Welcome!

I reunite identified family photos that I find in antique shops and second hand stores with genealogists and family historians. If you see one of your ancestors here and would like to obtain the original, feel free to contact me at familyphotoreunion [ at ] yahoo [ dot ] com. I also accept donations of pre-1927 images to be reunited. I hope you enjoy your visit!
~The Archivist


Wednesday, February 1, 2012

What A Shame Wednesday: The Young Man from Davenport, IA and the Huebinger Brothers


I guess we should be grateful that there's a photographer's imprint on this card, because there isn't a speck of information anywhere else on this cabinet card.  So identifying this young man is highly unlikely.

Let's look instead at the photographer.  Huebinger Bros seems to have been in operation from around 1884 to 1893 in Davenport.  In 1886 they posted a want ad for a retoucher in Anthony's Photographic Bulletin.


The Huebinger Bros. were Melchoir and Adam Huebinger.  Melchoir was a map-maker and surveyer and Adam, a photographer.  Melchoir was responsible for producing a number of atlases covering the midwest US including the Huebinger’s Automobile and Good Road Atlas of Iowa.  The brothers produced First album of the city of Davenport, Iowa (1887) which is available on Internet Archive in its entirety.

Adam Huebinger, his wife Sophia and children moved to Peoria, IL where he operated a photographic studio at 600 Main.   Melchoir appears to have divided his time between Peoria and Des Moines for a while and then moved to Peoria as well.   I found a write up in the Oelwein Daily Register (Fayette Co., IA)  about Melchoir's death in 1923, which claims that the map-maker died of an infection from ill-fitting shoes.


According to the Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947 database Melchoir was born in Limburg, Germany to Henry and Katherine Huebinger on New Year's Day, 1854.  He died in Peoria, May 8, 1923.  He was survived by his wife Anna & children.

Adam Huebinger, died that same year on the 1st of December.  According the Illinois Death Index, Adam was born Christmas Day, 1843.  Both men were buried in Springdale Cemetery in Peoria.


1 comment:

  1. Thank you for posting this information about Huebinger brothers! I have an old family photo printed by Huebinger Bros. and this information is very helpful.

    I found Melchior Huebinger in census records. In 1900 he was living in Davenport with his wife Anna and children Henning and Ann. Melchior and Henning were listed as civil engineers. The family immigrated in 1881. In 1910 they were living in Des Moines, Iowa.

    ReplyDelete