A Security Guard with Photographic Materials in the U.S. Capitol Dome
Carte de visite by Bell & Hall of Washington, D.C. A man sits with an open book on his knee and an arm resting on a worktable. Upon the table is visible a stereoviewer, field glasses and paper prints. One of the prints is tacked to a support beam. Another beam in the foreground has a sign of some sort attached to it. Sitting atop a wood platform behind him is his hat and what may be holders for glass photographic plates. An empty box sits on the floor in front of the table. The entire setup is located inside an elaborate support structure of steel beams angled and bolted in place. A cylindrical object sits in the foreground.
The structural details resemble contemporary images of the interior of the dome of the U.S. Capitol Building.
The photographers credited with this image, William H. Bell and A.F. Hall, were active in the District of Columbia between 1866-1867. One of Bell’s brothers, Nephi, a former ambrotypist for Washington’s Turner & Co., had started Bell & Brother by 1862. This studio became Bell & Hall.
The man seated in this portrait is identified on the back in period pencil as Gulick. One J.P. Gulick, a policeman on the grounds of the Capitol, is referenced in a September 1864 memo published in Between the Lines: Secret Service Stories Told Fifty Years After, by Henry Bascom Smith.
A second reference to J.P. Gulick, this one as a guard inside the Dome, can be found in the 1869 edition of Appletons’ Hand-Book of American Travel. “In the group representing the Arts and Science the figures of Franklin, Walter, and Fulton occupy prominent places. Mr. J.P. Gulick has immediate charge of this portion of the Dome.”
Another reference to Gulick can be found in the 1866 Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military and Naval, in the Service of the United States. This volume lists John P. Gulick as one of two men appointed Watchmen in the Grounds of the Capitol. He is also listed as having been born in Pennsylvania and appointed to his post from Virginia.
Genealogical resources point to John Patterson Gulick (1810-1895) as a prime candidate for the man seated here. And it is confirmed by his photo and biographical sketch in the 1887 book, Biographical and Historical Record of Greene and Carroll Counties, Iowa, supports the above references. It also lists him as a captain in the 16th New York Cavalry when the New Yorkers captured John Wilkes Booth. There is no record he served in a formal role with the 16th or any other military organization during the war, but he may have accompanied them on the manhunt for Booth:
JOHN P. GULICK, farmer, Grand Junction, was born in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, September 18, 1810, son of Abram Gulick, born in Sussex County, New Jersey, who was a soldier in the war of 1812, and now deceased. He was reared on a farm, and educated in the subscription school, in a small frame house covered with slabs, slab benches, and a board fastened to the wall for a desk; a huge fire-place in one end, a long window on one side, two rows of lights, and a four-light window for the teacher. In 1843 he removed to Three Rivers, Michigan, being in search of a fair young damsel whom he had met in Pennsylvania. He traveled through Illinois to Iowa, and back to White Pigeon, Michigan, and found her in the person of Mary D. Kownover, whom he married October 29, 1844. She was a daughter of Richard L. Kownover, of New Jersey, and was born in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. July 4, 1844, our subject drove a reaper and thresher combined, on prairie round drawn by fourteen horses. The machine had on it a liberty pole, bearing the names of "Polk and Dallas." That day they cut and sacked twenty-eight acres of wheat with that machine. Mr. and Mrs. Gulick have had eight chidlren, six of whom are living -- William B., Emma J., Charley M., Kate, Margaret M. and Addie L. They have an adopted child -- Maude. In 1846 they returned to Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, thence to Northumberland County, Virginia, in 1852, and returned to Pennsylvania in 1862. They spent about four years in Washington, D.C., Mr. Gulick being in the employ of the United States four years. He was Captain of a squad of the Sixteenth New York, under Colonel Nickelson, sent by General Auger to capture Booth, the assassinator of Lincoln. He rendered valuable service to the Government during the war; being a sailor, he gave information which led to the capture of many rebel vessels. In 1866 he removed to St. Joseph County, Indiana, thence to this county in 1873, where he has since lived. He conducted the Ashley House over three years. He belongs to the Masonic and Odd Fellows Societies, and is a member of the Presbyterian Church. The family are Baptists.
Update
On April 30, 2020, Victoria Singer of the Office of the Curator, Architect of the Capitol, responded to my request for information about Gulick and the substructure. Ms. Singer was in possession of information similar to the above when she offered this evaluation:
"Currently, with the information from our records, I cannot confirm that the gentleman in the photo is Mr. Gulick. From all of your references and research; however, I think it is certainly plausible. The substructure surrounding the figure does indeed resemble the interstitial space seen in the interior of the U.S. Capitol dome. The same structure and shape can be seen in a drawing of the cross-section of the dome by Thomas U. Walter. You can view the image here. www.flickr.com/photos/uscapitol/albums/72157627522560000/...; www.flickr.com/photos/uscapitol/6915560084/in/album-72157... The balustrades, in your photo, strongly resemble those of the dome’s second visitor’s gallery."
I encourage you to use this image for educational purposes only. However, please ask for permission.
A Security Guard with Photographic Materials in the U.S. Capitol Dome
Carte de visite by Bell & Hall of Washington, D.C. A man sits with an open book on his knee and an arm resting on a worktable. Upon the table is visible a stereoviewer, field glasses and paper prints. One of the prints is tacked to a support beam. Another beam in the foreground has a sign of some sort attached to it. Sitting atop a wood platform behind him is his hat and what may be holders for glass photographic plates. An empty box sits on the floor in front of the table. The entire setup is located inside an elaborate support structure of steel beams angled and bolted in place. A cylindrical object sits in the foreground.
The structural details resemble contemporary images of the interior of the dome of the U.S. Capitol Building.
The photographers credited with this image, William H. Bell and A.F. Hall, were active in the District of Columbia between 1866-1867. One of Bell’s brothers, Nephi, a former ambrotypist for Washington’s Turner & Co., had started Bell & Brother by 1862. This studio became Bell & Hall.
The man seated in this portrait is identified on the back in period pencil as Gulick. One J.P. Gulick, a policeman on the grounds of the Capitol, is referenced in a September 1864 memo published in Between the Lines: Secret Service Stories Told Fifty Years After, by Henry Bascom Smith.
A second reference to J.P. Gulick, this one as a guard inside the Dome, can be found in the 1869 edition of Appletons’ Hand-Book of American Travel. “In the group representing the Arts and Science the figures of Franklin, Walter, and Fulton occupy prominent places. Mr. J.P. Gulick has immediate charge of this portion of the Dome.”
Another reference to Gulick can be found in the 1866 Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military and Naval, in the Service of the United States. This volume lists John P. Gulick as one of two men appointed Watchmen in the Grounds of the Capitol. He is also listed as having been born in Pennsylvania and appointed to his post from Virginia.
Genealogical resources point to John Patterson Gulick (1810-1895) as a prime candidate for the man seated here. And it is confirmed by his photo and biographical sketch in the 1887 book, Biographical and Historical Record of Greene and Carroll Counties, Iowa, supports the above references. It also lists him as a captain in the 16th New York Cavalry when the New Yorkers captured John Wilkes Booth. There is no record he served in a formal role with the 16th or any other military organization during the war, but he may have accompanied them on the manhunt for Booth:
JOHN P. GULICK, farmer, Grand Junction, was born in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, September 18, 1810, son of Abram Gulick, born in Sussex County, New Jersey, who was a soldier in the war of 1812, and now deceased. He was reared on a farm, and educated in the subscription school, in a small frame house covered with slabs, slab benches, and a board fastened to the wall for a desk; a huge fire-place in one end, a long window on one side, two rows of lights, and a four-light window for the teacher. In 1843 he removed to Three Rivers, Michigan, being in search of a fair young damsel whom he had met in Pennsylvania. He traveled through Illinois to Iowa, and back to White Pigeon, Michigan, and found her in the person of Mary D. Kownover, whom he married October 29, 1844. She was a daughter of Richard L. Kownover, of New Jersey, and was born in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. July 4, 1844, our subject drove a reaper and thresher combined, on prairie round drawn by fourteen horses. The machine had on it a liberty pole, bearing the names of "Polk and Dallas." That day they cut and sacked twenty-eight acres of wheat with that machine. Mr. and Mrs. Gulick have had eight chidlren, six of whom are living -- William B., Emma J., Charley M., Kate, Margaret M. and Addie L. They have an adopted child -- Maude. In 1846 they returned to Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, thence to Northumberland County, Virginia, in 1852, and returned to Pennsylvania in 1862. They spent about four years in Washington, D.C., Mr. Gulick being in the employ of the United States four years. He was Captain of a squad of the Sixteenth New York, under Colonel Nickelson, sent by General Auger to capture Booth, the assassinator of Lincoln. He rendered valuable service to the Government during the war; being a sailor, he gave information which led to the capture of many rebel vessels. In 1866 he removed to St. Joseph County, Indiana, thence to this county in 1873, where he has since lived. He conducted the Ashley House over three years. He belongs to the Masonic and Odd Fellows Societies, and is a member of the Presbyterian Church. The family are Baptists.
Update
On April 30, 2020, Victoria Singer of the Office of the Curator, Architect of the Capitol, responded to my request for information about Gulick and the substructure. Ms. Singer was in possession of information similar to the above when she offered this evaluation:
"Currently, with the information from our records, I cannot confirm that the gentleman in the photo is Mr. Gulick. From all of your references and research; however, I think it is certainly plausible. The substructure surrounding the figure does indeed resemble the interstitial space seen in the interior of the U.S. Capitol dome. The same structure and shape can be seen in a drawing of the cross-section of the dome by Thomas U. Walter. You can view the image here. www.flickr.com/photos/uscapitol/albums/72157627522560000/...; www.flickr.com/photos/uscapitol/6915560084/in/album-72157... The balustrades, in your photo, strongly resemble those of the dome’s second visitor’s gallery."
I encourage you to use this image for educational purposes only. However, please ask for permission.