Civil War-era portraits by Greensburg photographer Asbury Wilkinson

Thanks to Brenna Green for sharing more photos from her family's Civil War-era photo album! This photo was taken by Greensburg photographer Asbury Wilkinson. We believe this may be the photographer who made over 200 glass negatives that were recently discovered in Greensburg.

A close-up of this photo reveals that the woman seated is wearing a brooch with a man's photograph on it, but for some reason it's sideways! 

The orange 2-cent tax stamp on the back of the photo indicates that it was taken between 1864 and 1866. These tax stamps were affixed to various goods during these years as the result of an act passed by the federal government to help pay for the Civil War. Wilkinson would have attached the stamp, then cancelled it by adding his initials and the date. Although this was a very unpopular tax at the time, we can be grateful for it now - it is a great aid in dating photographs! The stamp on this photo appears to have the year 1865 written on it.

Another photo provided by Brenna, also taken by Wilkinson, does not have a tax stamp. Based on the woman's large hoop skirt, I would guess that it was taken prior to 1864.

Source:
Harrell-Sesniak, "Dating Old Family Photographs with Civil War Revenue Stamps," Genealogybank.com blog. Posted 14 November 14 2012. http://blog.genealogybank.com/dating-old-family-photographs-with-civil-war-revenue-stamps.html

Glass Negative Project: Putting Names with Faces

By Lori Osting

We are very lucky that some of the glass negatives in the Asbury Wilkinson collection do have names on them. Some, including the one Civil War soldier image, have names scratched into them. Others have a strip of white paper attached at the top of the glass with a name written on it in pencil. Even those images that have a name can be difficult to identify if the name is hard to read or cannot be found in the census.

One of the images with a legible name is this one, with the name "George Zaun" clearly written at the top.

After searching through records on Ancestry.com, I believe George was born in 1857, the son of Rudolph and Catherine Zaun. In the census, Rudolph listed his birthplace as Hesse Cassel, which was a state in the Holy Roman empire, now a part of Germany. 

Rudolph was a butcher in Jeffersonville, Clark County, Indiana. Their son George married Mary Elizabeth Kimmerle on 10 October 1878 in Clark County. Like his father, George was a butcher. In 1880 he and his family were living in Danville, Vermillion County, Illinois. In 1900, they were living in Afton, Union County, Iowa, where Mary operated a boarding house.

George and Mary had five children: George, Alva, Ethel, Clyde, and Paul. The family is buried in Los Angeles County, California. Like so many other families of their time, they spent their lives migrating west. If you are a descendant of this family, please contact us! We'd love to verify George's identity and learn more about him.

Based on the historic documents I was able to find, it doesn't look like George Zaun ever lived in Decatur County, which could mean that the photographer was working in Clark County when this photo was taken, perhaps around 1870, or that the family did live in Decatur County for a very short time between the censuses.

As we continue to digitize and research these photos, we will share what we learn. We have secured the funding needed for the restoration and scanning of the collection, but we are still $236 short of the amount we need for the archival envelopes and boxes that we will use to protect and store the original negatives. If you would like to contribute, please mail a check to the library with "Attn: Lori Osting" on the envelope. Our address is: Greensburg Public Library, 1110 E. Main St., Greensburg, IN 47240. You can also donate via Paypal (under "Gift Fund Donation"); make sure you include a note that the donation is for the glass negative project. If you have any questions, please contact Lori Osting at the library. 

Civil War Soldier Identified

Researched and written by Phillip Jackson, Jr.

Photo from the Asbury Wilkinson Photo Collection

The Civil War soldier appearing in one of the glass negatives found in a building on the east side of the Greensburg Square has been identified as Arnold Murray.

Careful examination of the glass negative revealed the name "Murry Arnold" scratched at the side of the image. By entering various spellings and first/last combinations of the name in the database for the Indiana State Archives, "Arnold Murray" was found as having served in the 123rd Indiana Infantry. This regiment was organized in Greensburg in late 1863 and early 1864.

The 123rd Indiana was commanded by Colonel John C. McQuiston who was a railroad locomotive engineer, conductor, and the Greensburg Road Master. This regiment had a good record in the Civil War, including taking part in the Atlanta Campaign, the battle of Nashville, and serving in North Carolina.

In the "Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Indiana" Arnold Murray is listed as one of the two Musicians (Drummer Boys) serving in Company E, 123rd Indiana. His residence is Rushville. He mustered in March 3, 1864 and mustered out August 25, 1865 at Raleigh, North Carolina.

Arnold Murray was born in 1847. He is found in the 1860 Rush County Census. He is 13 years old. His parents were James (1826-1863) and Evaline (1826-1915) Murray. Three younger siblings are Eli age 9, a name difficult to read but appearing to be "Viola" age 6, and jasper age 2.

Arnold Murray died in 1903. He is buried in East Hill Cemetery, Rushville, near an exceptionally large white oak tree. Other graves in the family plot include his parents, his wife Martha (1852-1882) and several of their children.

Photo by Phillip Jackson, Jr.

Asbury Wilkinson Glass Negative Project

We are making great progress with the Asbury Wilkinson glass negative project! Last year, over 200 glass negatives were discovered on the Greensburg square, and the library has embarked on a project to preserve these historic images for future generations. Using available funds, we were able to get started by restoring and scanning 25 of the negatives earlier this year. Thanks to your generous donations and a grant from the Decatur County Community Foundation, we now have enough money to finish scanning the rest of the collection! To see what we've scanned so far, take a look at our online photo album. You can also view prints of the photos in the Indiana Room at the library.

Asbury Wilkinson Glass Negative Album

The digitization of these fascinating images is just phase one of this project. Funding is still needed to purchase archival envelopes and boxes so we can preserve the original fragile glass images. If you would like to contribute, you can donate online or send a check to the library at 1110 E. Main St., Greensburg IN 47240, Attn: Lori Osting. Thank you for helping us preserve Decatur County history!