Processed by
Pamela Tranfield
November 1994
Revised by Dorothy Nicholson
November 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 |
3 boxes of cased images, 1 box of tintypes, 4 boxes of photographs |
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COLLECTION |
Ca. 1860–ca. 1912 |
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PROVENANCE: |
Forms part of the Cecil Beeson/Blackford County Historical Society Collection. |
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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 |
1994.0734T |
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NOTES: |
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Charles W. Timmonds and Cora Lyon Timmonds were residents of Hartford City, Indiana, from the 1880s to ca. 1914. Their whereabouts after this time are not known. Charles Timmonds served as postmaster for Hartford City in 1887 and later founded a newspaper, the Hartford City Telegram. He is believed to be the son of George W. Timmonds and Catharine Boyer who resided in various locations in Ohio, including Celina and Dayton.
Cora Lyon Timmonds was the only daughter of James Lyon and Percilla Ann Stewart of Hartford City. Her mother, known as Ann Lyon, operated a millinery shop in Hartford City for a number of years. The Lyon family came from Clinton County, Ohio, to Jefferson Township in the 1850s. Ann Lyon was born in 1822, in Clinton County.
Sources:
Shinn, Benjamin G. Biographical Memoirs of Blackford and Grant Counties. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company, 1914.
Indiana Historical Society Collection SC 2025, “Blackford County,” Folder 7.
The collection consists of 153 black-and-white portraits of members of the Timmonds and Lyon families of Indiana and Ohio. The images date from ca. 1860 to ca. 1912. Formats include 51 cartes de visite, 46 cabinet cards, 42 tintypes, 7 ambrotypes, 5 portraits, one daguerreotype, and one postcard. Most cartes de visite and cabinet cards are embossed with the names of Hartford City, Indiana, photographers.
Although there is little identification on the images, the subjects of the photographs are believed to be the extended families of Cora Lyon Timmonds and Charles W. Timmonds of Hartford City. One portrait identifies Cora Timmonds posing with her mother, Ann Lyon, and a single cabinet card contains the annotation, “To Aunt Anna.” The collection is attributed to the Lyon Timmonds branch of the Lyon family on the basis of these annotations. Also, several members of the Lyon family resided in Blackford County, while the Timmonds were noted largely in Jay and Delaware counties.
The name “Tim” is written in pencil on the upper corners of a number of cabinet cards and one family portrait. A child, “Helen,” is identified in two photographs. The single postcard in the collection is annotated with a letter to "Tim" from “Marie.” The annotation covers the back of the card and leaves no room for a postage stamp or address, indicating that the item may have been hand-delivered.
The photographs are arranged in three series according to the manner in which they were stored on arrival at the Indiana Historical Society. Items in Series 1, Cased Photographs, arrived in a box on which was written, “Janet Valentine.” The series contains thirteen tintypes, seven ambrotypes, and one daguerreotype. The ambrotypes and daguerreotype are stored individually in their original cases, as are the tintypes. A small number of uncased tintypes in Series 2 are duplicates of tintypes in this series.
Box 1 contains seven cased photographs, including one full-length portrait of a drummer boy. The annotation behind the image of the drummer boy, reads: “[S] had or [C] had Neily’s Co.” One portrait of a man is mounted in a pivoting, brass frame, as if the item were meant to be worn as jewelry.
Series 2, Tintypes, consists of nine uncased tintypes that were originally stored with the cased photographs. Images include a hand-tinted tintype of a Civil War soldier, and a gem portrait of a young woman.
Series 3, Lyon Timmonds Family [?] Albums, consists of items that were originally enclosed in two photograph albums. The photographs were removed from the albums for conservation reasons. The albums were identical, made with red paper covers and newsprint pages. It was not possible to discern which album was created first, as there are some images duplicated in each volume and the images do not appear to be placed chronologically. The placement of the images in the album makes apparent the possible family groupings. It is possible that one album belonged to Cora Lyon Timmonds, the other to her mother. The processor retained the original order of the photographs and numbered the items chronologically.
Each album contained primarily cabinet cards and cartes de visite that were created at studios in Hartford City, Kokomo, Bluffton, Worchester, Greencastle, and Muncie, Indiana. A small number of photographs were created in Celina, Ohio, where the brother of Charles Timmonds, William Wallace Timmonds, owned a newspaper. Charles Timmonds’ mother, Catharine Bayer, resided in Dayton, Ohio before her marriage, and the collection contains a small number of portraits from studios there.
The first album investigated contained the items numbered 1 to 59. A small number of items are dated from 1881–83. Helen is the child named in the photographs created by the photography studio of H. E. Rimer of Delware, Ohio. Blackford County photographers represented include I. L. Rhine, Lighty Brothers, Schaeffer, H. G. Bowman, Parks, and James Kessler. There is one photograph made by Harnish, of Bluffton, Indiana.
The subject of the tintype among this album’s photographs is identified as [D?] ora Stahl, of Hartford City. This may be a daughter of Sarah Mellissa Stahl, sister to Ann Lyon and a Women's Christian Temperance Union leader in Blackford County. Item 38 is a portrait of Blackford County lawyer Samuel Cantwell as a student. Item 46 may be a portrait of George W. Timmonds. Items 57 to 59 were found loose between pages in the album.
The second album contained the items numbered 60 to [123]. Item number 72, by Shaeffer Studios of Hartford City, may be the children of Cora and Charles W. Timmonds. Other photographers identified include I. L. Rhine, of Hartford City, and Hockett and Hartsook of Marion, Indiana. Item 116 is a portrait of Cora Lyon Timmonds and her mother, Ann Lyon.
During the revision in 2003 two extra cabinet cards were found with the album photographs but they were without numbers. These were assigned the numbers [122] and [123] as their original placement in the album is unknown. Also item number 25 was never found.
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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Portrait of a man holding a pistol |
Cased Images, |
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Full length portrait of drummer boy |
Cased Images, |
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Portrait of man in pivoting brass frame |
Cased Images, |
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Portrait of infant in chair |
Cased Images, |
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Portrait of two children |
Cased Images, |
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Portrait of two children |
Cased Images, |
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Portrait of infant |
Cased Images, |
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Portrait of girl |
Cased Images, |
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Portrait of man |
Cased Images, |
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Portrait of woman with hands folded |
Cased Images, |
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Portrait of girl |
Cased Images, |
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Portrait of soldier holding a rifle |
Cased Images, |
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Portrait of girl in chair |
Cased Images, |
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Portrait of woman with hands folded |
Cased Images, |
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Portrait of woman with hands folded |
Cased Images, |
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Portrait of woman |
Cased Images, |
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Portrait of man and woman |
Cased Images, |
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Portrait of bearded man |
Cased Images, |
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Portrait of two boys |
Cased Images, |
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Portrait of bearded man with hands folded |
Cased Images, |
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Portrait of bearded man |
Cased Images, |
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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Portrait of man |
Tintypes, Box 4, Item 1 |
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Group portrait, two women and one boy |
Tintypes, Box 4, Item 2 |
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Group of five women holding sign “Warren Fair 1907” |
Tintypes, Box 4, Item 3 |
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Portrait of man and woman holding hands |
Tintypes, Box 4, Item 4 |
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Gem portrait of woman |
Tintypes, Box 4, Item 5 |
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Portrait of man and woman posing by fireplace |
Tintypes, Box 4, Item 6 |
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Group three women and two men holding sign “Warren Fair 1904” |
Tintypes, Box 4, Item 7 |
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Portrait of man |
Tintypes, Box 4, Item 8 |
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Portrait of man standing by chair holding pistol |
Tintypes, Box 4, Item 9 |
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Portrait of standing soldier in uniform before painted patriotic scene |
Tintypes, Box 4, Item 10 |
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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First album, items 1–35 |
Photographs, Box 5 |
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First album, items 36–59 |
Photographs, Box 6 |
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Second album, items 60–92 |
Photographs, Box 7 |
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Second album, items 93–[123] |
Photographs, Box 8 |
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 0292).
5. When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.