Fred and Arthur Keeling (United States, 1896)


Figure 1.-- This cabinet card portrait was taken at the Rosch Portrait studio, 301 Main St. New Rochelle, New York. Handwritten on the back is, "About 1896-My father Frederick Jennings Keeling. My brother Fred and me (Arthur)." The boys wear Civil War uniforms, possibly for the 30th anniversary of the War. Or perhaps they are involved in election year hoopla. They mightvalso be enrolled in a military school.

This cabinet card portrait was taken at the Rosch Portrait studio, 301 Main St. New Rochelle, New York. Handwritten on the back is, "About 1896-My father Frederick Jennings Keeling. My brother Fred and me (Arthur)." The boys wear were about 6 and 10 years old and wear Civil War-styled uniforms. My guess is that they really liked their uniforms. Their father looks very elegant. This and the fact he could afford fancy uniforms for the boys suggest to us that he was quite well off. We are not sure about the occassion. Possibly it was for the 30th anniversary of the Civil War. Or perhaps they are involved in election year hoopla. Or the boys could attend a military school. The boys wear natty Civil War uniforms and have drums. The Civil war was the climatic event in America during the 19th century. It finally resolved the slavery issue as well as the nature of the Union. Many Americans who served in the War were still alive and most looked back on the War as the major event of their lives. A reader has provided more details on the family from the British birth records and the 1900 U.S. Census records. The Keeling family lived on Center Avenue (New Rochelle Ward 2, Westchester County) in June 1900. The father's sister is listed as "Keeping House" and there seems to be no wife, so Emily may have moved in to live with them because the mom had died or was gone for some other reason. Perhaps that is why she is not in the family portrait here. Dad, mom, and Emily were all born in Grantham (Leicestershire/Lincolnshire), England. His sister Emily was born about 1854 and he was born in 1856. He emigrated to the United States when he was about 12 years old, presumably with his parents. He seems to have done well because at the time of the 1900 Census he was operating a livery stable. Horses were still the major form of indivudual travel as well as pulling freight and other wagons. It was, however, a time when autmobiles existed and were slowly increasing in mumbers. Frederick Jennings Keeling had four children all of who were born in New York. Fred was born about 1885. Lillie was born about 1887. Arthur was born about 1889. Edith was born about 1992. So sometime between 1892 and 1900 something happened to mother. It is interesting that an immigrant family would make a big event out of the Civil War. But father was only about 11-12 years old when he immigrated to America and thus seems to have grown up with strong American national attitudes.

Portrait

This cabinet card portrait was taken at the Rosch Portrait studio, 301 Main St. New Rochelle, New York. We are not sure about the occassion. Possibly it was for the 30th anniversary of the Civil War. Or perhaps they are involved in election year hoopla.

Studio Props

We are never entirely sure in these old portraits if the props used or studio props or actual items the adults and children brought with them. In this case we believe the uniforms and drums probably belonged to the family and were not studio props. There are three reasons for this. First, we do not see other portraits like this with such props for boys. Second, the boys apparently really know how to drum which of course suggeststhe boys have drums at home. A reader writes, "I was looking at the picture and, specifically, how the boys are holding those drum sticks. They are both holding them correctly. That probably means that either their dad was in the military and showed them how to hold them, or they may have taken music lessons and learned how to properly hold them, or the photographer posed them and told them how to hold them. In any case, they are holding the sticks as they should be held." Third, the uniforms fit each boy very smartly, suggesting that they were not just handy studio props.

The Family

The Keeling family lived on Center Avenue (New Rochelle Ward 2, Westchester County) in June 1900. The father's sister is listed as "Keeping House" and there seems to be no wife, so Emily may have moved in to live with them because the mom had died or was gone for some other reason. Perhaps that is why she is not in the family portrait here. A reader has provided more details on the family from the British birth records and the 1900 U.S. Census records. Dad, mom, and Emily were all born in Grantham (Leicestershire/Lincolnshire), England. His sister Emily was born about 1854 and he was born in 1856. There were four children.

The Father

Frederick Jennings Keeling looks very elegant in the portrait here. This and the fact he could afford fancy uniforms for the boys suggest to us that he was quite well off. He emigrated to the United States in 1968 when he was about 12 years old, presumably with his parents. That was just after the Civil War and as result he heard and read a great deal about the war as a boy and young man. He seems to have done well because at the time of the 1900 Census he was operating a livery stable. Horses were still the major form of indivudual travel as well as pulling freight and other wagons. It was, however, a time when autmobiles existed and were slowly increasing in mumbers. Keeling had four children all of who were born in New York. Fred was born about 1885. Lillie was born about 1887. Arthur was born about 1889. Edith was born about 1992. So sometime between 1892 and 1900 something happened to mother.

The Boys

Handwritten on the back is, "About 1896-My father Frederick Jennings Keeling. My brother Fred and me (Arthur)." The boys wear were about 6 and 10 years old,

Clothing

The boys wear Civil War-styled uniforms,including long ants. Our guess is that they really liked their uniforms. The boys wear natty Civil War uniforms and have drums. The question is just what are the uniforms. They are clearly Civil War styles. They could be costumes purchased by the father. Perhaps they were done up for political hoopla events. Another possibility is that they attend a military school.

The Civil War (1861-65)

It was said of the internet in the early years that it was primarily a combination of sex, gambling, and the Civil War. It is perhaps less true today, but there is a very sunstantial number of sites which address the Civil War. The Civil war was the climatic event in America during the 19th century. It finally resolved the slavery issue as well as the nature of the Union. Many Americans who served in the War were still alive and most looked back on the War as the major event of their lives. It is interesting that an immigrant family would make a big event out of the Civil War. But father was only about 11-12 years old when he immigrated to America and thus seems to have grown up with strong American national attitudes.






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Created: 6:41 AM 1/17/2008
Last updated: 8:50 AM 10/4/2016