Mills Girls & Mom?
This cabinet card is unquestionably of the Mills daughters, but which one is which? The one on the left and the one at the top, look so much alike. One of them is Maude, but I'm not sure which one. There were no ugly women in this family! The cabinet card is by Townsend, no location shown. The back is dated January 25, 1890.
"Mom", on the right, would be Georgiana (Slygh) Mills, wife of John M. Mills, Tiskilwa, Illinois. She would be 52 years old in this photo.
I now believe that "Townsend, Artist", was a traveling photographer. There were at least three Townsends, who are listed in Brown's book, "Collector's Guide To 19th Century USA Traveling Photographers". All three worked out of Iowa, though the relationship between them is not clear. I. L. Townsend worked out of Iowa Falls, with J. N. Townsend, and worked alone, out of West Branch. J. N. Townsend was a stereograph photographer, who worked with I. L. Townsend, out of Iowa Falls. The third one was L. M. Townsend operated in Iowa, 1887 - 1890, and was at some point a stereograph photographer out of West Liberty, Iowa. Brown says that cabinet cards, imprinted in green, "Townsend, Artist", may have originated with him, but could have also been connected to the other two.
Mills Girls & Mom?
This cabinet card is unquestionably of the Mills daughters, but which one is which? The one on the left and the one at the top, look so much alike. One of them is Maude, but I'm not sure which one. There were no ugly women in this family! The cabinet card is by Townsend, no location shown. The back is dated January 25, 1890.
"Mom", on the right, would be Georgiana (Slygh) Mills, wife of John M. Mills, Tiskilwa, Illinois. She would be 52 years old in this photo.
I now believe that "Townsend, Artist", was a traveling photographer. There were at least three Townsends, who are listed in Brown's book, "Collector's Guide To 19th Century USA Traveling Photographers". All three worked out of Iowa, though the relationship between them is not clear. I. L. Townsend worked out of Iowa Falls, with J. N. Townsend, and worked alone, out of West Branch. J. N. Townsend was a stereograph photographer, who worked with I. L. Townsend, out of Iowa Falls. The third one was L. M. Townsend operated in Iowa, 1887 - 1890, and was at some point a stereograph photographer out of West Liberty, Iowa. Brown says that cabinet cards, imprinted in green, "Townsend, Artist", may have originated with him, but could have also been connected to the other two.