Processed by
Pamela Tranfield
August 1997
Revised by Dorothy Nicholson
December 2003
Manuscript and Visual Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269
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VOLUME OF |
2 document cases of photographs |
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COLLECTION |
Ca. 1890–1940 |
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PROVENANCE: |
Fountain Square Antique Mall, 1056 Virginia Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1989. |
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RESTRICTIONS: |
None |
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COPYRIGHT: |
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REPRODUCTION |
Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society. |
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ALTERNATE |
None |
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RELATED |
None |
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ACCESSION |
1989.0315 |
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NOTES: |
Emery and Orel Kelso, the sons of William A. Kelso, were born ca. 1879 and ca. 1885 respectively, in Campbellsburg, Washington County, Indiana. Orel Kelso worked at his father’s restaurant in Campbellsburg, ca. 1910, and operated a wholesale grocery business in Lafayette from ca. 1938 to ca. 1945. He worked as a salesman in Lafayette until his death, ca. 1955.
Emery Kelso operated a grocery store in Campbellsburg in 1910, and owned variety stores in the Fountain Square area of Indianapolis from ca. 1938 to ca. 1962. Kelso and his wife Meeda opened Kelso’s Variety Store at 548 Virginia Avenue in 1938, and moved the business to 1407 Shelby Street in 1941. Emery Kelso lived at 881 Fletcher Avenue, Apt. 2, until his death, ca. 1967.
Herman L. Kelso, a sign painter, worked for Hook’s Drug Stores in Indianapolis from ca. 1938 until his death in 1946. Kelso, his wife Juanita, and daughter Joan lived at 602 Prospect Avenue at the time of his death. Juanita Kelso occupied the house until her death, ca. 1976.
John and Thomas Wilkins operated a general store at Campbellsburg, ca. 1916–1930. Their mother was the former Mary F. Kelso. In 1939 James W. Kelso (born ca. 1904) was a sign painter living at 961 English Avenue, Indianapolis. Paul Kelso was a photographer located in Martinsville in 1916.
Sources:
United States Bureau of the Census. Census of Indiana, 1910.
United States Bureau of the Census. Census of Indiana, 1920.
History of Washington County. Paoli: Stout’s Print Shop, 1965.
Indiana State Gazetteer. Indianapolis: R. L. Polk and Company, 1916.
Indiana State Gazetteer. Indianapolis: R. L. Polk and Company, 1928.
R. L. Polk and Co.’s Indianapolis Directory, 1939. Indianapolis: R. L. Polk and Company, 1939.
R. L. Polk and Co.’s Indianapolis Directory, 1945. Indianapolis: R. L. Polk and Company, 1945.
R. L. Polk and Co.’s Indianapolis Directory, 1976. Indianapolis: R. L. Polk and Company, 1976.
R. L. Polk and Co.’s Lafayette Directory, 1938. Indianapolis: R. L. Polk and Company, 1938.
R. L. Polk and Co.’s Lafayette Directory, 1945. Indianapolis: R. L. Polk and Company, 1945.
The collection contains family snapshots, scenes of Indianapolis, and group portraits attributed to members of the Kelso family of Indianapolis, Campbellsburg, Lafayette, and Martinsville, Indiana.
The photographs date from ca. 1890 to 1940, and were likely made by different members of the Kelso family. Juanita Kelso may have been in possession of the photographs at the time of her death, ca. 1976. She outlived her husband, Herman Kelso, and other relatives who appear in the photographs.
Most images are identified snapshots of Kelso family members and their businesses. These date from ca. 1915 to 1940. The snapshots include portraits of Emery, Orel, Juanita, Joan, Herman, and James W. Kelso. In almost every image the subjects lean against or sit inside automobiles. Herman Kelso likely made the snapshots in the collection dated 1938–1940. These include nine exterior images of Hook’s Drug Stores in Indianapolis and Lafayette, four photographs of the 1939 Labor Day Parade in Indianapolis, and portraits of Kelso family members. Other Indianapolis photographs likely made by Herman Kelso include an exterior view of Loew’s Theater, horse-drawn and motorized delivery vehicles, a barber shop on East Street, Prospect Masonic Lodge, a ride at Riverside Amusement Park, and a Wendell Wilkie lawn sign.
Paul Kelso, a photographer working in Martinsville in 1916, may have made at least five images in the collection. These photographs, mounted on cardboard, include a portrait of two proprietors, believed to be John and Thomas Wilkins, in front of their general store in Campbellsburg in 1916. Other portraits attributed to Paul Kelso include an image of workers posed in front of donkey engines at a limestone quarry, and two photographs of men pausing from their work in a machine shop. A photograph of the South Indiana Fox Hunters Association at a meet in Morgantown in 1924 may also be Kelso’s work.
Photographs made before 1915 include a street scene of Campbellsburg, ca. 1890, and photographic postcards of men and women sitting in automobiles. Men who resemble Emery, Orel, and James W. Kelso appear in these photographs. In one image, a young man stands beside what appears to be a motorized bicycle or motorcycle.
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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[Kelso Family ca. 1915–ca. 1920] (1 of 3) |
Box 1, Folder 1 |
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[Kelso Family ca. 1915–ca. 1920] (2 of 3) |
Box 1, Folder 2 |
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[Kelso Family ca. 1915–ca. 1920] (3 of 3) |
Box 1, Folder 3 |
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[Kelso Family ca. 1925] |
Box 1, Folder 4 |
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[Kelso Family ca. 1927–ca. 1937] (1 of 4) |
Box 1, Folder 5 |
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[Kelso Family ca. 1927–ca. 1937] (2 of 4) |
Box 1, Folder 6 |
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[Kelso Family ca. 1927–ca. 1937] (3 of 4) |
Box 1, Folder 7 |
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[Kelso Family ca. 1927–ca. 1937] (4 of 4) |
Box 1, Folder 8 |
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[Hook’s Drug Stores, Lafayette, Indianapolis, 1939] |
Box 1, Folder 9 |
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[Hook’s Drug Stores, Indianapolis, 1940] |
Box 1, Folder 10 |
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[Labor Day Parade, Indianapolis, 1939] |
Box 1, Folder 11 |
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[Kelso Family Businesses] (1 of 2) |
Box 1, Folder 12 |
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[Kelso Family Businesses] (2 of 2) |
Box 1, Folder 13 |
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[Joan Kelso] |
Box 1, Folder 14 |
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[Loew’s Theater; Post Office, Indianapolis] |
Box 1, Folder 15 |
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[Delivery Vehicles] |
Box 1, Folder 16 |
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[Delivery Vehicles] |
Box 2, Folder 1 |
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[Ray Fiddler’s Barber Shop, 952 East Street] |
Box 2, Folder 2 |
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[Indianapolis Scenes] |
Box 2, Folder 3 |
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[Campbellsburg (?), ca. 1890] |
Box 2, Folder 4 |
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[Kelso Family (?), ca. 1910] |
Box 2, Folder 5 |
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[Automobiles, ca. 1910] |
Box 2, Folder 6 |
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[J. B. Wilkins and Bros. General Store, Campbellsburg] |
Box 2, Folder 7 |
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[Industrial Scenes] |
Box 2, Folder 8 |
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[Southern Indiana Fox Hunters Meet, Morgantown] |
Box 2, Folder 9 |
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[Portrait of H. K. Johnson] |
Box 2, Folder 10 |
For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials:
1. Go to the Indiana Historical Society's online catalog: http://157.91.92.2/
2. Click on the "Basic Search" icon.
3. Select "Call Number" from the "Search In:" box.
4. Search for the collection by its basic call number (in this case, P 0340).
5. When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.