Farquar, Mary Irene Clark (1858-1941) (3 of 5)

Frederick E. Mersereau’s Portrait Photograph of

Marion (Marian) Irene Farquar, Mary Irene clark Farquar, and Thomas Allen Farquar

THE PHOTOGRAPHER/ PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO:

Photographer:  Frederick E. Mersereau

Studio Location: 2239 Mission Street, San Francisco 


THE SITTERS:

Names: Presumably this portrait includes from left to right: Marion (Marian) Irene Farquar (b. & d. dates to be determined), Mary Irene Clark Farquar (1858-1941), and Thomas Allen Farquar (1891-1956). The back side of this card identifies the sitters as, “M. I. Farquar + Daughters”, and the child on the left is most probably Mary’s second daughter, Marion Irene Farquar. An earlier portrait of Marion in this archive supports this conclusion. However, the date of August 19, 1893, also written on the back of the card, makes the identity of the second child as Mary’s only other daughter, Helen, an impossibility. Helen was born in 1877 and died as an infant in 1878. The only possible candidate for the child on the left is Mary’s son, Thomas Allen Farquar, who was born in February of 1891. He would have been two years and seven months at the time this portrait was taken. Additionally, a second portrait of Thomas, taken in January of 1895, when he was three years and eleven months, appears to be the same child. There was additional confusion concerning the identify of the children in this portrait; the handwritten note on the photo album page containing this portrait identified the children as Marion and Fred.

Description: In this cabinet card portrait, Mary Irene Clark Farquar sits between her two standing children. She wears a waisted, dark, dress printed with light-colored flowers and trimmed with numerous rows of flounces and ruffles. Her daughter, Marion Irene, appears at her right wearing a waisted dress with full sleeves, tight cuffs, and a large, gathered yoke. Sausage curls fall to just below her shoulders. On Mary’s left stands a toddler, presumably her son, Thomas Allen Farquar. He is dressed in a long-sleeved white gown and dark leather boots. He has a head full of blond curls.

Biographical Note: Mary Irene Clark Farquar was born in Petaluma on the “Clark Ranch” owned by her pioneer parents. She was raised in Petaluma and then attended Mills Seminary (later known as Mills College) between 1874 and 1875. After the death of her first husband in 1908, Mary purchased a ranch in Sonoma Valley at Madrone Station where she lived with her widowed mother, Rachael Jane Murray Clark. In 1919, Mary married an Oakland real estate investor, L. M. Channel. According to their marriage announcement, they planned to live on Mary’s ranch. It appears Mary was never referred to as “Mrs. Channel”. Even after her second marriage, she continued to be referred to as “Mrs. Farquar” or “Mrs. Farquar Sr.” Even her funeral announcement and obituary refer to her as Mrs. Farquar. She was buried in the Farquar family plot in Petaluma’s Cypress Hill Memorial Park. As it seems she never acknowledged the name “Channel”, this archive has filed her portraits under her last acknowledged name, Farquar.

Family Affiliation: Mary Irene Clark Farquar was a member of an early Petaluma pioneer family. Her father, Almer Clark (1829-1899), came to California by way of the Isthmus of Panama, and her mother, Rachael Jane Murray Clark (1838 - 1930), a native of Missouri, crossed the plains with her parents in 1848 or 1852. Almer and Rachael established the “Clark Ranch” on Petaluma Hill Road which served as a “Half-Way” house for the stage coaches traveling between Sacramento and Willits. In 1876, Mary married Calvin Stuart Farquar (1848-1908). Together they had five children: Frederick Stuart Farquar (1879-1962), Ben Harold Farquar (1881-1965), Thomas Allen Farquar (1891-1956), Helen Farquar (b. & d. dates to be determined) and Marion Irene Farquar (b. & d. dates to be determined). There are many additional portraits of Farquar family members in this archive.

Bibliography:


THE PHOTOGRAPH:

Format / Size: cabinet card

Medium: gelatin or collodion photographic print mounted on cardstock

Description, front: This portrait has a painted backdrop depicting a domestic interior. All four borders of the card are pinked, and the photographer’s imprint appears along the bottom in brown ink.

Description, back: Handwritten at the top of the card in cursive in pencil is, “M. I. Farquar + Daughters”. Handwritten in cursive in black ink along the right side is, “Santa Rosa, August 19, 1893.”.

Date: August 19, 1893

Condition: This card is heavily foxed on both sides.

Owner:  Petaluma Historical Library & Museum, 1978-80-44-p2-p3, Farquar Family Album

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