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- The
Shelby Museum Of History
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- Recorders
of Shelby Pictorial History
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- Early
Shelby Photographers and their Photographs
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- Who
was Shelby's first photographer? Possibly that question can never
be answered with certainty. The currently available records include
early area newspapers, the federal census, the 1856 Shelby Directory
and early family records. One of the earliest area newspaper
advertisements that is linked to photography can be found in
the May, 1859 issue of The Shelby Pioneer newspaper.
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- Shelby Museum
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- Note
that the Photograph Gallery is located on the south side of Main
Street in WEST SHELBY. At that time Shelby was divided by the
Black Fork into East and West Shelby and the area South of where
the creek crosses South Gamble at Central Ave. was called "Texas".
So we know approximately where the Madden Gallery was then located.
It appears that she started her ad running in about July of 1858,
not long after arriving in Shelby.
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- 1856 Map
of Shelby
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on image)
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- The
following ads appeared in the October 15, 1862 issue of The Shelby
Express newspaper:
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- Mrs.
Mary Madden (1856 - 1867)
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- Mrs.
Madden has often been given credit for being the first milliner
in the Shelby area. Many followed not long after she began; however
she appears to be the first and the above ad must refer to her
first store. It also expresses a common knowledge of her "picture
business" preceding her millinery shop. The location of
"High" Street is a bit confusing since it doesn't seem
to be consistant over time. Early maps (1856) show Main Street
extending West and East through town. The 1873 Richland County
Atlas shows High Street in Shelby running East from the Broadway
intersection, with Main Street running to the West. In 1896 Main
Street again extended the length of Shelby East to West. It is
likely that the "High" Street name applied from about
the time the Maddens arrived until sometime in the late 1870s.
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- Mrs.
Madden was born Mary Hadley in Trumbell County , Ohio in 1824.
James Madden was born in 1813 in Perry County, Pennsylvania.
He moved with his family from Perry County to Trumbell County
in 1836. In 1841 James and Mary were married in Trumbull County.
In 1850, James was listed a wagon maker in Bracewell, Trumbull
County, Ohio. Mary did not have an occupation listed, but this
was not unusual in the 1850 census. Wives and adult females generally
had no occupation listed unless the wife was widowed and then
occasionally an occupation was given. James and Mary Madden and
their family of four children moved to Shelby, Ohio in 1856,
perhaps just too late to be included in the first known Shelby
Directory.
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1860 census lists James as a millwright and Mary still has no
listed occupation. Daughter Almira is listed as a school teacher.
No records have been found to determine when Mary began her work
as a photographer, but as the 1862 ad above states "Mrs
Madden will continue her picture business as usual". The
ad indicates that she was versed in producing "Ambrotypes
and Dagerreotypes". Since Daguerreotypes (1839 - 1860s)
and Ambrotypes (1854 - 1860s) were established and the Tintype
(1860 - 1900) and paper "Carte-de-Viste" (CDV) (1859
- 1890s) did not become popular until later. Therefore, it would
not be unrealistic to assume that she learned her trade in Trumbell
County before journeying to Shelby.
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have no Daguerreotypes or Ambrotypes that we can attribute to
Mrs Madden at this time so we will limit our discussion to the
later paper photographic processes. Her work appears to be largely
that of CDVs which were extremely popular in the 1860s to the
1880s.
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- February
2011
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- We
are extremely pleased to have just recently received several
family photo albums that contain a collection of early Shelby
photographs. They were assembled and preserved by members of
the David Cummins family. David Cummins, born 1834, died 1899,
was a son of William (born 1809) & Jane Ann Addison Cahill
(born 1806) Cummins, and a grandson of David (born 1782) &
Mary Trimble (born 1784) Cummins who were living in what is now
Auburn Twp., Crawford County, Ohio before 1822.
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- David
Cummins married Angeline P. Taylor, a daughter of Henry and Evaline
W. Ayres Taylor, in 1858 and from that time started assembling
photographs of the Shelby area. The Henry Taylor family lived
in the Jackson Twp., Richland County area prior to 1820 when
Henry and Evaline were married.
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- David
Cummins was a merchant in Shelby during the period of the late
1850s lasting until near his death in 1899. He and Angeline were
friends with many Shelby merchants and others who were a part
of the Shelby community during that period and they collected
photos of these friends. Combined with their Cummins and Taylor
family photos, the resulting collection is a treasure of Shelby
history!
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- We
are very grateful to Mrs. Mary Lou Wrobel for the donation of
these albums to the Shelby Museum.
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- Picture
courtesy of Mrs. Mary Lou Wrobel
- Mary
Hadley Madden
photo c. 1867 - 68
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- One
of the hundreds of Shelby photos contained in the Cummins' albums
is the above photograph of Mary Madden. As her many advertisements
reveal, Mary Madden was a milliner as well as a photographer
and would quite likely stay current on clothing styles. The above
CDV construction, the dress and hairstyle would date the photo
to be just post Civil War. The back drop and chair have not yet
been linked to other photos and can not be used as a means to
date the photo. Notice there is no double line border as seen
in many of the early Mary Madden photos shown below. There is
no photographer's identification on this picture. The photo may
have been taken after she had finished her photography career
and was becoming more involved in the millinery business with
her daughter and son - in - law.
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- Picture
courtesy of the Shelby Museum
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- The
above photo was likely taken in the early 1860s, at about the
time of the Shelby Express newspaper advertisement (c.1862).
The CDV format was approximately 2.5 by 4.2 inches. These cards
were cut 8 from a single sheet. Early cards were cut with the
corners roughly square with the image attached to the surface
of the card. The earlier cards (early 1860s) had a thinner card
backing material and often had a border of one or two lines (see
above and below). The imprint: "Mrs.M. Madden Shelby, Ohio"
on the reverse is unadorned and brief. Photo subject unknown.
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- Two
more treasures from the Cummins collection:
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- Pictures
courtesy of Mrs. Mary Lou Wrobel
- Thomas
Mickey
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- Rebecca
Cummins Mickey
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- Thomas
Mickey, born 1820, died in 1878, was a Shelby merchant during
the same period as David Cummins. In 1842, Thomas Mickey married
Rebecca Cummins, who was probably the only daughter of David
Cummins (born 1782) and his second wife, Rebecca Hoblitzell Cummins.
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two photos are of the same period as the previous one (above).
Note the reverse imprint (below) is identical to the previous
photo.
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- Pictures
courtesy of Mrs. Mary Lou Wrobel
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- Picture
courtesy of the Shelby Museum
- Rev.
R. R. Moore
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- Rev.
Robert Moore was pastor for the Shelby Presbyterian Church during
the period from the Summer of 1858 until late in the year of
1864 when he moved to Tiffin, Ohio. The thickness of this card,
the border, and the labeling on the back would indicate that
it was made after the first picture (shown above) and prior to
the following Elizabeth Bricker picture. It would seem that the
picture must have been taken late in Rev. Moore's Shelby ministry,
possibly 1864.
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- Picture
courtesy of the Shelby Museum
- Elizabeth
Bricker
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above photo was likely taken in the mid 1860s. Elizabeth Libbie
Bricker was probably the daughter of William Reilly and Esther
Taylor Bricker. William was a prominent Shelby physician in the
period of the 1850s through the 1880s; Elizabeth was born in
Shelby in 1850 and appears to be in her late teens in this photo.
Note the card corners are cut a bit rounded and Mrs Madden's
imprint has become more ornate.
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- Pictures
courtesy of Mrs. Mary Lou Wrobel
- Elizabeth
Bricker
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above photo of Libbie Bricker is the same as the previous, however
this is from the Cummins collection and has a stamp on the reverse.
The stamp was used during the latter part of the Civil War (August
1, 1864 - August 1, 1866). It is strange that the picture from
the Museum collection lacks the stamp, however the imprint on
the back of the Museum picture is one probably used at a later
time than the simple unadorned "Mrs. M. Madden imprinted
on the Cummins collection photo. Perhaps the Cummins picture
was produced first and the Museum photo was a copy made later
during the period that the stamp was required.
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- Picture
courtesy of the Shelby Museum
- Thomas
Jefferson Mickey
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- Thomas
Jefferson Mickey was born in 1848 in Shelby, Ohio, the son of
Thomas and Rebecca Cummings Mickey. Two other sons died at a
young age. Jeff's sister, Sarah "Sallie" married the
dashing Civil War Officer, Franklin Asbury DuBois after the war
in 1867 and eventually went off to live in Kansas and finally
died in New Mexico. This photo has the same back imprint as the
one above, has the same border and trimed corners and probably
also dates from the mid to late 1860s.
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- Pictures
courtesy of Mrs. Mary Lou Wrobel
- Thomas
Jefferson Mickey
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- This
photo of Jeff Mickey is from the Cummins albums and shows a slightly
different pose than the previous Museum photo. It is the same
setting but both feet are on the floor and his head and body
are tipped forward a bit more. The major difference is in the
reverse imprint. This is the only Mary Madden photo we have that
has this imprint and therefore it is difficult to speculate why
different imprints would be used for pictures taken at identical
times, unless the photos were actually "produced" at
differing times. Perhaps the photos were taken and one set of
prints was made and at a later date another pose from this same
sitting was ordered and when completed, imprinted with a stamp
that was used at that time. The difference in dates could be
as little as months.
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- Picture
courtesy of Robert Sponseller
- M.
A. Garrett c. 1867
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- This
may have been one of Mary Madden's final series of photos. Notice
that the stamp on the reverse is now done with colored ink and
that it is different from the one used on the previous two photos.
The subject is probably Myers Garrett, a son of Andrew and Margaret
Myers Garrett. Myers Garrett was born in 1849 in Lebanon County,
Pa. and came to Shelby with his parents c. 1865. This photo appears
to have been taken c. 1867 . In 1875 Myers married Eleanor Marshall
at her home in Buffalo, New York.
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August J. Longe section for an additional photo of Myers portrayed
as a Native American)
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Helen
V. Stimmel |
November,
1866 |
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Almanza
Rogers Sipe |
November,
1866 |
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courtesy of private collector
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- These
Madden photos were just recently discovered (February, 2008)
and are nearly the same vintage as the previous photograph of
Myers Garrett(above). There is a slight difference in the printing
on the reverse, however the materials and construction are as
in the Garrett photo. These two photos were taken when the subjects
were about 21 years old. Almanza Sipe and Helen Stimmel would
be married in May, 1869. Almanza was a son of Daniel and Florilla
Rogers Sipe who came to Shelby from Pennsylvania. Almanza must
have been named for his Grandfather Almanzo Rogers. Helen's parents
were Henry and Margaret Snider Stimmel. Almanza and Helen lived
in Mt. Vernon, Ohio where "A. R." was a tailor. Helen
died in 1900 and Almanza in 1923. They had no children.
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two pictures further verify the style of reverse printing that
Mary Madden used for her final series of photographs.
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- Shelby
Chronicle Advertisement
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would seem to indicate the end of Mary Madden's photographic
enterprise. The above ad ran in the Shelby Chronicle newspaper
starting May 23, 1867 for a period of six months.
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1862 the Maddens lost their daughter Almira and five years later,
daughter Florence married Milton Newton Mickey, a son of Robert
and Louisiana Mickey. In the 1870 census, Newton Mickey, tailor,
and his wife are livng at the James Madden residence.
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- Pictures
courtesy of Mrs. Mary Lou Wrobel
- Florence
Madden Mickey c. 1867
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Cummins albums contain this picture of James and Mary's daughter
Florence, possibly taken near the time of her wedding. After
Florence married Newton Mickey in September of 1867, Mary Madden
and her daughter and son-in-law went into business together and
they continued with their enterprise until only months before
Mary's passing in 1888.
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- Shelby Times
December, 1880
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the early 1870s, most of the Mary Madden ads placed in the local
paper were specifically aimed at her millinery shop. By the early
1880s competition in Shelby had grown and there were several
shops vying for the millinery and dress making business. (Note
that Mrs. M. Madden & Co. was sole agent for the sale of
Butterick and Co. patterns in Shelby.) James was still working
as a millwright in 1880 even as he passed his 67th birthday.
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Hadley Madden passed away late in 1888. Mary Madden's obit states
that she and family moved to Shelby in 1856 and she had been
actively engaged in her businesses for the entire period of 31
or 32 years, until her failing health forced her to relinquish
it. That statement is born out in the ads that appeared in the
Shelby Times as late as July 21, 1888 (The Mickey in the ad refers
to Mary's daughter Florence Mickey whose husband Newton passed
away in 1877.) :
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- Shelby Times
July 21, 1888
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- Mary
Hadley Madden passed away in November of 1888.
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month later her husband James died. His obit states that he served
over 3 years in the service of his country as a member of Co.
H, 64th Regiment OVI. He began his service on Oct. 26, 1861,
was appointed Corporal in December, 1861 and served until December
10, 1864 in Nashville, Tenn.
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- Mary
and James Madden are buried at the Oakland Cemetery in Shelby.
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- It
must be assumed that there were pictures taken of both James
and Mary Madden, however the Museum has no "known"
copies of them. It is also assumed that Mary took many Shelby
area Ambrotypes and Daguerreotypes, as well as the later, larger
format Cabinet pictures, but there are none that have been identified
at the Museum. We are constantly searching for items of this
type, and will update this article as soon as examples are located.
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pictures from the albums of Mrs.
Mary Lou Wrobel prove some of the above assumptions true. Through
these pictures, we now have several copies of Mary Hadley Madden's
photo. Comparisons with Mrs. Wrobel's photos have helped in identifying
photos that have been in the Museum's possession, but with no
names associated with them. Mary must have taken photos of her
husband James. He is probably one of the many that remain unidentified.
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