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Emmons Family Photos Page 1 of 13

In June of 2013 I received a package that contained many tintype photos and many framed photos. Here is a copy of the cover letter.

A few years ago a dear friend with roots in Guthrie County died. She named me as administrator of her estate. She was an elderly unmarried lady and an had been only child. Her father, too, was an only child and had been born in Guthrie County. His name was Forrest Emmons and he was born in Menlo in 1900. He died in 1965 and is buried at Highland Memory Gardens in Des Moines, IA. His parents are buried in Guthrie Center. His father was Stillman Emmons and his mother’s maiden name was Venora Gander. The name Williams was also in their family tree. Among my friends papers and personal belongings were many old studio photographs, including tintype photos, some dating to before the Civil War. Unfortunately, none of the individuals in these photographs are named, however, the names of photographic studios appear on many. Most are from the Swartz studio in Stuart but there are also photos from the Corwin studio in Guthrie Center and the Carpenter studio in Panora. All of them appear to have been taken before 1900. A few may be from outside Guthrie County – I saw one from a Council Bluffs studio and one from Chicago. I am a longtime genealogist and lover of history, especially local history. I simply cannot throw away or destroy old photographs. My friend was unaware of any living relatives of her father but there may well be descendants of people in these photographs yet living in Guthrie County. It’s entirely possible that some Guthrie County residents may recognize ancestors or relatives in the photos. If Guthrie County would like to have them, I will make arrangement to see that you get them.

Sincerely, Charles M. Wright 405 SE Delaware Avenue Unit #205 Ankeny, Iowa 50021 515-964-9591

I accepted the photos and here are the photos

Charles sent me this information about stamps on the back of photos. See set #1 P5 and Set #4 P8. It is helpful to date old photographs bearing revenue stamps to know that these stamps appear only on photos taken between 1864 and 1866. In order to pay the rising costs of the Civil War, the federal government passed an act on June 30, 1864 requiring revenue stamps be purchased for several items. This included a 2 cent revenue stamps (either blue or orange) assessed for photos costing 25 cents or less. This was an extremely unpopular act. It was repealed Aug. 1, 1866. In dating old photographs, it is helpful to know that a photo with a blue or orange two cent stamp on the back was taken between June 30, 1864 and August 1, 1866.

The Photos on this page appear to be the oldest. Three are ambrotype, the rest are tintype All of them are masked and are encased in a small wooden box.

Emmons Family Photos Page:

Grouped by common Family Members

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All of the photos on this page are masked and encased in small wooden boxes as shown above	This photo is ambrotype and is 2.625 X 3.25
3	4

ambrotype 2 X 2.5 identical mask and box to #4	ambrotype 2 X 2.5 identical mask and box to #3
5	6

tintype 2 X 2.5 identical mask to # 6 identical box to #'s 3 and 4 above	tintype 2 X 2.5 identical mask to # 5 identical box to #'s 3 and 4 above

Found under #5 Bill Williams Dale City	Stamp found on the back of # 5
7	8

tintype 2 X 2.5 identical box and mask to # 8	tintype 2 X 2.5 identical box and mask to # 7
9	10


Tintype 2 X 2.5 mask not identical to any other masks Wooden box not identical to any other wooden box under this picture there was this notation James F. Emmons Mary Kirk	Tintype 2 X 2.5 mask not identical to any other masks Wooden box not identical to any other wooden box