GEORGE COLVAINE ROSS was born February 12, 1832 in Edinburgh, Scotland and died in 1893 at the age of 60 in Petaluma, California. Unlike the other nineteenth century Petaluma photographers, Ross lived and worked in Petaluma for many years. He arrived in Petaluma in 1855, and in 1862 he began his profession as a photographer, moving his studio within the city several times as noted on his various carte de visite and cabinet card imprints. In 1869 he was also part of a short-lived photographic studio partnership with Elon D. Ormsby on Main Street in Petaluma. It was reported that Ross stopped working as a photographer soon after he developed a disability in 1888. Ross was among the most prolific Petaluma portrait photographers, and his work was of exceptionally high quality. Ross was buried in Petaluma’s Cypress Hill Memorial Park. (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: Aletha Hall O’Brien Baker. At the time this photo was taken, the sitter would have been known as Aletha Hall.
Description: This sturdy baby has been sat on a ledge, and she has assumed a full-frontal pose. Her feet dangle over the edge. She is wearing dark Mary Janes shoes and white, calf-high socks. The cuffs and hem of her white dress are embellished with a thick border of elaborate lace.
Biographical Note: Aletha Hall was born in Petaluma in 1883, the eldest child of Gilbert and Mary Louise Brown Hall. She was educated at Petaluma schools and the Ursuline Academy in Santa Rosa and for a while ran her own millinery store in Petaluma. In 1907 she married local physician Dr. John Thomas O’Brien and the couple was blessed with three children, Margaret in 1908, Kathleen in 1911, and John T., Jr., in 1913. During the First World War, Dr. O’Brien received a commission to the Army Medical Corps and was stationed in San Diego. Aletha drove south with her children to be near him and when he was honorably discharged they all returned to Petaluma to their beautiful home on several acres near Oak Hill Park. In 1920 the O’Briens sold their home and moved to San Francisco. In 1926 Dr. O’Brien died there at the age of 63. Several years later Aletha married Walter Baker, an officer with the Metropolitan Insurance Company. Walter died in 1933 and Aletha, at the age of 50, was again a widow.
Aletha led a busy life as a widow. She settled in Palo Alto and was highly involved with her family which included twelve grandchildren. She never moved back to Petaluma but always kept her connection, often visiting relatives and friends there, and frequently sending notices of family events to the Argus Courier. She was frequently involved in local events, acting as a guest speaker at AAUW meetings and as a frequent chairperson at political conferences. She was a staunch Democrat and after Eisenhower’s win expressed herself with one of the first bumper stickers: Don’t Blame Me! I voted Democrat! Aletha Hall O’Brien Baker died in 1966 and was buried in the O’Brien Plot in the Catholic Calvary Cemetery in Petaluma.
*This biographical note was written by Aletha Hall O’Brien Baker’s descendant, Kathleen O’Brien Balestrini.
Family Affiliation: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/42033731/aletha-o'brien_baker. There are many portraits of other members of the Hall, O’Brien, and Baker families in this archive.
Bibliography: Petaluma Argus-Courier, September, 20, 1966, p. 5 (obituary); The Peninsula Times Tribune (Palo Alto, CA), September 20, 1966, p. 4 (obituary). For additional information and artifacts pertaining to the Hall family, see the Kathleen O’Brien Balestrini Collection at the Petaluma Historical Library & Museum. For additional information and artifacts pertaining to the Hall, O’Brien, and Baker families, 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: The staging of this portrait is elaborate. It creates the illusion of an exterior window. On the left is a trellis covered in vines, and above and to the right is a white curtain and a fringed scalloped valance.
Description, back: Handwritten in pencil is, “Aletha Hall”, “(1883 - 1966)”, and “2 years old, ca 1885”.
Date: c. 1885
Condition: This cabinet card is in good condition.
Owner: From the collection of Kathleen O’Brien Balestrini,
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.
