finally able to build a frame house.

The little homesteader's shack became the chicken coop after Joe had proved up his farm and then built the home that the family lived in for the rest of their years.
The two JOHNSON brothers farmed their homesteads for their entire lives.

SOURCE: Photographs provided by Hazel (JOHNSON) DISHAW. Collection of my Mother's photographs. Family story told by my mother Eva (JOHNSON) GATES.

Treasure Chest Thursday ~ The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier ~ Canada and USA

                                    Canada

Ceremonial Tomb Guards, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

National War Memorial, Confederation Square, Ottawa, Canada

SOURCE: Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Tomb_of_the_Unknown_Soldier

United States

Ceremonial Tomb Guards, Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers,

Ceremonial Tomb Guards stand watch all day over and unknown Vietnam soldier.

Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia

Photograph is owned by the Tomb Guard at the back facing the camera. He has released the photograph to the public domain.

SOURCE: Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_of_the_Unknowns#Tomb_Guards

Peace perfect peace.

Treasure Chest Thursday ~ CDV Album ~ Young Man

Photographed by 

D. B. RUGG,

Main Street, Hiawatha, Kas.

Old photos copied and enlarged.

Circa 1890-1900.

 
Here's another CDV photograph from my Grandmother's album.

As far as I can determine my ancestors were farmers. It was common for the photographer to have clothes available for clients to wear. The jacket does look a little big. Perhaps this is the case for this handsome young man or he's in his "Sunday best."

The photo is a thin paper mounted on card stock. Measures 2 1/2" x 4" with the photographer's logo stamped on the backside.

This size became the standard and fit into the slotted pages of the little bible-sized albums.

It seems that part of the reason for this particular design of the album was related to the practice of keeping family births, marriages and deaths in the family bible. These CDV albums became a suitable pictorial companion to the family bible.

The small and simple name stamp of the photographer evolved into elegant and elaborate graphic designs for the logo. These logos became a work of art unto themselves. They were popular from the late 1880's in the  into the early 1900's, up to about 1908. Great advertising for the photographers of the day!

I've searched for D. B. RUGG, photographer, but haven't found anything yet.

A map of Kansas shows the Hiawatha and Beattie, where my father was born, are about 80 to 90 miles apart on Highway #36, which runs East and West, just a little south of the Kansas and Nebraska State line.

Also, Hiawatha is just a little South and West of Sabetha (Highway #75 runs North and South) where my Grandmother's MILLER family lived.

Records for my Grandmother's MILLER family, show that they were living in Sabetha, Kansas from 1887 until her father's death in 1930.

The style of the carte de visite photograph and the information from our family records helps to date this little photo.

2010 - copyright © Carole Gates

Treasure Chest Thursday ~ The Wedding

Sweet antique wedding photograph.

Original tintype 2 1/2" x 4" - circa 1865-1875.

In the original paper frame.

Original tintype 2" x 3 1/4" - circa 1865-1875. 

Without original paper frame.

This is the same tintype from my Grandmother's carte de visite family album.

In order to lighten and brighten it, I removed it from the paper frame that was already torn in the back. In the brighter photograph, it is easier to see the bride's lovely little dark and light pink  bouquet. She also has something that looks like pink lace at her neck. With  magnificaton, I can also see a light blush on her cheeks and ever so little on the groom's.

Of the 19 tintypes in the CDV album, this is the only one which has been highlighted with colour. Unfortunately, there were no names in this little album.

NOTE: In the bottom photo I edited it  using Picnik.com. 

Treasure Chest Thursday ~ Antique Carte de Visite Album ~ 1860 - 1900

This antique carte de visite album was given to my parents by my father's family. It measures 4" wide x 5 1/2" long x 1 1/2" thick. The edges are a shiney gold and it has a metal clasp to secure it. The front of it is slightly stained along the top edge of the front cover and the embossing is slightly damaged. It looks like moisture damage. However, there is no evidence of damage to the inside. The photographs on the inside arein very good condition.

As I mentioned before, there are 19 tintype photographs and 9 carte de visite card-stock photographs. Unfortunately not a single name was included. Possible families are GATES, HULL, ROOT, MILLER OR BEEGHLY.

Yes, this is my Album.

But learn ere you look,

That all are expected

To add to my Book.

You are welcome to quiz it

The Penalty is,

That you add your own Portrait

For others to quiz.

As this poem reveals, family and friends were expected to join in and exchange their carte de visite photographs. This hobby was so popular at the time, it was know as "carte mania."

The first process for photography was invented in Germany in 1839 and is credited to Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre. The process bears his name daguerreotype. This process used glass plates.

About fifteen years later the next advancement  in the process was made in France in 1853. It was patented in the United States in 1856. First called melainotype, and then ferrotype, in the United Kingdom, and finally became commonly known as the tintype.  There were special multi-lens cameras manufactured to product the tintype. Portrait photography became very popular during the Civil War.

Later a process was invented in France for producing the photographs on cardstock. The paper/cardstock photographs evolved into the carte de visite photographs. The backside of the first photographs were blank. However, it didn't take long for the photographers to realize the backside was the perfect place for their logo. The earliest were stamped simply with the name of the portrait photographer. Then the backside became a work of art in itself, with some beautiful designs.

J. M. WINN

Photographer 

Negatives Preserved

No. 28 Union Block

Ottumwa, Iowa

A collection of antique  multi-lens cameras and tintypes can be found at Marcel Safier of Australia Use the links on his site to see all that he has available in his collection. An educational and interesting site. Worth a visit.