JUEL ID/KEY: 

"Golden Wedding Anniversary, Moss," two photographs taken by Rufus W. Holsinger on November 22, 1916.

Of interest in the photograph is the unidentified African American woman standing with the group, as well as the two younger African American girls appearing at the window of the house. Possibly the woman standing outside, with a white apron on, is the family's cook or maid. She is purposefully included in the family photo, which does show her importance to the family.

Note that the photos appear to be duplicates of one another, but you can see a slight difference in the pose of the youngest blonde boy; the photos were clearly taken in quick succession.

Similar group portraits that show a family gathering (for wedding, anniversary, or just for posterity's sake) in front of the family home, while also purposefully including the African American employees, are: "Mrs. B. Bowling" and "Mrs. C. W. Durrett." A portrait that also happened to capture a person in the background is "Teacher Training Class Baptist."

Additional information about the Moss family / the African American individuals photographed will be added as it is researched.

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).

Below: X04604AB
 

Below: X04604BB

A similar photo by Holsinger is "Wedding" (date unknown), below:

Sources

- "Golden Wedding Anniversary, Moss," 1916-11-22 photograph in UVA Library Catalogue (X04604AB)

- "Golden Wedding Anniversary, Moss," 1916-11-22 photograph in UVA Library Catalogue (X04604BB) 

- "Wedding," no date photograph in UVA Library Catalogue (U00037C)

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

Cite This Entry

First published: September 12, 2020

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