Friday, January 29, 2010

Photo Number Ninety-Six

This photo is marked William Meurer..or Meurir.  It is from the South Dakota bunch.  Possibly the child in this photo is related to John from yesterday in Photo number Ninety-five.  I know, another boy dressed in a dress..that is just the way it was..his hair is also parted on the side. That is some beautiful wicker chair!  I could not find any info about the photographer H N Kent in Amboy, ILL.  I did  run onto a little story about how Amboy  got it's name.  People were talking and someone asked a young Native American  boy what the area was called and he replied "Am  boy".  
This is a cabinet card..and I would like to date it about 1866, the artists palette was used on cabinet cards during that time, but it doesn't seem that old to me..it seems more like 1896.  This is one of those photos that you  really would like a birth date to nail it down for certain.
Thanks for stopping by, do come again:)

5 comments:

  1. Beautiful child and chair. I don't recall a fabric that "busy" before!

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  2. Look at those light blue eyes. They didn't have flash then did they? He looks nice in his dress and the chair is unusual.

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  3. If it helps at all, Ancestry.com didn't list anyone with the last name Meurir. There are a lot of William Meurer's and also some Maurer's.

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  4. MY father said that all children wore dresses until they were 2 or 3 years old. He was born in 1914.

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  5. Horatio (or Horcas) N. Kent was living in Pawpaw, Il in 1880. Pawpaw is only a couple miles from Amboy. His father's name was also H N Kent. His mother's name was Martha (can you hear the theme from Superman yet?)

    He was born in 1857 and died in 1921. He is listed as a "shoemaker" on his death certificate. I was unable to find any reference to when (and if this H N Kent) was a photographer. If he was - he would have been 20 in 1887 - 30 in 1897...

    There is a census listing for William Meurer
    Residence: East Grove Township, Lee, Illinois (which would be the Amboy/Pawpaw area) born in 1896 to Joseph and Amelia Meurer.

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Hi, Thanks for the comments, your input on these old photos is appreciated! English only please! All comments will be moderated! Connie