This one consists of documents and images that once belonged to Emma Beauvais Thomas Grumley.
I’ve been using trove enough here lately that I thought I had better look up the meaning and find out if I have been using the word correctly. So I did and I have. This from one of the many dictionary-type sites on the internet: Trove was first used in the phrase treasure trove, from the Anglo-French tresor trové, rooted in the Old French trover, “to find.” And another says, “a trove is a collection of valuable things.”
As we examine Emma’s collection I’m sure you’ll agree that it contains many valuable things especially since they are connected to our own piece of real estate, this burg, Maplewood, Missouri. Many of the items predate the creation of our town in 1908.
Emma was the granddaughter of our pioneers, James Compton Sutton and Ann Wells Sutton. She was the daughter of William Lyman Thomas and Kate Sutton. Much has been written on this site about all of those folks. You can link to those previous posts here. Or you might like to refresh your memory with two that are specifically about Emma. Part One. Part Two.
We are able to view these many fine things through the generosity of Emma’s great granddaughter, Chrissie Hayes McConnell. The items that will be featured in these posts on Emma’s collection are all part of the very large gift that Chrissie has made to the State Historical Society of Missouri (SHSMO). Everything on view will wind up there as soon as I am done with the copying and research.
To date I have made well over 200 scans and many photographs. To ensure I get a good digital copy, I use both on some of the images that seem the most important to me. All of my digital archives will someday wind up at SHSMO as well.
Let’s start with a behind the scenes look at what’s involved.
That should be enough samples to give you an idea of what is ahead. There is still a large number of worthwhile and compelling images to be shown. In the next post, I’ll discuss and show how I have combined same source images and a few of the discoveries I’ve made.
Some of you may wonder just why it is important to preserve these unidentified images. I believe that someday many of them will be identified in traditional ways that SHSMO and other archives already use. I also believe that in the future facial recognition will be used as well.
May your New Year be healthy and virus free. Wear your masks!
Doug Houser January 12, 2022
The one with the gentleman with the sword and uniform makes me wonder if it is a parade dress for a mounted horse unit. Or maybe what I seem to think of some of the English and European troops might have worn. The hat makes me think that the most. I wondered if anyone could identify any of the medals that he has. Maybe a larger picture or a way to zoom in on those might show some lettering or something that would identify his unit.
Hey Mark, It’s a mystery to me as well. Mary Piles thought that it looked like some sort of a Masonic ceremonial uniform. She sent a picture of a helmet from another one that looked very similar. I expect that will be the answer. Good to hear from you.
Doug, the geological feature pictured – it was suggested to me that it might be Devil’s Gate in Wyoming. But I’d be surprised if that would lead anywhere interesting in this thread.
Me too, but you never know. Thanks.
Doug, Gary here, I’m sure that you know, but just in case, those images too large for scanning can be copied at one of the office supply stores on their large copy machines and reduced in size (I recently had to do this in the opposite direction to enlarge a small image so a stencil could be made from it, it worked nicely). The 3rd image with the buggy has what appears to be a large brick building in the right side background and possibly could be a school because of the large square brick structure on the right (as you face). Happy New Year to you, stay historical, not hysterical (if possible in these times).
Hey Gary, In the days before I had an appropriate camera and Photoshop, I used those copy machines at Kinko’s quite a bit. Just as you say, they work very well. These days I can work up whatever size I want in the computer and have it printed by Diversified Labs. I highly recommend them. They used to be in the Hanley Industrial Court but now have moved farther away so our business is by mail. I see what you are referring to in the third image but have no idea what sort of building/s it is. Thank you for your comments.