Farquar, Ben Harold (1881-1965) (1 of 2)
/Lewis Dowe’s Portrait Photograph of Frederick Stuart Farquar and Ben Harold Farquar
THE PHOTOGRAPHER/ PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO:
LEWIS DOWE was born in 1838 in Hanover, New Hampshire and died in 1919 in Portland, Oregon. He arrived in Petaluma in September of 1875 and set up his photography studio in the rooms formerly occupied by photographer Hugh Anderson. Dowe worked in Petaluma as both a “view” and portrait photographer until he departed the town in March of 1882. (For additional information on this photographer and to view all portraits by him in the collection, click on his name in blue above.)
THE SITTER:
Name: Frederick Stuart Farquar and Ben Harold Farquar
Description: In this cabinet card, Frederick Stuart Farquar is between 2 and 3 years old, and his brother, Ben Harold Farquar, is between 1 and 2 years old. Seated upon a fur blanket on the viewer’s left, Frederick, with prominent, dark, curly hair, is attired in a short, dark, front-buttoned dress with a large flounced hem. The piece of white lace which has been tied around his neck may be a bib worn in reverse. He also wears dark leggings and leather boots. Seated in a highchair on the viewer’s right, Ben, with smooth blond hair, is attired in a white dress, striped leggings and dark leather boots.
Biographical Note: Ben Harold Farquar was raised in Petaluma and served in the Spanish-American war in Company C. He worked as a building contractor in Petaluma, Woodland, and San Francisco, California.
Family Affiliation: Frederick and Ben were the sons of Petaluma pioneers, Mary Irene Clark Farquar (1858-1941), and Calvin Stuart Farquar (1848-1908). Ben married Elaine Wever of Woodland, California in 1906. In July of 1933, he married poetess Agnes Stephens (1888-1976) of Petaluma. Ben was buried in Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, California, and Agnes was buried beside Vivian Cullen Noonan (1902-1982) in Petaluma’s Calvary Catholic Cemetery. 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: Lewis Dowe’s imprint in the form of his signature appears along the bottom left edge. Along the bottom right edge is “Petaluma, Cal”.
Description, back: The back of this cabinet card is blank or contains only an accession number
Date: late 1881 - March 1882
Condition: The top half of this card is heavily stained.
Owner: Petaluma Historical Library & Museum, 1978-80-44-p23-p44
Reproduction rights: The Petaluma Museum Association makes no assertions as to ownership of any original copyrights to the digitized images here reproduced. These images are intended for personal or research use only. Any other kind of use, including, but not limited to commercial or scholarly publication in any medium or format, public exhibition, or use online or in a web site, may be subject to additional restrictions including but not limited to the copyrights held by parties other than the Association. USERS ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE for determining the existence of such rights and for obtaining any permissions and/or paying associated fees necessary for the proposed use.