Topic: Participate in carnivals. A carnival is a showcase of bloggers' posts on a given topic.
Carnival: 10th Edition of Smile for the Camera
Word Prompt: The word prompt for the 10th Edition of Smile For The Camera is Costume? No, not as in Halloween. Costume as in dress in general; especially the distinctive style of dress of a people, class, or period. Show us that picture that you found with your family collection or purchased that shows the costumes of the rich to the not so rich, from the civil war to the psychedelic sixties. I know you have them, so share. Admission is free with every photograph!
This photograph was one that I found in my paternal grandfather's ancestral home. They had many, many photographs and fortunuately for us, most were labeled! This one was labled on the back with the name, O'Toole. The only problem is that that is not a family name! I will need to research my paternal great grandmother's siblings and see who her sisters married because I have a feeling that it is from one of those families.
I think that this photograph dates from the early 1900's and I have always loved the photo from the first moment I saw it lying in the box! It was taken at a studio in San Antonio,Bexar County, Texas. The boy probably lived in San Antonio or my ancestral hometown, Castroville, Medina County, Texas (about 30 miles West of San Antonio).
The boy looks as if he is going riding! I love his short pants, black stockings, straw hat, riding stick and most of all, the black, button shoes! Adorable! I guess you wouldn't catch many modern day boys in an outfit like that!
Someday I hope to identify him by his first name and family!
Posts
This is a fantastic photograph and just perfect for the 10th Edition of Smile.
ReplyDeleteI can help you with the date. Arthur C. Paris and Isaac N. Rothwell were only at 11 and 13 W. Commerce Street from 1891 - 1892.
-fM
Thanks so much for the information! That dates the photo a bit earlier than I thought. I really should research my lateral lines to see if I can link to last name...all the photos in my magic photo box are related to us somehow...another good lesson on why it is so important to research lateral lines as well as direct descendant!
ReplyDeleteMy eyes went first to the beautiful cording and trim on the jacket and sides of the pants. Absolutely adorable child. I can see why you fell in love with him.
ReplyDeleteHope you soon are able to identify O'Toole.
Judy
Very sweet photo. The detail of his pants is great. Good luck with your research.
ReplyDeleteThe format and style of the cabinet card mount, as well as the pose and studio setting, all fit with the early to mid-1890s date suggested by fM! I guess you are looking for a boy with the surname O'Toole born in the late 1880s, perhaps in or near San Antonio.
ReplyDeleteThe 1900 Federal Census shows - I think - only one O'Toole family living in Bexar County, Texas, which includes the following:
- Patrick T. O'Toole, 39, Saloon Keeper, b. IRE
- Bertha, 28, b. Texas
- Joseph, b. Oct 1889
- John, b. Sep 1891
- Emmett, b. Feb 1898
There are none in Medina County, as far as I can see, although they could easily have moved between the time the portrait was taken and the 1900 Census, of course.
Could this portrait be of Joseph O'Toole, aged 3 or 4 years old at the time of the portrait? Does he look like the son of an Irish pub owner?
Great photo, thank you Andrea.
Regards, Brett