Who's in the Photo: 52 Ancestors

You've been researching your old family photos, right? So play along to identify a photo shared by my distant cousin, Connie. It's got some great clues. There is a man's name on the back and a photographer's mark on the front. The woman's dress is distinctive. Have you already guessed a time frame?

The back of the photo says David Henderson. Is that Senior or Junior? Putting the clues together will solve the puzzle.

The photographer is Williams of Portage, Wisconsin. Doing a Google search for Wisconsin photographers turns up a wonderful index compiled by the Wisconsin Historical Society. The current link is: https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS3528

It's not usually that easy to identify a photographer's mark. We got lucky. The index says that George W. Williams was active in the Portage area between about 1900 and 1906.

The high sleeve of the woman's dress is a style that was popular in the 1890's. The photo was probably taken in about 1900 and certainly no earlier than 1893. With a time frame established, it's time to review the men named David Henderson.

David Henderson, Sr., was born in Fife, Scotland about 1799. He was a linen hand loom weaver in Scotland. He and his family came to Wisconsin in 1850, where he became a farmer. He is listed on the 1880 census of Columbia County, Wisconsin, though his tombstone gives a death date of 1879. Considering the stone was laid at a later date, it's likely he died in 1880 or after. He does not appear on the 1885 state census.

His wife was Ann Taylor, the widow of Peter Mitchell. She was born about 1800 and died about 1886, according to the same tombstone.

Since both David Henderson, Sr., and Ann Taylor Henderson had died before 1890, they cannot be the couple in the photo. Therefore, the photo is of their son and his wife.

Digital scrapbook elements from ClubScrap and DigitalScrapper

David Henderson, Jr., was a boy of 7 when the family came to Wisconsin from Scotland. He was born on January 15, 1843, in Linktown, Fife, Scotland. According to the census taken in June, 1860, he was working as a farm laborer, though he had attended school within the prior year.

Just a few houses away in the 1860 census, the 7-year-old Jane Robbins lived with her parents, John and Elizabeth (Thompson) Robbins. On June 8, 1886, David Henderson, Jr., married Jane "Jennie" Robbins in Columbia County. They had three sons: George, Edwin and William.

David continued farming throughout his life, dying on November 12, 1908. Jennie lived a much longer life, living until October 20, 1947. Jennie and David Henderson, Jr., and Ann and David Henderson, Sr., are all buried in Bach Cemetery in Columbia County, sharing a single large stone with the four names.

* Edited 9/7/18 to correct a typographical error in the census year.