"St. Paul's Church Choir," two photographs taken by Rufus W. Holsinger on April 25, 1916 (note that in the UVA library catalogue has the photograph labelled "St. Pauls Church Choir").

The photograph below shows the choir in front of the church exterior; the second photo (not inlcuded) shows the choir within the church. Of interest in this photograph is the African American gentleman standing with the choir. His identity is unknown; no other information is known aside from the title by which the photograph was labelled in the Holsinger ledgers. He possibly could be the church caretaker/groundskeeper/janitor (if the man had custodial duties, he would have been known as the sexton). For a simliar portrait, see, "Untitled" (Church Exterior).

There are two Episcopal churches named "St. Paul's" in the Charlottesville area: one near University of Virginia in Charlottesville (St. Paul's Memorial), and one west of Charlottesville in Ivy. Another photograph by Holsinger entitled, "St. Paul's Memorial Church" (Y09488B) shows the exterior of the church, which does appear very similar to the exterior that can be seen in the church choir portrait below. 

The photograph is included here in that, although not a posed studio portrait of African Americans, it does show actual interactions between white and black citizens at a time when segregation due to Jim Crow laws was in play. It is highly valuable in providing "visual evidence" of that lived environment. 

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: X04074B1
 

Below: Y09488B

Sources

- "St. Paul's Church Choir," 1916-04-25 photograph in UVA Library Catalogue (X04074B1) 

- "St. Paul's Memorial Church,"  unknown date, photograph in UVA Library Catalogue (Y09488B)

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: January 27, 2021

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