Friday, October 1, 2010

The Oldest Photo in my Collection (I Think!)

This photo, dated 1867 on the back, is a family home in Sabbatus, a tiny town in southern Maine, not too far from Lewiston. My mother's grandfather on her father's side, came down to Connecticut from Maine in the 1850s to work in the granite quarry. He ended up marrying the quarry owner's daughter around 1865 and they were given a 1766 saltbox home and hundreds of acres of land as a wedding present. That saltbox home, eventually my grandmother's, is the house I've spoken about here before, and posted photos of. This well-kept house, with fantastic detailing around the porch, is, I believe, his family's home.

Many old homesteads in Maine, and upper New England, have the barns and outbuildings all built together with long covered hallways, so that in the dead of winter, they could easily tend to the animals etc, without having to deal with the 4-8 feet of snow they usually received. The spacing of the people is very interesting to me, they're not all grouped together like one would think for a family photo. In fact, it doesn't really seem to be a photo of the family at all, but rather a photo of the home itself. Perhaps it was a memento for my great-grandfather to remember where he came from.

A close-up detail shot from the photo above. You can see a little girl (presumably) holding a doll, the woman of the house wearing a striped shawl and a couple of {what I think) are young boys. I wonder if the one on the far left was perhaps a neighbor believing he wasn't in the photo, or perhaps he was just staring at the photographer. I can't imagine photography was very common at this very early date. I wonder if the lensman had to stand under a black cloth like you see in old movies? Click on both photos to see in much greater detail.

7 comments:

  1. Hi Casey, very interesting. Is there a person standing at the middle window on the left? Great photo you can concoct all kinds of stories about this one. In a way they almost look posed with a "look at the birdie" command. Beautiful home by the way.

    Hope your day is going well. Just so beautiful here today. The city is having a Strassenfest this weekend. My granddaughter and her baby are coming over in a bit so we will stroll over, it's literally across the street, and enjoy a beer and om-pa pah music. Grab your lederhosen and join us, Casey.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That just might be a person in that window! I like the circular details on the front on the second floor. I wonder if they were small windows or just a wooden detail? I have a few other photos of the Sanborn's homes in Maine, I'd love to take a drive up there some day and see if I could locate them today. Apparently there are only 4500 people in Sabbatus today, so it's not exactly the type of place that might have torn down everything to build new apartments or malls.

    I have some very cool photos of German OomPah bands from my parents time in Germany, my parents drinking from huge steins during Oktoberfest. I have a box of ceramic steins in the attic too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am constantly in awe at the depth and breadth of your archival family history. I wish I had records of our family history looking back 100 years - and your routinely flrting with 150!
    What a beautiful home.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Well, I was busy that day at the tavern down the street, or I would have taken this photo myself, hahahahaha.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I LOVE IT, I LOVE IT, I LOVE IT.

    I WOULD LOVE TO LIVE IN A HOUSE LIKE THAT AS LONG AS THERE'S NO SPRITS FLOATING AROUND. SUCH A NEAT HOME. PLUS BEAUTIFUL.

    GRANNY

    ReplyDelete
  6. As always I am amazed at the affluence...or maybe it is just a different lifestyle .during that time there were still sod houses in the midwest..what a home and so so awesome that you have a photo of it...if you know the address you should google it to see if it is still around or if there is a picture of it online...would love to see what it looks like today...just amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Mare: I'd bet it had a lot to do with location. New England had been settled for more than 200 years by the time this photo was taken, and the midwest was barely out of the Wild West days. My home town, Guilford, was settled in 1639, and there are earlier towns in New England.

    ReplyDelete