Brown, Emma Rochford (1872-1956)(2 of 2)
/Unidentified Photographer’s Portrait Photograph of MArY KELLEY, DR. VINCENT dE PAUL BROWN, EMMA ROCHFORD BROWN, AND KATHLEEN ELISE BROWN
THE PHOTOGRAPHER/ PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO:
Photographer: unidentified
THE SITTERS:
Names: (from left to right) Mary Kelley, Dr. Vincent de Paul Brown (seated), Emma Rochford Brown, and Kathleen Elise Brown
Description: Emma Rochford Brown is the tall woman in the center of the composition. To the right is her sister, Kathleen Elise Brown; to the left is Mary Kelley, and seated in front is her brother, Dr. Vincent de Paul Brown. All three women wear magnificent examples of Edwardian picture hats. Emma’s is a flat, thin, wide-brimmed hat embellished on its crown with large loops of ribbon and pheasant feathers that extend far beyond the back of the hat’s brim. In contrast to her elaborate hat, Emma wears a simple, long, fitted, light-colored, pinstriped jacket with a small, high lapel. The collar of her white lace blouse is adorned with a round brooch, and a very long, thin necklace is secured under the lapel of her jacket.
Biographical Note: Emma Rochford Brown was born in Petaluma in 1872, the eighth child of Daniel and Anna Alexis Ferguson Brown. She attended local public schools until 1885 when St. Vincent de Paul School began accepting girls after many years as a boys-only school. Emma graduated from high school with honors in 1891. Over the years she was very active in local festivals often entering her oil paintings and works of needlepoint. She frequently visited friends in San Francisco by train and, a few years after the 1902 death of her father, she moved to the city with her mother and unmarried sisters and brother. The Brown Family Estate allowed her many years of support and extensive travel. Emma Brown died in 1956 at the age of 84 and was buried in the Brown Family plot at the Petaluma Calvary Cemetery.
*This biographical note was written by Emma Rochford Brown’s descendant, Kathleen O’Brien Balestrini.
Family Affiliation: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/41913114/emma-rochford-brown Search this archive and the Sonoma County Library photograph archive for additional portraits of the Brown family.
Bibliography: Petaluma Argus-Courier: March 19, 1921, p.7; November 23, 1922, p. 7; September 25, 1956, p. 2 (obit); September 27, 1956, p. 8. Petaluma Courier, August 29, 1888, p. 2; June 24, 1891, p. 2. Petaluma Weekly Argus: August 25, 1888, p. 1. Petaluma Daily Morning Courier: October 8, 1904, p. 1; November 13, 1905, p. 1; July 16, 1912, p.4; November 21, 1912, p.1; July 07, 1915, p. 2; November 25, 1922, p. 5. For additional information and artifacts pertaining to the Hall family, see the Kathleen O’Brien Balestrini Collection at the Petaluma Historical Library & Museum.
THE PHOTOGRAPH:
Format / Size: Real photo postcard (RPPC)
Medium: Azo paper with 4 triangles
Description, front: The four persons depicted in this real photo postcard pose in front of a backdrop depicting voluminous, ornate drapery. Handwritten in cursive below the image are the names: “Mary Kelley”, “Dr. V. Brown”, “Emma Brown”, and “Elise Brown”.
Description, back: Handwritten in pencil is, “Pan Pacific Expo”, and “1915”.
Date: 1915
Condition: This postcard is in good condition.
Owner: From the collection of Kathleen O’Brien Balestrini, digital copy by permission.
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