Farquar, Thomas Allen (1891-1956) (1 of 2)
/Frederick E. Mersereau’s Portrait Photograph of
Marion (Marian) Irene Farquar, Mary Irene Clark Farquar & 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: Thomas Allen Farquar was raised in Petaluma and lived many years of his life in Santa Rosa. He was a Corporal in the United States Army during World War I. He was buried in Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno.
Family Affiliation: Thomas Allen Farquar was the youngest son of Petaluma pioneers Mary Irene Clark Farquar (1858-1941), and Calvin Stuart Farquar (1848-1908). His two brothers were Frederick Stuart Farquar and Ben Harold Farquar, and his two sisters were Helen Farquar and Marion Irene Farquar. According to a Farquar descendant, Thomas Allen Farquar’s first wife was Irene Olive Kinnamen Farquar. They had two children, Dorothy Farquar and Neal Farquar. After Thomas and Irene divorced, he married Olga S. Farquar (1897-1974). There are many additional portraits of Farquar family members in this archive.
Bibliography:
THE PHOTOGRAPH:
Format / Size: cabinet card
Medium: albumen 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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