Post Mortem CDV: Nevada G Estes & Baby John 1880

I'm still collecting carte de visite photographs, otherwise known as CDVs. There's certain subjects I've especially been trying to collect, including a post mortem.

Post-Mortem photography
was very common back in the 19th century and while it may seem distasteful or creepy to us nowadays, it was quite normal in the 1800's. Photography was rare and often expensive. Back then the only photograph you owned would most likely have been your wedding portrait; s
o often, a post mortem was the only photograph of a loved one that a family may have had to remember them by, if they passed away.  

I was intrigued by this particular photograph because of the name scrawled on the back:



I did some digging on Ancestry.com and discovered Nevada G Estes (born 1851), was married to John W Estes. In the 1880 Missouri census, they had a little baby, John Estes who was 7 1/2 months old at the time and is listed as being born October 1879. 



Unfortunately there were no records for the 1890 census, as the records were destroyed in a fire. 

The next census that showed Nevada and her husband was in 1900. (Their surname was misspelled on the census, which is quite common when you start looking into census records). Little John Estes is no longer listed in the household. Instead James H Estes, who was born in 1886 is listed as their living son. James, passed away in 1929.


From looking at other records, it appears Nevada had 7 children over her lifetime
, but only 3 lived. Only James Henry is listed on findagrave.com, but I was finally able to link little baby John Estes to his mother's memorial page. His grave is unknown.

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Finding out Linthicum Maryland is named after my ancestors.

My 6 month Ancestry membership expired today (and no, this isn't an advertisement post). I've spent the past year researching my family tree and genealogy more deeply. I've found a lot of interesting facts about my ancestors, took the Ancestry DNA test, and even found some skeletons in the closet! The earliest ancestors I've been able to trace, actually have a community named after them: Linthicum, Maryland! 

Linthicum
was my late Nana's maiden name. Her father Dabney Linthicum was descended from a line that goes all the way back to 1658, when Thomas Linthicum Sr. arrived in America and settled in Maryland, Anne Arundel County. He passed away in 1701. Through his son Thomas Jr. our line descended: 

  • Thomas Linthicum Jr. 
  • Edmund Linthicum Sr.
  • Edmund Linthicum Jr. 
  • John T Linthicum
  • William H Linthicum
  • George W. Linthicum (My Great Great Grandfather)
  • Dabney O Linthicum (My Great Grandfather)
  • Dabney's Daughter: Dorothy V. Linthicum, (My late Grandmother)
(My public ancestry family tree can be found here).

Neat Facts:

  • John T Linthicum married Francis Dabney in 1816. Her maiden name later became my Great Grandfathers first name.
  • Hill C Linthicum the brother of my great great grandfather George Linthicum, was a famous Architect in Virginia and North Carolina.
  • There's a genealogy book: Geneology of the Linthicum and Allied Families that was published about the Linthicum Family in 1936, written by Matilda P Badger.
  • Our family is distantly related to Johns Hopkins, Philanthropist. We share the same early ancestor Thomas Linthicum Sr. Only his line was through Thomas's daughter Mary. Our line is through her brother Thomas Jr. (Page 83 in the Linthicum Genealogy book).
My Great Grandfather: Dabney O Linthicum & Great Grandmother: Nellie Capper.
My Nana Dorothy V Linthicum as a teenager, with her Mother Nellie.
The earliest record I've found of Thomas Linthicum Sr, a document stating Edward Selby transported Thomas here on a ship to Maryland from England in 1658. I'm not sure if Thomas was indentured to Edward. (The Linthicum surname was also spelled Lincicomb, Linscombe, etc; in old records).

The burial record of Thomas Linthicum Sr in 1701.
My Grandmother Dorothy V Scaife (d.2014
& my Grandfather William.

Pictures of me with my Grandmother 
& Grandfather over the years.

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1864-1866 CDV: Civil War Photograph Tax

I've been wanting to add a civil war revenue stamped carte de visite to my collection, and this photograph kept speaking to me. I just love the unique pattern on her dress sleeves.

In 1864, Congress enacted a revenue tax on photographs to raise money for the civil war. Any photographs from that brief period (1864-1866) will usually have a revenue stamp on the back of the photograph, sometimes canceled with a handwritten date or a scribble in ink. 


Her hair is styled with a snood, which was in fashion at the time. It's very similar to a hair net.

I'm not sure what is written on the back of this CDV, if you have any ideas, please leave them below in the comments. It's most likely a name. I sort of see 'Paris', so that's what I've decided to call the girl in the photograph. Unfortunately someone put tape on the photograph at some point in it's 150+ year history.


The pattern on her sleeves intrigues me the most. The cross hatch, slash, almost hash tag pattern. I've seen similar styles on other civil war dresses. My friend Maryann thinks this sort of design was probably only worn by union states, which makes sense, as the photograph was taken in New York. 
Similar examples:
Source: Pinterest
Source @civilwarmonitor
If any civil war buffs out there know if this design means anything in particular I would love to hear from you.

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