This carte de visite has all the earmarks of a mid-to-late1860s photograph: thin, white card stock, a simple, text-only photographers imprint on the reverse, and square corners. The child's dress dates to that period as well. If we didn't already know that this is a male child, we could guess it was by the fact that an attempt was made to part his curly locks on the side, rather than in the middle.
The reverse of the card tells us that the image was "photographed by Frank Proctor, Hollidaysburg, PA" and the young boy's name is "Harry Kinports, Aged 1 year & 6 months."
Harry was the son of James and Catharine Kinports, who lived in Hollidaysburg, Blair County, Pennsylvania at the time of the 1870 US Federal Census. Six-year-old Harry has two older siblings: Laura, 13 and Mary, 11.
Harry doesn't appear in the 1880 census with his family, or in any of the later censuses. I discovered the likely reason with a Find-A-Grave search. Harry J. Kinports appears to have died just a few months after the 1870 census was taken. Someone has kindly added a death notice from The Register, Hollidaysburg's local newspaper, from the October 26, 1870 edition, "Of diphtheria, on Sunday afternoon October 16, 1870, son of James M. & Kate J. Kinsport, aged 6 years, 3 months and 2 days."
I believe Harry might be the boy featured in last week's post, The Young Man from Hollidaysburg. Both images were found together, and there is some resemblance between the two boys.
If the birth information on the gravestone is correct, then today's feature photograph would have been taken in January or February of 1866.
It is always sad, even when you don't know them, to hear of a young child's death.
ReplyDeleteThe other photo might be Harry (or at least it can't be said it isn't!)