Brown, Anna “Annie” Alexis Ferguson (1841-1920) (2 of 4)
/Petaluma Photo Parlors’ portrait photograph of Anna “annie” Alexis Ferguson Brown
THE PHOTOGRAPHER/ PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO:
JOSLIN & COMPANY was established by the photographer Amon James Tuft Joslin. He was born in 1839 in Rockwood, New York, and died in 1913 in San Benito County, California. He established the Petaluma Photo Parlor under the name of Joslin & Company in November 1893, and left the studio, departing for Chico, California in April 1897. (For additional information on Joslin and Company and to view all portraits produced by the studio in the collection, click on its name in blue above.)
THE SITTER:
Name: Anna “Annie” Alexis Ferguson Brown
Description: In this head-and-shoulder portrait, Anna Brown holds herself in a dignified pose and gazes confidently out at the viewer. Her hair is center-parted and pulled to the back of her head. She wears wire-rimmed spectacles, small drop earrings, and a choker with metallic embellishments. Reflecting the fashion of the 1890s, her velvet blouse is adorned with gimp braid trim, and its sleeves are puffed at the shoulder.
Biographical Note: Anna Alexis Ferguson was born in 1841 in County Galway, Ireland. By age 5, she and her family had immigrated to the United States and lived in Boston, Massachusetts. Annie sailed around Cape Horn and came to California in 1856 to live in Petaluma with her sister and brother-in-law, Sabina and Thomas Rochford. On May 18, 1858, Annie and Daniel Brown were married at the Rochford’s house by Father Louis Auger. Annie and Daniel had twelve children, seven of whom survived until adulthood. Besides raising their children, Annie was active in St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church and participated in local fairs, entering tapestries and other works of art she had created. Annie lived in Petaluma until a few years after the 1902 death of her husband. She moved to San Francisco with her son, Vincent and three of her unmarried daughters, Josephine, Emma, and Kathleen Elise. Annie died in San Francisco on March 13, 1920. She was buried next to Daniel in Calvary Cemetery in Petaluma, and eventually most of their twelve children were interred with them in the Brown Family Plot.
*This biographical note was written by Anna Alexis Ferguson Brown’s descendant, Kathleen O’Brien Balestrini.
Family Affiliation: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/41848304/annie-alexis-brown Search this archive and the Sonoma County Library photograph archive for additional portraits of the Brown family.
Bibliography: Primary Sources: Petaluma Argus-Courier: March 28, 1900, p. 1; March 13, 1916, p. 2; March 13, 1920, p. 4 (obit); March 15, 1920, p. 5.. Petaluma Daily Morning Courier: October 12, 1904, p. 1; March 20, 1922, p.3; September 13, 1911, p. 5; March 14, 1920, p. 8 (obit). Petaluma Weekly Argus: September 1, 1888, p. 2. For additional information and artifacts pertaining to the Brown family, see the Kathleen O’Brien Balestrini Collection at the Petaluma Historical Library & Museum.
THE PHOTOGRAPH:
Format / Size: cabinet card
Medium: gelatin or collodion photographic print mounted on cardstock
Description, front: This digital image was not taken from the original cabinet card. It was taken from a copy of the original.
Description, back: The back of this card is either empty or contains only an accession number.
Date: between November 1893 and April 1897
Condition: Because this digital copy was not taken from the original, the condition of the original is unknown.
Owner: From the collection of Kathleen O’Brien Balestrini, digital copy by permission
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.