Cleaning the Congregational Church

Spring 1911, the Congregationalists took a break from cleaning the church to have their photograph taken.

An alternate version of the photograph also exists:

Interestingly, each photo is not only a different size, but shows at least one edge that the other does not, suggesting that neither photograph is a first generation print.

I haven’t yet been able to examine the physical artifact in the Gertrude Conant Collection, but after consulting with the authors of the 150th Anniversary Handbook, I learned that the photo was scanned from an 11x14 print photograph in the possession of the Lounsbery family and that the photograph was large enough that it could not be scanned whole in a single pass, thus the Handbook photo shows a cropped version of the source photograph. A patient member of the Lounsbery family did provide me with digital photographs of the source photograph that show all edges.

The Lounsbery print still lacks the content on the left edge of the Conant version, cutting Sarah Wall in half, but it otherwise shows more content on every other edge than the Conant version, and reveals that Alonzo Gorsline is holding his hat in his left hand. It also appears to show the top edge of the entryway at the top of the stairs.

Each photo has accompanying identifying information.

Circa 1920

“Cleaning the Congregational Church”

On Ladder: ?, Standing: Jessie Shurter Brewer, (?boy) Laura Baker, ?, Lide Vorhis, Cassie Landon, Anna Mulks, George Peck, Alonzo Gosline, Middle: Mittie Lockwood, Margaret Nuttall, ^Mame Nuttall, Florence Mason, ?, Tillie McWhorter, Fannie Miller, ? boy, Front: ?, ?, Tom Nuttall, Deforest McWhorter

Group Cleaning the Congregational Church

Back row: Paul Landon on ladder, Elihu Personeus, Jessie Shurter, Laura Baker, Mrs. Spaulding, Lida Vorhis, Cassie Landon, Anna Mulks, George Peck, Mr. Gorsline

Next row: Mrs. Lockwood, Mrs. Kiser, Mary Nuttal, Mrs. Mason, Mrs. Dan White, Tillie MWhorter, Fannie Miller, Blind Man No ID

Front row: Sarah Wall, Mr. Robinson, Preacher, Mrs. Dr. Lockwood

The Lounsbery photograph that was scanned for the Church Handbook had the identifications written on the reverse side.

Each set of identities corroborates and expands upon the other, while there are also interesting conflicts. Most obvious is the fact that “Mrs. Dr. Lockwood” is Mittie Lockwood. And of course, even the corroborated identities are not guaranteed to be correct. So, though the probability of Emily Mills being in this photo is very small, it still may be non-zero. There is, however compelling evidence to suggest that Emily is not in the photograph, as Molly Adams’ research notes in a Mills family folder in her collection preserved in the Caroline History Room show that Charles Lounsbery, the Lounsbery ancestor who is purported to have given the identities on the back of the Lounsbery version of the cleaning day photograph, apparently remembered Emily and her store well, and presumably would have been able to identify her if she were present:

5-6 (Mon?)

Chas Lounsbery stopped by good[?] article! Used to go there to buy penny candy. She had show cases that he called “domed” - ie

[pen drawing] profile

She was short & stood behind the counter.

What immediately follows shows my initial attempts to confirm the identities of the people in the photograph.

I have inferred the date of the photograph based on my own verified identification of Reverend Edward Robinson, who is my great granduncle, along with the records of the Congregational Church. Reverend Edward Robinson was the son of my great-great grandfather, Reverend James Richards Robinson, who had been pastor of Brookton Congregational Church just a few years prior. Edward’s photograph is reproduced in at least one newspaper article, and several photographs of Reverend James Richards Robinson’s family in the archives of Jeffrey Smith Jr. of Woodhull NY (my father) clearly include and identify the “Preacher” in the cleaning day photograph.