I tend to buy nice cabinet card images by photographers named “Marsh”. I do so because my last name is also “Marsh”. None of the photographers are my relatives because my earlier American ancestors were not named Marsh and the name “Marsh” was an Ellis Island invention. Levi Marsh is the photographer who took the cabinet card portrait above. He operated a studio in Adams, Massachusetts. The North Adams Transcript (1954) described him as a “one-armed photographer”. Levi was born in Canada in 1846 and immigrated to the United States in 1865. He married Blanche Knight Marsh in 1868 and appears to have married again in about 1885 to Elmeda Marsh. He is listed as a photographer in Adams in the 1870, 1880, and 1900 US censuses. Levi Marsh died in Adams in 1901. This cabinet card features a young woman wearing a ruffled high collar dress. She appears a bit bewildered in this photograph indicating she did not have a great degree of comfort in front of the camera.
An older couple pose for this photograph. They are likely wearing their best clothing. Looks like they may even be holding hands. Bravo, the spark in the relationship may still be there. Note the jewelry and the gentleman’s great beard. The photographer is G. Ralph Huested of Adams, New York.
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 