Hall, Mary Louise Brown (1860-1932)(2 of 6)

Bryan R. Johnson’s Portrait photograph of Mary Louise Brown

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THE PHOTOGRAPHER/ PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO:

Photographer: BRYAN R. JOHNSON was born c. 1834 in New York State, and his death date is unidentified. After working as a photographer in several California cities, Johnson moved to Petaluma and beginning in December of 1862 co-partnered with Edward P. Butler at the Ambrotype and Photographic Gallery on Petaluma’s Phoenix Block. In April 1863, Johnson took sole possession of the gallery and renamed it “Johnson’s Premier Pioneer Photographic Gallery”. In 1864, he moved his studio twice within the community finally settling in the Doyle Building on Main Street. Johnson sold his studio to William Henry Lentz in October 1866. (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: Mary Louise Brown Hall. This portrait was taken when the sitter was a child and known by her birth name, Mary Louise Brown.

Description: In this full-length portrait, Mary Louis Brown stands confidently gazing directly at the viewer, and, although just a child, her self possession borders on boldness. She places her right hand on the top of a round table, and her left holds a dark shawl. She is attired in a checkered print dress with a three-layered flounced hem, a matching waist belt, drop shoulders, and flounced sleeves edged in lace. She wears a hooped petticoat, and her full-skirted dress falls to just above the top of her boots, revealing a short section of her white leggings. Her hair has been center-parted and cut short with wisps surrounding her face. She wears a thin gold chain that falls to just below the neckline of her dress.

Biographical Note: Mary Louise, or Lulu as she was called, was the first of twelve children born to the early Petaluma pioneers, Daniel and Annie Brown.  She was born in Petaluma on March 5, 1860, and attended the Brick School and Petaluma High School.  Lulu graduated from high school in 1878 along with five other students including her future husband, Gilbert Hall.  Two years later on May 29, 1882, Lulu and Gil eloped to Marin County and were married there by a Justice of the Peace.  The next day the Brown parents arranged for them to be married in a Catholic ceremony in their home.  The Hall couple settled in Petaluma and for a few years resided in Santa Rosa while Gil was acting as Sonoma County Auditor and Recorder. From girlhood and throughout her adult years, Mary Louise was active in St. Vincent Church events.  At one time she was photographed driving a horse and buggy down Main Street with a friend while collecting donations for a Catholic fair.  The tintype still exists.

The marriage of the Hall couple lasted almost fifty years.  Gil died on January 24, 1932, and Mary Louise followed on August 25th of the same year.  Five daughters survived the Hall couple, Aletha, Evelyn, Kathleen, Geraldine, and Dorothy; one son died at birth.  Gilbert and Mary Louise lived at 325 Post Street in Petaluma and were buried together in Calvary Catholic Cemetery.

*This biographical note was written by Annie Alexis Ferguson Brown’s descendant, Kathleen O’Brien Balestrini.

Family Affiliation: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/42046382/mary-louise-hall Search this archive and the Sonoma County Library photograph archive for additional portraits of the Brown and Hall families.

Bibliography: Petaluma Argus-Courier: August 25, 1932, p. 3 (obituary); August 27, 1932, p. 3. Petaluma Daily Morning Courier: July 29, 1911, p.1; August 28, 1911, p. 5. For additional information and artifacts pertaining to the Brown and Hall families, see the Kathleen O’Brien Balestrini Collection at the Petaluma Historical Library & Museum.

THE PHOTOGRAPH:

It is of significant note that this carte de visite was used to create a crayon portrait of the sitter that is also in this archive.

Format / Size: carte de visite

Medium: albumen photographic print mounted on cardstock

Description, front: The details of this carte de visite’s painted backdrop are not distinguishable due to the photograph’s extensive foxing.

Description, back: On the back of this carte de visite is a 2-cent federal tax stamp upon which is handwritten in black ink the initials of the photographer, “BRJ”, and below these letters is the date June 5. The 2-cent stamp documents that the purchaser paid less than 25 cents for the portrait. Below the stamp is the photographer’s imprint. Handwritten in pencil below the imprint are the numbers 766-53 with a line through them. Below these numbers appears what may be the word “Easel”, and below that is “10013/8”. Printed along the bottom edge is “Negatives preserved from which extra copies can be had at less than regular prices.”

Date: The 2-cent federal tax stamp on the back side of this carte de visite establishes its earliest possible date as June 5, 1864, and the photographer’s departure from Petaluma establishes its latest possible date as 1866.

Condition: This cdv is in very poor condition. It has extensive foxing on the front, and the back is heavily soiled.

Owner: Petaluma Historical Library & Museum, from the collection of Kathleen O’Brien Balestrini, 2024-998-02.

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.