JUEL ID/KEY: P48188

"George M. Carr," a photograph by Rufus W. Holsinger taken on November 14, 1916.

George M. Carr, African-American businessman, 1900's. Photographed by Holsinger in front of his store on November 16, 1914.

The Charlottesville City Directory, 1914-15, lists the store as such: "Geo. M. Carr & Co., Second Hand Clothing" (PL9568), located at 269 West Main Street (Ridge Street the nearby cross-street). Carr himself is listed as "Carr George M, clothier h[ome] 125 4th N W" (p.57).

Perhaps related to Hugh Carr. Also, the George Carr photographed may be the "George Minor Carr" listed in the J. F. Bell Funeral Home records (b. June 22, 1882, d. September 3, 1933). For more information about the Carr/Greer family, visit the Ivy Creek Foundation Carr/Greer Family Residence web site. 

This photograph is especially important in showing one of several businesses run by African Americans in this time period. The images, along with the City Directories, tell us the location of the businesses, where the proprietors lived, their potential customers, the neighborhoods or business districts, and so on, helping us to better understand the actual lived environment of Charlottesville and surrounding counties in the Jim-Crow era. See "Freedman's Tally" for more information about African Americans operating businesses in the Jim Crow Era.

Other businesses/owners photographed by Holsinger include Acme Shaving Parlor, William F. and Charles H. Brown (Brown Barber Shop), A. T. Buckner (and son George F. Buckner, grocers), George Carr's Second Hand Clothing, Dr. George F. Ferguson, Dr. George R. Johnson, Mr. J. P. Hawkins, W. G. Layne (Layne and Whitlock, Wheelright/Blacksmith), J.F. Taylor, and D. J. Ward. 

NOTE that the name with which the portrait is labelled (or, labelled "untitled") is not necessarily the name of the sitter(s) in the portrait, but rather the name of the person who paid for the portrait when it was taken (the date and name associated with each photograph is from the business ledgers of R. W. Holsinger).
 
Sources

The Preservers of the Daughters of Zion Cemetery Facebook Group; Scott French on Facebook; Find a Grave

- "George M. Carr," 1914-11-16 photograph in UVA Library Catalogue (X02790B) 

- Charlottesville City Directory, 1914-15 [Hathi Trust]

- Driskell, Jay. "Freedman's Tally: An African American Business in the Jim Crow South." National Museum of American History (2016, October 18). Web. 3 March 2022.

SEE ALSO:

Holsinger Image Gallery of African Americans

J. F. Bell Funeral Home Records

Charlottesville City Directory, 1914-15 [Hathi Trust] 

1870 & 1910 U. S. Census - Charlottesville & Esmont Communities

First published: June 11, 2019    

Return to the Holsinger Main Page or African-American Portraiture List of Name