Photograph of an Unknown Lady Identified?

Note: I am not convinced. That is not the same as saying "it's not her;" I just want more evidence, which at the moment, isn't forthcoming. Thus one reason I am posting this piece. All the evidence is there, but I'm still hoping for conclusive proof.

She was found among my aunt’s photographs, sepia faded but still beautiful.

No words on the back identified the young woman. Not even a date or the tantalizing word “Mother” (always so frustrating). But the photographer was “W. P. Russell’s Studio” of Anniston, Alabama. And those sleeves told me the photo was taken c1895. So we had a location and a year.

Not much to go on. And I couldn’t ask my aunt, Betty Simpson, who suffered from dementia. Was the lady an ancestor? A relative? Or just an old photo Aunt Betty found in a junk shop? That was perfectly in keeping with something Betty would do… and I would do, too.

I included the photo in Downings of Choccolocco Vol. 1 [page 387] in the hope someone might recognize her. There, I postulated a possible connection to Hattie Williams Downing Todd (1884-1968). Hattie was first married to Bernard Brothers Downing and, therefore, was sister-in-law to all the Downings of Choccolocco. Later, Hattie married Robert Todd of Anniston, but she was still included in Downing family events. She died without having children, and neither of her siblings ever married. Several photos in Betty’s collection clearly came from Hattie [I speculate that Bernard’s niece, Martha Dean Garrett McKinzey, may have inherited them, and ultimately, they passed on to her niece, Betty].

Eventually, disregarding my own rules, I posted the photograph on Facebook on the closed group Remember the Anniston area when… to see if anyone recognized this lady or this photo.

To my astonishment, Shirley Mellon Dewberry quickly tracked down an excellent candidate for the lady in the photograph.

Bessie Rodgers Russell, born 29 April 1876, died 1 August 1969, of Anniston, Alabama. She was the daughter of William P. Russell (1849-1920)—the photographer[1] who took the photo of our lady—and Frances Rebecca Wheeler (1849-1935). Bessie never married but worked at Couch’s Jewelry Store until 1964. She is buried with her family at Edgemont Cemetery. [FamilySearch.org, Findagrave]

Shirley even tracked down additional photos identified as Bessie Russell in the Anniston Library from the Russell Brothers collection:

[Anniston Library, digital 62946]

[Anniston Library, 62916]

[Anniston Library, digital 74303]

[Anniston Library, digital 54597]

I, of course, being a skeptic and contrarian by nature, have to nitpick [bear with me].

Bessie was born in 1876. Our lady’s sleeves indicate an approximate date of 1895. So Bessie would have been 19 years old. Yes, that fits. Our lady could be 19.

But the other photos—we didn’t have dates for them. In general, the portraits in the Russell Brothers collection do not date before c1910 or after c1940. If the two photos of the young Bessie from the collection dated from 1910, then she would’ve been approximately 35 years old at the time. Those two photos clearly do not depict a 35-year-old woman.

Meanwhile, the other two “older” photos appear to be from the 1920s and 1930s. For the sake of the discussion, let’s assume one was taken in 1925 and the other was taken in 1935. Bessie would have been approximately 50 and 60, respectively, give or take, in those two photos. That fits. Yes, I can believe those two photos depict a woman of those two ages.

But it’s the younger image that looks the most like our lady in sepia. And there is another problem with those two younger photos. The name on each photo is different. One is labeled Bessie Russell, the other is labeled Bessie Thomas, even though they are clearly the same girl with both photos taken at the same time. Furthermore, could this lovely young girl be the same woman as that depicted in the 1920s and 1930s photo? The numbers didn’t add up.

Obviously, I needed professional help.

I contacted the Fashion Museum in Bath, England.

First, they confirmed my assessment for the date of the photograph of our lady in sepia—1895.

Second, they took a look at the two photos of the young Miss Bessie Russell/Thomas from the Anniston Library, and informed me that I was wrong. The photos did not date from the 1910s but from c1900!

In 1900, Bessie Russell was 24, and those two photos look very much like a 24-year-old woman.

Does this prove our lady is Bessie Russell? No. But we have excellent preponderance of the evidence. Right place, right time. The ages are consistent. The photographer was Bessie’s father. Plus, it looks like Bessie.

Two photos of Bessie Russell, taken at approximate age 19 and 24?

[1] Census records from 1900 to 1920 list William P. Russell’s occupation as photographer in a studio, and in the 1910 census, he is specifically named the proprietor. According to his obituary [my thanks to John Hicks for tracking it down], W P Russell later formed Russell Brothers with his brother, Samuel A. Russell. Notably, in the census records, William’s daughters, including Bessie, all worked in the photography

studio.