Webster, Nellie Louise Cassidy (1863-1930)
/George Ross’ Portrait Photograph of Nellie Louise Cassidy Webster
THE PHOTOGRAPHER/ PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO:
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 19th 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 Ross stopped working as a photographer soon after he became an invalid 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: Nellie Louise Cassidy Webster (This portrait may have taken when the sitter was known by her maiden name, Nellie Louise Cassidy.)
Description: Nellie Louise Cassidy Webster appears here with no ornamentation except for the metal bar brooch at her neck. Her hair is parted on her right and disheveled curls appear on either side of her brow. She wears two collars. A white band collar is visible beneath the dark band collar of her blouse. Her blouse has a distinct row of metal front buttons, and it is constructed with vertical stripes of velvet alternating with lighter sections of fabric topped with colored textured strings.
Biographical Note: Nellie was raised on her pioneering parents’ Petaluma cherry orchard farm, a depiction of which can be found in Thomas H. Thompson’s Historical Atlas Map of Sonoma County, p. 45, plate 86. She was mentioned in the Petaluma papers in 1876 and 1877 as receiving awards for her needlework, and in 1885 she married an educator, Calvin B. Webster (1859-1903) and moved with him to Solano County.
Family Affiliation: Nellie Louise Cassidy Webster was the daughter of the Petaluma pioneers, John Wintermute Cassidy (1822-1903) and Laura Cassidy (1829-1913). The couple moved to Petaluma in 1854 and planted the first commercial cherry orchard in the county. Consequently, the area surrounding their home and orchard became known as Cherry Valley. Nellie was the wife of educator Calvin B. Webster (1859-1903).
Bibliography:
THE PHOTOGRAPH:
Format / Size: cabinet card
Medium: albumen photographic print mounted on cardstock
Description, front: This is a standard head-and-shoulders portrait, and along its bottom edge is George Ross’ imprint.
Description, back: Handwritten in cursive in pencil is, “Nellie Cassidy”, “Mrs. Webster”, “Friend”, “Lillian A Lovejoy Stafford”.
Date:
Condition: This card is heavily soiled on the front, and the back retains along its top and bottom edges remnants of previously applied tape.
Owner: Petaluma Historical Library & Museum, 1978-80-39
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