Lovejoy, George Edwin (1831-1906)

Unidentified photographer’s Portrait Photograph of George Edwin Lovejoy

THE PHOTOGRAPHER/ PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO:

Photographer: Unidentified


THE SITTER:

Name: George Edwin Lovejoy (1831-1906)

Description: This is a full-length portrait of George Edwin Lovejoy attired in an elaborate costume replete with a faux-ermine, white, floor- length cape; feathered cap; short ruffled pantoons and tunic; white tights; and bow-embellished Mary-Jane slippers. His costume also includes a heavy chain necklace, a neck brooch, and a saber that he holds in his left hand.

Biographical Note: George Edwin Lovejoy was born in Vasselborough, Maine in November, 1831. He went to Boston as a young man where he studied dentistry under a renowned Dr. Hichcock. Upon completion of his training, he went to Northampton, Massachusetts where he secured a contract to provide the dental services to patients at Round Hill Hospital operated by a Dr. Halstead. This was the most celebrated hydropathic hospital in the United States and provided a type of water cure.

In 1859 he studied medicine under Dr. Roberts. The same year he married Mary Heffner, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. S. T. Heffner of Findlay, Ohio. In 1860 he was initiated into the Masonic Lodge at Saxon River, Vermont.

At the outbreak of the Civil War Dr. Lovejoy worked hard to successfully recruit a company of 100 men who elected him Captain of the Company. This Company became Co. I of the 49th Ohio Infantry. After serving for one year, Dr. Lovejoy was compelled by ill health to resign.

In 1863, Dr. Lovejoy came to California locating in Petaluma, where he set up a dental practice and took up residence at 860 Sixth Street…. Dr. Lovejoy gained considerable acclaim in his practice, having been credited with attracting patients from throughout California and from Hawaii. He was a “staunch Republican” and very prominent in the Petaluma area. He became affiliated with Lodge No. 180 Free & Accepted Masons and joined Antietam Post 63, Grand Army of the Republic on November 10, 1896.

On July 4, 1905, Dr. Lovejoy became ill and experienced a lingering condition until his death on January 15, 1906. Funeral services, under auspices of the Masonic Order were conducted at the family home. An honor guard of the Antietam Post escorted the body to the railroad depot from where it was shipped to San Francisco where it was to be cremated at the Odd Fellows Cemetery.

(This biographical note is an excerpt from Vern Piccinotti’s biographical sketch of George Edwin Lovjoy contained within the Petaluma Historical Library & Museum’s “Petaluma Antietam Post 68 Collection”.)

Family Affiliation: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/108008556/george-edwin-lovejoy. George Edwin Lovejoy married Mary Elizabeth Heffner (1844-1913) in 1858. They moved from Ohio to Petaluma some time after their marriage, and lived at 860 Sixth Street. They had four children: Lillian Alice Lovejoy Stafford, Dr. Frank Lovejoy, Dr. George Palmer Lovejoy (1877-1949), Jennie (Jane) Lovejoy Spotswood (1874-1934).

Bibliography: An extensive bibliography is provided in Vern Piccinotti’s biographical sketch of George Edwin Lovejoy contained within the Petaluma Historical Library & Museum’s “Petaluma Antietam Post 68 Collection”.


THE PHOTOGRAPH:

Format / Size: This portrait is 4” x 8.25” making it a “Panel” format.

Medium:

Description, front: This “panel” format portrait has been mounted on a black card with a gold boarder.

Description, back: On the back is handwritten in pencil: “Geo. Edwin Lovejoy”, “King in pagient [sic]”. Along the top and bottom edge is a strip of tape remnant.

Date:

Condition: With the exception of small stains in the top right and fading along the right boarder, this portrait is in good condition.

Owner:  Private collection.

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. 

Lovejoy, Mary Elizabeth Heffner (1844-1913)

George Ross’ Portrait Photograph of Mary Elizabeth Heffner Lovejoy

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 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: Mary Elizabeth Heffner Lovejoy (1844-1913)

Description: Mary Elizabeth Heffner Lovejoy is elegantly portrayed seated fully frontal in a studio chair. She turns her head slightly to the right and gazes into the lower distance. She wears a cuirass bodice with ruffled sleeves, a high neck and front buttons. At her neck is a trefoil lace jabot pinned at its center with a round brooch. She also wears a white lace ruff, and a long, drop earning can be seen dangling from her left ear. Her dark hair is parted in the center, and she wears a large braided hairpiece on the back of her head.

Biographical Note: Mary Elizabeth Heffner Lovejoy was born in Fremont county, Ohio. At age fourteen, she married George Edwin Lovejoy, and gave birth to their first child at age 15. George traveled to California “by way of the horn” in the early sixties, and two years later Mary Elizabeth followed with their two little children. They settled in Petaluma and lived at 860 Sixth Street. She was a member of the Petaluma Woman’s Club, a prominent worker of the Antietam Woman’s Relief Corps, and a Past Matron of the Morning Star Chapter, Order Eastern Star.

Family Affiliation: Mary Elizabeth Hefffner Lovejoy was the daughter of early Ohio pioneers, Mary F. Heffner and Thomas Heffner. In 1858, in Ohio, Mary Elizabeth Heffner was married to Dr. George Edwin Lovejoy (1831-1906). They had four children: Lillian Alice Lovejoy Stafford, Dr. Frank E. Lovejoy, Dr. George Palmer Lovejoy (1877-1949), Jennie (Jane) Leslie Lovejoy Spotswood (1874-1934). https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/119689219/mary-elizabeth-lovejoy.

Bibliography: Petaluma Argus-Courier, Jan 16, 1913, p.5 (obituary)

THE PHOTOGRAPH:

Format / Size:  cabinet card, approximately 10.75 x 16.5 cm

Medium: albumen photographic print mounted on cardstock

Description, front: This is an elegant and unusual composition of a seated lady. Mrs. Lovejoy’s body is presented fully frontal with her head turned slightly to the right. She rests her right arm on the fringed arm of a studio chair and holds her left arm away from her body. This pose reveals her slim waist. The arched top adds to the formality of the portrait. Along the bottom edge is the photographer’s imprint.

Description, back: Handwritten in cursive in pencil along the top is, “Clarke Family”. This is not an identification of the sitter, but may be an identification of the recipient. Below this is handwritten in pencil in print script, “Grandma Lovejoy”, “Mare Elizabeth Heffner” and “Lovejoy”.

Date: after 1880

Condition: There is extensive, heavy foxing throughout this portrait.

Owner:  Petaluma Historical Library & Museum, 1991-IDI-04

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.

 

Lovejoy, George Edwin (1831-1906)

John Quincy Reed’s Portrait Photograph of George Edwin Lovejoy

THE PHOTOGRAPHER/ PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO:

JOHN QUINCY REED was born in 1841 in Abington, Massachusetts and died in 1902 in Petaluma. He worked as a photographer in Petaluma for over 25 years, moving his studio within the community to several different locations. He arrived into Petaluma from Stockton in 1870 and continued to work as a photographer in Petaluma until at least 1898. Many of his portraits of Petaluma’s citizens are of exceptionally fine quality. (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: George Edwin Lovejoy (1831-1906)

Description: In this head-and-shoulder portrait, George Edwin Lovejoy appears as a middle-aged man with receding gray hair and a salt-and-pepper mustache and goatee. He is attired in a double-breasted jacket, a formal high-necked white shirt, and a black ribbon bow tie.

Biographical Note: George Edwin Lovejoy was born in Vasselborough, Maine in November, 1831. He went to Boston as a young man where he studied dentistry under a renowned Dr. Hichcock. Upon completion of his training, he went to Northampton, Massachusetts where he secured a contract to provide the dental services to patients at Round Hill Hospital operated by a Dr. Halstead. This was the most celebrated hydropathic hospital in the United States and provided a type of water cure.

In 1859 he studied medicine under Dr. Roberts. The same year he married Mary Heffner, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. S. T. Heffner of Findlay, Ohio. In 1860 he was initiated into the Masonic Lodge at Saxon River, Vermont.

At the outbreak of the Civil War Dr. Lovejoy worked hard to successfully recruit a company of 100 men who elected him Captain of the Company. This Company became Co. I of the 49th Ohio Infantry. After serving for one year, Dr. Lovejoy was compelled by ill health to resign.

In 1863, Dr. Lovejoy came to California locating in Petaluma, where he set up a dental practice and took up residence at 860 Sixth Street…. Dr. Lovejoy gained considerable acclaim in his practice, having been credited with attracting patients from throughout California and from Hawaii. He was a “staunch Republican” and very prominent in the Petaluma area. He became affiliated with Lodge No. 180 Free & Accepted Masons and joined Antietam Post 63, Grand Army of the Republic on November 10, 1896.

On July 4, 1905, Dr. Lovejoy became ill and experienced a lingering condition until his death on January 15, 1906. Funeral services, under auspices of the Masonic Order were conducted at the family home. An honor guard of the Antietam Post escorted the body to the railroad depot from where it was shipped to San Francisco where it was to be cremated at the Odd Fellows Cemetery.

(This biographical note is an excerpt from Vern Piccinotti’s biographical sketch of George Edwin Lovjoy contained within the Petaluma Historical Library & Museum’s “Petaluma Antietam Post 68 Collection”.)

Family Affiliation: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/108008556/george-edwin-lovejoy. George Edwin Lovejoy married Mary Elizabeth Heffner (1844-1913) in 1858. They moved from Ohio to Petaluma some time after their marriage, and lived at 860 Sixth Street. They had four children: Lillian Alice Lovejoy Stafford, Dr. Frank Lovejoy, Dr. George Palmer Lovejoy (1877-1949), Jennie (Jane) Lovejoy Spotswood (1874-1934).

Bibliography: An extensive bibliography is provided in Vern Piccinotti’s biographical sketch of George Edwin Lovejoy contained within the Petaluma Historical Library & Museum’s “Petaluma Antietam Post 68 Collection”.

THE PHOTOGRAPH:

Format / Size: cabinet card

Medium: albumen photographic print mounted on cardstock

Description, front:

Description, back: The back side of this cabinet card is either blank or contains only an accession number.

Date: sometime between 1870-1898

Condition: This cabinet card is soiled throughout and has extensive foxing on the top right quadrant.

Owner:  Petaluma Historical Library & Museum, 1978-80-45-LP39

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.