Small Family, (née Dresser & Newall) (married Porter & Burnside), circa 1871.

Linwood Dyer Collection – Part 003
Photo Friday
By Don Taylor

I identified six people for “Photo Friday” in a (circa) 1871 photo from the Linwood Dyer Collection. This collection includes hundreds of photos, documents, and genealogies of people who lived in Scarborough, South Portland, Cape Elizabeth, and Portland, Maine. I analyze the images and to reunite the photos with family members who may have never seen the picture.

Identifying information for this photo includes handwriting on the back of the frame and the back of the photo glass that says:

• “Harriet (Newall) Small of Portland, Maine, Abigail Ann (Small) Porter of Lancaster, NH,
• “Hon. John Chase Small of Portland, Maine, Dr. Horatio Nelson Small of Portland, Maine, Sallie Emery (Small) Burnside of Lancaster, NY.
• “Mary Schuyler (Dresser) Small.
• “Taken – Portland, Maine sometime between 1870-1871.”
• A sticker label indicates Robertson’s Picture and Gift Shop, Portland.

What I learned while researching this photo.

Hon. John Chase & Mary Schuyler (Dresser) Small.

In my post, Photo Friday – Merrill & Small (Linwood Dyer Collection – Part 001), I reviewed Sally Burnside Small. I learned then that her parents were John Chase Small (1842-1923) and Mary Schuyler (Dresser) Small (1847-1943).

In this photo, the man on the left is labeled as being the Honorable John Chase Small. The woman in the front is labeled as his wife, Mary Schuyler (Dresser) Small.

This photo, purporting to be taken about 1870, would portray John, about 27, and Mary, about 22 years old.

Dr. Horatio Nelson & Harriet (Newall) Small.

Ancestry trees suggest Horatio Nelson Small is the older brother of John C. Small. He married Harriet Newell in 1862[i]. Horatio and John are sons of Richard and Abigail Ann “Abby” (Jose) Small.

Abigail Ann (Small) Porter of Lancaster, N.H.

Abigail married Horace Porter on 9 November 1870 in Lancaster, New Hampshire. This suggests the photo was probably taken about 1871.

Sallie Emery (Small) Burnside

Sallie is the oldest of the four children of Richard and Abigail (Jose) Small. She married David Burnside.  David died in 1872, and Sallie married Ossian Roy on 16 October 1872, suggesting this photo was taken before her remarriage.

I am confident this photo shows the two sons (and their wives) and the two daughters of Richard and Abigail Small, taken about 1871.

I added this photo to my Ancestry “Linwood Dyer Collection” Family Tree and linked it to the six individuals shown. The original scans of the images are in the Scarborough Historical Society’s Linwood Dyer Collection – Photos – Part 003.

I would love to hear your reaction if any of these photos are of your family member. Especially if this photo is of a loved one for whom you hadn’t seen this photograph before.

Endnotes

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[i] Find a Grave, database and images – (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/203272337/horatio-nelson-small: accessed 15 November 2023), memorial page for Horatio Nelson Small (1839–29 Dec 1886), Find a Grave Memorial ID 203272337, citing Evergreen Cemetery, Portland, Cumberland County, Maine, USA; Maintained by JJoyce (contributor 48337285).