Old Photos

Sepia Saturday
this week invites us to submit old photos of trials, lawyers, and/or writing on photos.

I don't have the first 2, but have the last in abundance.  And sometimes the writing was applied many years later than the event, so is sometimes wrong at to people's names, misleading, or dated incorrectly.  I'm glad when there's a question admitted.  Unfortunately sometimes the answers are still wrong.  But it does show the appreciation of having some names given to old pictures, which came about at the times they were passed from one hand to another, most often.

And that hand off is strangely never documented.

A batch of letters/ perhaps a box.  Another box of photos.  And later an album of photos. They would have been given to interested relatives usually at the death of the collector.  The interested relative might have been the one most friendly to the elder who died, or perhaps just the first one on the scene who wanted those documents.  Maybe several others were also interested, so it would be part of that conversation..of whom is this a photo?  Some of the owners would have no more interest than to be possessors of something that someone else might want.  Seldom were these memorabilia mentioned in a will.

Thus through the generations would old items be passed, until sometime they would go to an auction, a library, or a trash bin, or perhaps be scanned for adding to listings on the ancestry site.

My great great Uncle Chauncey Sweet's friend and benefactor, Henry Rosenberg of Galveston, was the subject of my blog a while ago.  Both of them are characters of high regard.  Look here if you have a chance.

This photo has a dedication from Mr. Rosenberg to Chauncey G. Sweet.

His wife, Mollie, also dedicated a photo to Chauncey, a bit more intimate I'd say...

Here's one where the surviving owner of the photo changed her mind about who this lovely lady might be.  She is Ada Pulsifer Phillips Sweet, Chauncey Sweet's wife.  She was called Auntie, and was also Chauncey's first cousin with whom he was raised after she had been orphaned following the Civil War.  She was the younger sister of my grandmother's mother, Zulieka Granger Phillips Swasey.

 A photo of (Mrs. Alexander John) Zulieka Swasey.  It's easy to see how my grandmother got confused in the photo of Ada Sweet in comparing it to this one of Ada's sister, Zulieka.

A 1917 postcard of Zulieka Phillips Swasey with her granddaughter Ada Mary Rogers (1917-1919)  As shown, she was known as Dear Nan by her daughter's (my grandmother's) family.

My grandmother's father, Alexander John Swasey.

I remember when I first got married in 1963 having long talks with my elder relatives about our family history, and my grandmother never mentioned these photos.  Did one of my older cousins, or one of my uncles (brothers of my father) have them? It is possible they were in the collection of her sister, Stella Zulieka Swasey Winslow, who died in 1960, (the same year as my grandfather, George Rogers). There are many possibilities. And at some time someone added these photos to our Ancestry DOT com pages, which is the first place I ever saw them.

I am so blessed to live in an age when digital means are available to share these old photos.

Henry Rosenberg (or Chauncey Sweet Chapter 4)

Galveston days
Let's look at Chauncey G. Sweet's friend, Henry Rosenberg, who apparently left quite an imprint on Galveston, TX.

Taken the year of his death at 69

I'm posting this blog as a link to/from Sepia Saturday this week, though the topic ranges a bit far from the theme of city streets.  But as you read about Mr. Rosenberg, perhaps you'll see his great influence on the city might be similar to traffic flowing along the streets of Glasgow, or maybe not.

 The following is a column that was added to my Uncle Chauncey Sweet's page on Ancestry.com, letting us know about Henry Rosenberg, his friend and benefactor.

Henry Rosenberg - Galveston's Benefactor

By Michael Culpepper on September 5, 2010

This is the sixth edition of IBC's (Islander by Choice) monthly column for Galveston Monthly.  You can pick up a free Galveston Monthly at many local locations across the Island.

 My favorite Islander By Choice is Henry Rosenberg. Most Galvestonians probably associate his name with our public library or perhaps the elementary school located in the East End or maybe even 25th Street. What many people may not know is that he is responsible not only for many Galveston landmarks but also for many of the philanthropic ventures that kept Galveston livable in the early 20th century. He contributed in ways that he believed would make a unique and lasting impact.

Rosenberg was born in Bilten, Switzerland in 1824. He moved to Galveston in 1843 and worked in dry goods before eventually buying the business with his savings. By 1859, he owned the leading dry goods store in Texas.

 In the coming years, his titles would include: Swiss Counsel of Texas, Director of the First National Bank of Galveston, President and primary investor of the Galveston Railroad Company, and City Alderman to name a few.

 It was not until after Mr. Rosenberg's death in 1893 that Galvestonians realized how much space this fair city took up in his heart. He left large sums to build and support the Galveston Orphan's Home, The Rosenberg fountains, Rosenberg Free School, Eaton Chapel, Grace Episcopal Church, Galveston's first YMCA Building, the Texas Heroes Monument, and of course Rosenberg Library.  The Galveston Orphan's Home was built in 1895 on the west side of 21st street between M and M and M 1/2.

That same year, the Letitia Rosenberg Women's Home, named after his deceased first wife, was erected at 25th and O 1/2. The architecture and fabric of our island still benefit today from these contributions, but more importantly young lives were changed for the better within those walls.

The section of Henry Rosenberg's will that gets my "cool factor" award has to be the drinking fountains "for man and beast". He left $30,000 for fountains to be built throughout the city. That he wanted them in all communities and included the animals' needs says a lot about this man. 17 granite fountains were erected - most with lower basins for animals of all kinds to enjoy. About half of these fountains are still around today and can be viewed at various spots around the island. Each one is inscribed "Gift of Henry Rosenberg".

The Rosenberg Free School and the YMCA building were two very thoughtful gifts that we no longer get to enjoy (except through photos). The Free School was replaced in the mid 1900's by a more modern structure. The Galveston YMCA building was torn down in 1954.

The Texas Heroes Monument at the intersection of Broadway and Rosenberg Street, is one of the most viewed and admired landmarks in our city and is the reason that 25th was named after Rosenberg. 

Many may not realize that this monument tells the true story of the Texas Revolution. Most know that Lady Victory's extended arm points to the battle grounds at San Jacinto where independance was won for the Texans. However, there are also four very vivid bronze panels at the monument's base that show not only the victory of San Jacinto, but also the Goliad Massacre, the Battle of the Alamo, and General Houston Charging against the large numbers of the Mexican army at the final battle.

 

 In Rosenberg's eyes, his most important gift was the Library that now bears his name. It was the first free library in the state of Texas. In his will, he wrote about the gift of the library: "I desire to express a practical form of my affection for the city of my adoption and for the people among whom I have lived for so many years. Trusting ... that it will be a source of pleasure and profit to them and their children and their children's children for many generations."

 Henry Rosenberg's built his home (which still stands) in an older neighborhood on Market Street. It was an unusual move when people of his means were normally building mansions on Broadway. He preferred to live among society rather than above it. Rosenberg was a rich man in many ways, not the least of which was his richness of generosity toward people without means. It is something that, although has recently come into vogue, wasn't very prominent in Henry Rosenberg's time. His qualities should be an inspiration to any Islander.



Mrs. Rosenberg obviously had quite a sense of humor.  Why else would she have listed her exact age, and then her weight!  I don't know how many years she had been married to Henry, who was 17 years her senior.  I think I would have liked to meet this lady.

For lots more information about my great great great (not sure how many) Uncle Chauncey G. Sweet...look HERE.

Chauncey G. Sweet, Chapter 3

His mother, Mrs.Elizabeth Sweet was known as "Grand Aunt" in the family.

1201 Avenue I, Galveston Texas, "Aunties home that she lived as (unclear?) momma"

Chauncey's wife, who I wrote about in a blog back last September, was Ada Pulsifer Phillips Sweet.

Auntie, Mrs. C. G. Sweet

"Ada Phillips grew up in the same household as her cousin and eventual husband...since she was a war orphan and lived with Aunts. She was 35 before she married. She and Chauncey Sweet had no children of their own, but in several census reports from Galveston, there are nieces and nephews listed in their household.

"She lived a long life, dying at 71 in 1932.  Her husband, who was five years younger than she was, remarried..."
in 1936 in San Francisco. 


Uncle Chauncey and Genevieve Fraizer after their wedding in San F. Calif.

Uncle Chauncey, taken in Calif. 1937 (though the written inscription says 1936, the photo stamp says 1937)

My grandmother's great-Uncle Chauncey Sweet died in California on Feb 11, 1947 when he was 82.  He was buried there.

Perhaps taken by Chauncey G. Sweet in San Francisco

Chauncey Granger Sweet, Chapter 2

As of the 1900 Galveston, TX census, the widow Elizabeth Sweet (age 69, C.G.'s mother) was living at 1709 Winnie St., with her son Chauncey Sweet, (age 37) his wife Ada Phillips Sweet, (age 34), nephew Lucian Chamberlain, (3) nieces Ada Swasey (14) and Stella Swasey (12).   It is interesting that the ages of Chauncey and Ada Sweet seem to be reversed on this census, as she was actually older than he was.  She was born in 1860, and he in 1865.  Ada Swasey would grow up and eventually became my grandmother. 

An Aside: Where did Lucian Chamberlain connect to this family, you might wonder.  
His mother was Lucy Azalea Sweet Chamberlain,  C.G.'s sister.  She was alive at this time, and married to Dr. Austin B. Chamberlain, who was quite active politically...which may be the reason why their son lived with his Uncle Chauncey and grandmother "Grand Aunt".



Chauncey is listed in the 1908 Galveston City Directory as a Teller at the Rosenberg Bank, located at 2209 Market) and living at  1201 Avenue I, with his mother, Elizabeth Sweet, who is listed as Sidney's widow.

Chauncey G. Sweet

Chauncey G. Sweet was possibly the first Christian Scientist in my family.  He is listed in the Christian Science Journal, Vol 22, as Galveston's Christian Science Church's First Reader (1904).  He contributed to the Christian Science Sentinel in 1899 in "Lectures."  Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the religion, lived until 1910.  

He continued to rise in the bank, where he gained the position of executive officer and trust officer...at least that is the description given in a newspaper clipping which isn't dated.  That clipping (the one on the right of the various family clippings below) is talking about a merger and another person (Sealy Hutchings) becoming President of the Bank.  It is possible that C.G. Sweet had already had had that position (which is the traditional family story about him).






More about Chauncey Sweet in Chapter 3, soon.

Old letters transcribed

Some historic letters that refer to
1. my great grandmother Zulieka Phillips Swasey
2. my grandmother's Uncle Chauncey Granger Sweet (see post about him yesterday HERE)
3. Uncle Chauncey Sweet's cousin Ada Phillips
4. their childhood during and after the Civil War in Texas.
And yes
5. mention of a piano owned by Zulieka and Ada Phillip's mother, Mary Granger Phillips.  So I am posting this under the theme (meme?) mentioned on Sepia Saturday this week, come over and see many more interesting stories HERE.

The following copies are transcribed below the photos.

Transcription of above copies of letter:

                Sabine Pass June 29, 1872

Dear Issy

        I am having a nice time all your cousins Aunt and Uncle are well.  Issy I will tell you something but you must not tell anyone that is if you have not walked a lone yet I want you to hurry up and walk.

        Minnie has got a Mockingbird & I expect you had it your would be playing with in and when there was no one looking you would eat the things out of its cage.

        You ough (sic) to see us play croquet we have a splendid time & have a little kitten to play with us & her name is Dolly

(page 2 of 2)

Vardin.

        Sister has learned Chauncey his keys on the piano. He also sends you a sweet kiss.

        Lucy says that she wants you to come over that she wants to see you.  I am sorry you have got the hoopin (sic) cough.

        We send love to all

                From  Ada

        (added in pencil) “now Mrs. C. G. Sweet”

Note: The author, Ada Pulsipher Phillips was born 9.15.1860, so she wrote this as an eleven year old. Her sister, Zulieka Granger Phillips, was born July 30, 1858, who is noted in this letter to have taught the piano to their cousin Chauncey G. Sweet b. 2.6.1865, whose sister Lucy A. Sweet was b. 1868.  And Ada, the young author, married Chauncey Sweet many years later.

I'm not sure yet who Issy might have been.  She didn't seem to live in the same home, but perhaps was in the same town, or maybe another one, but under whooping cough quaranteen.  

Ada and Zulieka Phillips mother was Mary Granger Phillips.  Her sister was Elizabeth Granger, Lizzie, in her frequent correspondence.    One such letter talked (pre Civil War) of receiving her piano in their home somewhere near Beaumont, Texas on Town Bluff.

 transcribed it reads:

Town Bluff June 10^th, 1860

Dear Lizzie:

        It is some time since your last letter but I waited to write about the Piano knowing you would be deeply interested to hear about it.  It was obliged to stay at Weisse’s Store a few weeks as the river was so low the Boats could not come up this far and William was so busy with all the mules he could not spare them to go for it.  William fixed up last Tuesday a team and himself and a black boy started to bring. It arrived Wed. night and all hands White and Black sat up till midnight so great was the excitement.  It is a splendid Piano and no mistake most-beautiful tone & action. 

(envelope depicted here, addressed to other sister, Lucy, but letter is to Elizabeth ie. Lizzie)

(Upper left corner:) Town Bluf, TX M (…? obscured by stamp of Three Cents)

(Middle of envelope:) Mrs. Lucy E. Granger.

                                Galveston,

                                        Texas.

(letter continued page 2)

It is one of Gales made  Rose Wood with a beautiful inlade (sic) front carved music rack Iron (?) frame and carving all around the moulding (sic) but not quite seven octaves two pedals the shape of the Pedal is the hansomist (sic) I ever saw very large and shiney.  The tone is brilliant and clear not at all muffled.  It is splendid and you will say so far superior to Margrit Sweets I think I am almost beside myself I am so satisfied with the choice Mr. Hinsbly (?) has been very kind seems to have exerted himself to the ultermost (sic) and I could not have done as well myself.  The Stool cost twelve dollars and it is Rose W. too has a screw top and plane and plush very much larger and prettier every way than yours. It was packed with in the most manner closely sealed over all the seams on the

(back of envelope pictured here, nothing written on it)

(letter contined page 3)

outside and right pretty (written above in margin) picture

in the bottom of the box all framed with a view of house in which it was manufactured in N. J.  I have hung it up it is so pretty.  Oh! I do so want to have you see it and try it.  I would enclose the money if I had it for you to come.  You can imagine me just as happy as a being ever gets to be. I believe I feel just as I did when Father first bought one for me. Just think our Piano was the first ever in Sabine Pass  The first ever in Beaumont  and now the first ever in Town Bluff and is causing equally as much excitement about the county up here as it had elsewhere.  I find I am in need of much practice but every day gain what I have lost.  I play a heap having nothing else to do  and who would not with so elegant

(letter continued page 4)

an instrument to play upon in such perfect tune and order.  It is this I regret – the detention I soon shall have and I have only three months more  I get very tired sitting at the Piano but William is so good  rubs my back until I am rested at night which keeps me up.  Zulie is very much pleased  calls it the big baby and says here is the little baby pointing to herself – she talks very cunning you would laugh to hear her  sleeps by herself now in a nice trundle bed all ready now you see for the next.  I must close  I wrote to Lucy sometime since.  Write me soon.  Love to Mother and all.

        Yours with love,

                Mary

(another hand writing now)

The Baby beats her mother talking.

                W. P.

(this letter was not written to her other sister, Lucy, but mentions that she had written her, so perhaps that is why the envelope was copied on the same sheet.  Lizzie was her sister Elizabeth Granger)

This was east Texas life on the frontier just before a war which changed everyone's lives from what they imagined their futures would be.

The baby that Mary was to deliver that September, 1860, was Ada Phillips, who wrote the first note above when she was 12.
 

Chauncey Granger Sweet, 1865, Chapter I

Born on Feb. 6, 1965, Beaumont, Texas.

In early Galveston, (and Sabine Pass, and Beaumont, Texas) especially through the Civil War, my family was caring for each other, especially the orphaned children.  My grandmother's mother Zulieka and her sister Ada's parents died early during the Civil War.  They may have been raised in the home of their aunts, one of whom was Elizabeth (Lizzie) Granger Sweet.  Lizzie's husband was Sidney Sweet and he died in 1875 leaving her to raise her own children, Chauncey Granger Sweet (10) and his sister Lucy Azalea Sweet (7). T

he other aunt was Lucy Granger Wakeley (or Wakelee) and I believe my great grandmother may have lived with them as well. More information about their lives will come soon.

Chauncey G Sweet was my grandmother's great-Uncle Chauncey.  My grandmother named one of her sons after him, Chauncey Sweet Rogers.  His mother was my grandmother's grandmother's sister.

OK, the fun begins...census searches:

In 1870 Census of Sabine Pass, Texas, Chauncey G. Sweet is part of a family with his father, Sidney J. Sweet, (48) listed as a Tinner, born in MA.  Mother Elizabeth Sweet (36) was also born in MA.

There are 4 children listed, and I only knew of the younger two until this discovery looking at the original documents. Ancestry didn't have them part of their chart yet.  Mary E. is 16 in 1870.  Fanny A. Sweet is 8.  Chauncey G. Sweet was 5, and Lucy A. was 2.  All the children were born in Texas. However, the two elder children must have died fairly young, because they don't appear in later census lists.  However, a girl of 16 could also have married, which was frequently done.  Fanny at 8 is the missing member of that family.

Chauncey G. shows up next in the 1880 Galveston Census.  C.G. Sweet (15) was a clerk and living as a boarder with his Aunt and Uncle Wakely.  At that time Alex (sic) Wakely was a Ships Chandler (age 45) and his wife Lucy (Lizzie's sister) was listed on the census as L.E. at 40.  Also in the household were my great-grandmother Zulieka (21) and her little sister Ada (19).  Mr. Wakeley was actually named Augustus, but it was written wrong on the census sheet.

Also on that census report, C.G. Sweet's father is reported from Mass, as well as his mother who was born in Newburyport, MA.  C.G. was also listed as having been born in Sabine Pass, TX. Other sources say Beaumont.  I just found a photo of a marker for Chauncey's father, Sidney J. Sweet in Sabine Pass, TX.  Here's the picture of the memorial to C.G.'s great aunt, Julia Sweet (Burgett) and Sidney J. Sweet in Sabine Pass, TX.  Unfortunately this marker memorializes several family members who died of yellow fever in 1862.  Julia Sweet Burgett had already lost her first husband, Maj. Sidney A. Sweet, who is included on this marker. He would have been C.G.'s grandfather's brother, I believe. Most of this information came from Texas Find-A-Grave, where the story surrounding that yellow fever epidimic was told.

More in the next Chapter...soon.

The Laughing Dogs cartoon

Richard Felton Outcault

This is a close up of the signature.

Here's the whole picture.



I'm bringing this to the blog world because Feb 6 is the anniversary of the birth of C. G. Sweet.  This picture hung in the hallway in our house while I was growing up.

This is a strange picture, which may have the source of  my original understanding of the underdog phenomena.  There is certainly the unsophisticated little guy, who clearly doesn't have "papers" being heckled by lots of other dogs.  And the word papers is a clue.

Dick Outcault (January 14, 1863 – September 25, 1928) was a cartoonist at the turn of the 19-20th Century. He worked for Edison first, then Joseph Pulitzer's   New York World and then William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal.   And he is know as the father of the comic strip, not being the first to use multiple panels and speaking in balloons, but to set the standard for them.

His Yellow Kid cartoons (begun in 1895) were the object of a court battle between Pulitzer and Hearst, and though there is no known settlement of the suit, both of the papers continued to publish Yellow Kid cartoons, only the one in Hearst's paper being done by Outcault.  The battle between the two papers over the Yellow Kid (which resulted in greatly increased circulation) was called the Yellow Kid papers, eventually the Yellow Papers, and finally Yellow Journalism...all true. 

Because he was the first successful comic strip character, the Yellow Kid was the first comic strip character to inundate the public with his face! Today, Yellow Kid collectibles are all rare, highly desirable, and sought after by a small but intense cadre of collectors. Please remember that the Yellow Kid only appeared in New York City newspapers from 1895 through 1898, and that the merchandising took place in the same time and place, making it very rare today. A variety of items are presented in The R. F. Outcault Gallery to illustrate the variety of Yellow Kid collectibles that still exist today.

In conclusion, R. F. Outcault and the Yellow Kid demonstrated that the Sunday comics could sell newspapers and other forms of merchandise, and firmly established the comics as a permanent part of the American newspaper. The Yellow Kid, coupled with the artist's subsequent creations, Kelley's Kids, Pore Li'l Mose, Buddy Tucker, and Buster Brown, has firmly established R. F. Outcault as one of the most important comic artists of all time. 

from "R. F. Outcault, The Father of the American Sunday Comics, and the Truth About the Creation of the Yellow Kid", by Richard D. Olson (Olson Here.)

 






 He also had an Advertising Firm in Chicago.  All advertisements used to be formatted (also called layout) by hand before being printed...whether with hand drawn art, or with photography. In 1902 Outcault created Buster Brown, which he drew until 1921.  

This autograph at least has a date, 1915.  This is Tige, the dog in Buster Brown.

Thus Buster Brown shoes must have been his account.  I know I wore some of those shoes as a kid (no, not until the 40's probably.

 The cartoon picture I own, (Laughing Dogs) and I have reframed, isn't an original drawing, but a print on rather poor paper, and it refers to the Outcault Advertising Agency, Chicago. IL.  There are several court cases about this agency, and I can only assume it was related to Mr. Outcault's work.

The actual art of the dogs is similar to Outcault's drawings of Tige in Buster Brown.  But there is no other trace of a group of dogs drawn by him, that I can find at this time. 

The link with my great-great uncle Chauncey G. Sweet has escaped me.  My grandparents thought enough of C.G. Sweet to name one of their sons Chauncey Sweet Rogers.  And this picture hung in their home for years, then was in the hallway of my father's home for years.  It was always known as the man's picture, but actually Chauncey G. Sweet was my grandmother's uncle.

When my father died, I was so glad to get this cartoon, even without having done any research on who made it or why.  It just always reminded me that there's that little wounded child in everyone...so much like the pup who is the brunt of this joke.

I also always think the real message is in the wink by the dog in the upper left hand corner.