Wheaton, Marcella “Ella” Whitney (1866-1915) (3 of 6)
/Lewis Dowe’s Portrait Photograph of Clara, Ella & Albie Whitney
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 SITTERS:
Names: Clara Whitney Spear, Marcella “Ella” Whitney Wheaton, and Albion “Albie” Whitney (At the time this portrait was taken, Clara and Marcella would have been known by their maiden name, Whitney.)
Description: This is a masterful portrait of three young siblings. Clara, approximately 4 years of age, sits on a fringed studio chair with her feet dangling above the floor. She is attired in a dark dress with a double row of buttons and a white side ruffle which runs the length of her dress and boarders the attached matching shawl. Her petticoat is revealed, peaking under the front of her dress’ hem. She wears white leggings and dark, leather, side-snap, boots. Marcella, approximately 10 years of age, stands behind her sister and brother and is attired in a dark dress with a front strip of fabric which is embellished with buttons and a diagonal cross design. She wears a white lace ruff and a necklace which ends in what is most probably a locket. Albion, approximately 7 years of age, stand on the viewer’s right and affectionally rests his right hand on Clara’s left wrist. He is dressed in a formal, cutaway, jacket with decorative side buttons. Beneath, he wears a matching piped vest and knickers.
Biographical Note: As a member of a prominent Petaluma family, Ella was well educated. She attended an Episcopal high school, Saint Mary’s Hall in Benicia, and, according to her obituary, a Bay Area seminary which may be a reference to Mill’s Seminary. According to articles in the Petaluma Weekly Argus, Ella toured Europe between July 1887 and December 1888. She later married Charles B. Wheaton and moved with him to Medford, Massachusetts. She died suddenly at the age of 48 of pneumonia in Medford, but was buried in her family’s plot in Petaluma at the Cypress Hill Memorial Park.
Family Affiliation: Marcella “Ella” Whitney was the fifth child of the prominent Petaluma pioneers Albion Paris Whitney (1825-1884) and Susan Durgin Eastman Whitney (1832-1917). Her father was a California State Senator and wealthy businessman. Her mother managed the family business after his death and was an active participant in the women’s suffrage movement. Her paternal grandmother was Olive Parlin Whitney, and her siblings were Cleora Melissa Whitney Hewlett, Nancy Jane “Jenny” Whitney Morrow, Arthur Leslie Whitney, Leona Merrill Whitney, Albion Harvey Whitney and Clara Whitney Spears. Marcella’s husband was Charles B. Wheaton of San Francisco whom she married in 1892.
Bibliography:
THE PHOTOGRAPH:
Format / Size: cabinet card
Medium: albumen photographic print mounted on cardstock
Description, front: This is a masterful portrait of three siblings. The brilliantly harmonious arrangement of the children is strengthened by the arched matte and uncluttered background. The photographer has posed the children in a classic pyramidal composition. He angled Clara and Albion to serve as compositional parenthesis and placed Marcella to serve as the exclamation mark.
Description, back: Handwritten in cursive in pencil is, “Albie”, “Ella” and “Clara”. Handwritten in cursive in black ink in the lower right is, “Clark Family”. This is not a reference to the sitters, but, most probably, to the owners of the cabinet card.
Date: 1876 or 1877
Condition: Both the front and the back of this card are soiled.
Owner: Petaluma Historical Library & Museum, 1981-835-03
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