The blog reader who shared the original daguerreotype of my second great-grandmother, Eliza May Wells, recently notified me that he had discovered a daguerreotype of Eliza's mother, in a book he owns, and he found that the original is in the Nelson-Atkins Museum, which has one of the world's most significant collections of photography.
According to the museum, there is a note taped to the back of the daguerreotype case, in pen:
"I
herewith bequeath to the Louisa May
Alcott memorial association at
Orchard
House, Concord, Massachusetts, this
daguerreotype of my
Grandmother,
Elizabeth Sewall Willis Wells (the daugh-
ter of
Elizabeth Sewall May Willis) play
ing chess with her sister-in-law,
Mrs.
Phineas Wells. The left hand figure is my
Grandmother."
Elizabeth Sewall (Willis) Wells (1820-1900) married Thomas Goodwin Wells (1804-1873). His brother, Phineas Parkhurst Wells (1808-1891) was married to Catherine (French) Wells (1810-1873).
I descend from Elizabeth and Thomas as follows:
Eliza May Wells (1839-1880) married Samuel Sewall Greeley
Samuel Sewall Greeley (1824-1916) married Eliza May Wells
Ethel May Greeley (1875-1931) married Lowell Copeland
Lowell Townsend Copeland (1900-1974) married Helen Lysle Hunter
My mother
Me
What a fun photo and it's in a museum! I wish one of my ancestors turned up in a museum picture.
ReplyDeleteLinda, thanks for the comment. And who knows, you may find an ancestral photo in an unexpected location.
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