A Gentleman and a No. 1 Artist: Pioneer Photographers Part 2

Posted on by hchm-curator
Previously published August 29, 2013 at Voices of Harvey County: A Gentleman and a No. 1 Artist: Pioneer Photographers Part 2 (harveycountyvoices.blogspot.com)
by Kristine Schmucker, HCHM Curator

For Part 1 of this two-part series on Newton’s earliest photographers click here.

“A Gentleman and a No. 1 Artist”

The first photographer to advertise in the Newton Kansan was Charles Gillingham.  Gillingham was married in Leavenworth County, Ks on March 8, 1871.  By 1880 Gillingham is in Newton working as a photographer at the corner of Main St and Broadway.  His regular advertisements in the Newton Kansan guarantee satisfaction with the photographs or there will be no charge.  According to one ad, Gillingham had “more than four years of experience taking photographs in Washington City, D.C.”  His specialty was groups and baby pictures.
On August 12, 1880 disaster struck Gillingham.  At around twelve o’clock in the night, a coal oil lamp exploded in the adjacent Golden Gate newspaper office in Newton.  The resulting fire destroyed the building. Sadly, the photograph gallery belonging to C.L. Gillingham,
“which stood at the southwest corner of the Gate office was, with its glassy contents, entirely demolished. . . . The loss to Mr. Gillingham is a rather serious one.  A large number of valuable negatives were entirely demolished which can never be replaced.” (Newton Kansan 12 August 1880, p.2)
Probably a great deal of Newton early history was destroyed that night.

Ready for Business Again

Gillingham did attempt to recover from the fire.  A week later, the Newton Kansan reported that he was erecting a 12 x 26 brick building at the corner of Main and Broadway.  The editor encouraged people to be supportive of “Charley, a gentleman and a No. 1 artist.” By August 26, he was “ready for business again in better shape than ever.”
Newton Kansan, 16 September 1880

After September 1880, the advertisements for Gillingham, “the shadow catcher”, no longer appear in the Kansan. Gillingham does not appear in the 1885 City Directory.  Only two photos in our collection have Gillingham’s mark on the back. Other than the Summer of 1871 photo, these are the earliest photos of Newton in the museum’s collection.

Identified as South Main Street. Looking north from the corner of 1st and Main, Newton Ks, pre-1875

 

North Main, Newton, Ks
Taken from just north of Broadway looking south. Old Masonic Temple along northeast corner of east Broadway & Main. pre-1880.

 

Although there are no definitive answers to ‘who’ took the “Summer of 1871” photo of Newton’s Main St., one possibility is Charles Gillingham, a photographer who was in Kansas in 1871. When he left Newton sometime in the fall of 1880, he may have left fellow photographer, F.D. Tripp, the negative.  Tripp then reprinted the photo, mounted it using his logo and in doing so, preserved this brief glimpse at Newton’s very beginnings.

Research Notes:
F.D. Tripp was quite hard to pin down. If we knew for certain his age in the summer of 1871, a clearer idea of who actually took the photo could be determined. Depending on which document is correct, his birth year is given as:

  • 1856 (1887 Harvey County Tax Rolls & 1947 Obituary); 1857 (1886 Harvey County Tax Rolls); 1858 (1870 Census);1859 (1880 Census); 1866 (1900 Census).

For the purposes of this blog post, a time span of roughly 1856-1858 was assumed for the birth year of F.D. Tripp.

Sources

  • Newton Kansan, 1872-1881.
  • Newton Kansan, 8 January 1880, p. 1
  • Newton Kansan, 12 August 1880, p. 2.
  • Newton Kansan, 19 August 1880, p. 2.
  • Newton Kansan, 26 August 1880, p. 3.
  • Newton Kansan, 16 September 1880, p. 2..
  • Evening Kansan-Republican, September 6, 1947, p.1.
  • Newton City Directories, 1885, 1887, 1902, HCHM Archives.
  • United States Census, 1870, 1880, 1900.
  • Newton Voter Registration Index 1882-1902, HCHM Archives.
  • Harvey County Marriage License Index, 1882, HCHM Archives.
  • Anthony’s Photographic Bulletin, Vol. 27, Google Books, p. 382.

At the Corner of Main and Broadway: Pioneer Photographers, Part 1

Posted on by hchm-curator
First published on August 22, 2013  Voices of Harvey County: At the Corner of Main and Broadway: Pioneer Photographers, Part 1 (harveycountyvoices.blogspot.com)

by Kristine Schmucker, HCHM Curator

“At the Corner of Main and Broadway” is Part 1 of a two part series featuring two early Harvey County photographers.

Pioneer Photographer of Newton

A small notice on the front page of the Evening Kansan-Republican on 6 September 1947 reported the sad news that “another old timer passes.”  Frank D. Tripp, “pioneer photographer of Newton” died at the age of 91 in Pueblo, Colorado.
Tripp has been credited with taking the earliest photo we have of Newton dated the “Summer of 71,” but was he? Tripp certainly was a well-known photographer in Harvey County throughout the 1880s and 1890s.
The 1880 Census lists Frank Tripp, age 21, living in Newton, Ks, working as a photographer.  He was born in New York in 1859.
F.D. Tripp, ca. 1880
He, and another photographer, John Silverthorn, also 21, were business partners in 1880.  The Newton Art Gallery was located in the “Diamond Block, Newton, Kansas.” 
Newton Kansan, 27 Jan. 1881, p.3
Silverthorn was only in Harvey County for a year, before moving on, leaving F.D. Tripp as the sole photographer at the Newton Art Gallery.

Perhaps one of the earliest photos by Tripp.

Unidentified Man
Photo by Tripp

In 1882, Tripp married Laura F. Purcell on December 26 in Harvey County. They established a home in Newton and had three children; Homer, George and Genevieve.
Tripp worked as a photographer in Newton from 1880 through 1900.
Photos by F.D. Tripp
Photo by Tripp
Photo by Tripp
By 1885, Tripp’s business was located at the corner of Main and Broadway in Newton.
Young John C. Nicholson by Tripp.
John C. Nicholson, 1886
HCHM Photo Archives
Newton High School Class of 1896
Newton High School Class of 1896
Photo by Tripp
He often displayed his work in the show windows of Main St. businesses during the Cin Quinto festivities. In 1897 he served as President of the Photographers Association of Kansas.
Sometime between  1900 and 1902, Tripp and his family move to Pueblo, Co, where he continued to work as a photographer at “Tripp and York Photographers”.  Laura, his wife, died  August 5, 1929 and was buried in a family plot at the Roselawn Cemetery, Pueblo, Co..  Eighteen years later, Frank D. Tripp was also buried there.

Who Took the 1871 Photograph of Newton?

While researching F.D. Tripp’s life, a mystery emerged. Who was the actual photographer of the 1871 photograph?  Because of Tripp’s logo on the photo card, he usually get the credit for taking the photo.  Research revealed that in 1871, Tripp would have been twelve years old based on information in his obituary, censuses and other records.  An 1870 Census lists a 12-year-old Frank Tripp in the household of George and Caroline Tripp in New York.  It seems unlikely that a teenage Tripp took the photo in Kansas a year later.

Were there other photographers that could have taken the photo? Part two of Pioneer Photographers will be posted next week.

Sources

  • Newton Kansan, 1872-1881.
    • Newton Kansan, 8 January 1880, p. 1
    • Newton Kansan, 12 August 1880, p. 2.
    • Newton Kansan, 19 August 1880, p. 2.
    • Newton Kansan, 26 August 1880, p. 3.
    • Newton Kansan, 16 September 1880, p. 2..
  • Evening Kansan-Republican, September 6, 1947, p.1.
  • Newton City Directories, 1885, 1887, 1902, HCHM Archives.
  • United States Census, 1870, 1880, 1900.
  • Newton Voter Registration Index 1882-1902, HCHM Archives.
  • Harvey County Marriage License Index, 1882, HCHM Archives.
  • Anthony’s Photographic Bulletin, Vol. 27, Google Books, p. 382.

John S. Faulkner – A Tombstone and a Question

Posted on by hchm-curator

by Kristine Schmucker, Archivist/Curator

Earlier this week, Wendy Nugent, reporter for the Harvey County Now, sent me a message asking if I knew anything about a man named Scott Owens. His tombstone in Greenwood needed repair and she was doing a story on it with Sylvia Kelly. Turns out, there was an interesting story about a Harvey County family.

Photo Courtesy Wendy Nugent, Harvey County Now.

The first thing to clear up was the mystery of his name. In the Greenwood Cemetery register he is listed under the name of Scott Owen Faulkner. Other Faulkners listed include Laura and Charles. How did these people fit together? Or did they?

One document from 1901 lists a Scott Owens, born in Kentucky living in Newton. The document is a muster roll and he is listed as entering the army May 5, 1864 as a private Co. D 15th U.S, Col Inft, and discharged in August under General Order. The year of discharge is difficult to read. It might be 1865?

Muster Roll ending December 1902. Courtesy Sylvia Kelly

To add to the confusion, his daughter lists his name as Scott Faulkner on the order form for the tombstone and lists the discharge date as December 28, 1891.

Tombstone Application for Headstone or Marker. Courtesy Sylvia Kelly.

The obituary for the man that died on June 6, 1935 is identified as John S. Faulkner or John Scott Faulkner, even though the Greenwood Register lists Scott Owen Faulkner. It seems that Scott Owen Faulkner is the same person as John S. Faulkner. When and why did he change his name? Who was Scott Owen Faulkner?

There is no listing or census record for a Scott Owen Faulkner living in Harvey County, Kansas. There is however, plenty of evidence of a John Scott Faulkner living in Newton.

Pioneer Resident

According to the Newton city directories and the census, a man by the name of John Faulkner had been living in Newton for sure since 1885. The obituary for John S. Faulkner noted that he had been a resident of Harvey County for 55 years, so he likely arrived in 1880. It is possible he came, along with his wife and young daughter, with a larger group that included Katie and Wilson Vance, Willis and Emily Brooks, Frank C. Childs, Madison Thomas and Abe Weston.

J.S. Faulkner was born in 1849 in Virginia very close to the Kentucky boarder. He enlisted in the Civil War in May 1864. He married Laura Yancey February 6, 1872 at Trenton, Todd County, Kentucky.

“Kentucky County Marriages, 1797-1954” Family Search.org

The couple came to Newton around 1880 with 4 year old Mary. Their next child, Charles, was born in Kansas in 1881. Johanna was born in 1884.  In the Newton city directories for 1885 and 1887, John is listed living at 129 S 2nd with the occupation of mason.  By 1911, the Faulkner family is living on W 1st and in 1917 the address of 912 W 1st is given.

“Colored Civil War Veteran”

Further clues come from his and Laura’s obituaries.

John’s obituary noted that with his passing “only five comrades who saw service in the war between the states remain in Newton.” He is likely one of the unidentified Black men in this photograph taken in front of the Harvey County Courthouse.

Faulkner was described as “a stout patriot, devoted churchman,” and seems to have led a quiet life. His name does not appear in the Evening Kansan Republican except for Laura’s obituary and his own.

Laura Yancy Faulkner was born in 1856 in Kentucky, probably Todd County. After her marriage she is a quiet presence. For some reason, her name is not listed as a wife of John’s in the city directories until 1917 although the census’ clearly have her living with him. She died at her home at 912 W 1st on June 25, 1930, from pneumonia. She had been ill for some time.

John died five years later also in the month of June on June 6, 1935. He was survived by his three children Mary Faulkner Garth of the home; Josephine Faulkner Baldwin, Chicago; and Charles Faulkner, Newton; seven grandchildren and two great grandchildren. His services were held at the C.M. E. Church in Newton with Rev. C.V. Williams officiating and the Women’s Relief Corp assisting.

Faulkner Children

Son, Charles, worked as a porter and baggaman for the AT&SF. He and his wife, Georgia, also lived at 912 W 1st until the 1930s when they are listed at 119 Elm. Charles died August 13, 1937, at the age of 57.

In 1941, daughter, Josephine* Baldwin ordered a headstone for her father from the government to be delivered to her sister, Mary Faulkner Garth, who was living at 402 Highland, Newton.  Up to that point his grave may have been unmarked and as a veteran he was entitled to a headstone. This is the headstone that Sylvia Kelly hopes to repair.

*All other sources refer to her as Johanna or Joanna.

Additional Note:

During this same time period, there was a white Faulkner family, J.M. and Laura Faulkner.  They lived at 325 W 8th, Newton and had at least two children, Olin and Fern. J.M. Faulkner worked for a time as an assistant Marshall and their names appear frequently in the Evening Kansan Republican. They left Newton at some point  and are not buried in Greenwood Cemetery.

Thank you

to Sylvia Kelly for calling attention to John Scott Faulkner’s tombstone and to Wendy Nugent for being curious. Nugent’s article, “Kelly Wants To Straighten Out History” is in the Harvey County Now August 21, 2023 issue.

Sources

  • Evening Kansan Republican: 7 June 1935
  • Newton City Directories: 1885, 1887, 1902, 1905,1911, 1913, 1917, 1919, 1931, 1934, 1938.
  • Kansas Census: 1895
  • U.S. Census: 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930
  • Greenwood Cemetery Register of Burials, Harvey County Historical Museum & Archives, 203 N. Main, Newton, Ks.