Treasure Chest Thursday: Two Beautiful Girls Photograph in New York abt 1885

Recently, I was intrigued by the photo album shown here.  What is its origin?  How old is it?  To whom did it first belong?

Inside the photo album were two pictures.  The first I could identify as my husband who was at the Seattle World Fair wearing a mis-buttoned sweater and a cowboy hat.

The treasure was a photograph of two beautiful girls.  Who are they?  I took a digital photo and have now made an educated guess on the possible identity of the girls.

How did I do this?  I first investigated the name and location of the photographer, F T Talbert.  Mr. Talbert, b. 1841 was a photographer in W Winfield, Herkimer Co, NY, around the turn of the century (20th, that is.)  Herkimer County is near Albany NY.  Guess what!  My husband's family were residents of the general area at that time, although they were residents of Sharon Springs in Schoharie Co.

Who were the young girls in the family at that time?  There were five of them with the birth years ranging from 1868 to 1873.

What ages are the girls in the picture?  Can their clothing assist us?  Can someone who knows old photos and clothing help me in this quest?

What a great find this was in my never ending journey of feeding my genealogy addiction!


©2010 AS Eldredge