...For history majors...

[ironglow]

.
   Not everyone will be interested, buthere are a few personalities from American history.  Before about 1845, photography was very crude..just for starters.
  However, some folks, even from our revolutionary war period, survived long enough to have their photos taken.
 
  Here are a few...  Dolley Madison, wife of our 4th president, James Madison,  was considered quite a beautiful woman in her young years.  During the war of 1812, she was credited with rescuing perhaps our best portrait of George Washington..as she fled from the burning capital.
  Here in a photo from1848, she is shown with her niece, Anna Payne standing beside her.

  Then there was John Quincy adams, our 9th president ...and son of our 2nd president, John Adams

[ironglow]

.
   Then there was the real Uncle Sam..  Sam Wilson, actually a meat packer from Troy, NY.. He supplied barrels of beef to the trops involved in the Revolutionary war.

   And how about John Chapman..."Johnny Appleseed" to many of us.  He was an arborist from Massachusetts.
  He was on a mission..travelling about the country, planting apple trees..  His dad was one of the minutemen who stood against the Brits at Concord...and personally, heard "the shot fired round the world."

[oldandslow]

Thanks for the history. Do you see a strong resemblance between Sam Wilson and the actor Denver Pyle in his latter year?

[BUGEYE]

VERY interesting.
It’s sad that the left is all about destroying our history.

[Bob Riebe]

Good thing is, if you use half of your brain and take care of them, the old glass plate negatives will be around till the Second Coming of Jesus.

The Trichromatic method of taking three black and white photos , each with a different filter, when combined will give you a color photo (I have done this) I wonder if anyone has done that with a glass plate ?
Glass plates were still available not that long ago and right now film photography is resurging among the hard-core photographers.

[Dee]

Here's a photo of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States of America.

[ironglow]

 .
   That is a good photo of Jeff Davis, and I considered using some youthful shots of civil war notables, because except for one photo which i will show later, I wanted to hold the photos to photography's infancy..

  Interesting to note ;  Jeff davis graduated West point 23rd in class, grant 21st of 39..neither one were stellar.
  ..But then grades don't explain everything..
 
  Now, Robert E Lee was stellar at West Point..he graduated 2nd in his class, received NO demerits over the 4 years, and is STILL tied for the highest GPA ever at the point.

  The class of 1915, is considered  the class "the stars fell upon".  59 out of a class of 164 grads, made General officer grade.
 
   ..No, I didn't remember all the figures..although I had a rough idea of the facts, i still had to look them up

[ironglow]

.
  Continuing...  Arthur Wellesley..The Duke of Wellington.  He defeated Napoleon Bonaparte atthe Battle of Waterloo, in 1815.  Ironically, both he and Napoleon were born the same year (1769)

  Then there was Andrew Jackson.  Hero at the Battle of New Orleans..heel for his enforced "trail of tears".
  Photo must have been taken close to his death, in 1845..

[ironglow]

  .
  Now for a couple Revolutionary war ..

  First, Conrad Heyer..  Born in Massachusetts in 1749, he served directly under Gen Washington, he was with
 the "frosen chosen"..crossing the Deleware river on that icy Christmas eve..to overwhelm the Hessians and take
 Trenton..going on to take Princeton too

   Then other was Daniel Bakeman...Last surving veteran of the Revolutionary war, according to  military pension records.  Daniel apparently didn't have as adventursome an enlistment as Heyer, however, although he served at the Battle of Johnstown (NY).

  He has been an interesting character to me however, since for the rest of his life after the war, he lived in the area where I spent my teenage years.  he lived at two different addresses, both within a mile or two from where our farm was.
  His grave is in the local cemetery..between 100 and 200 yards of where my mother-in-law and father-in-law are buried.
   Daniel died in 1869...at 109 years of age...somewhere I read that he was married for 91 years.  If so, his wife must have been a long liver too, since  I doubt somebody totaled more than one marriage.

 

[Dee]

Nathan Bedford Forest
With no military training, went from private, to Lieutenant General.
When his father in law was murdered, he killed 2 of the perpetrators at once, with a pistol, and a Bowie knife.
With very little education became one of the richest men in Tennessee.

[ironglow]

.
  Nathan Bedford Forrest, also gained fame for his concise explanation of logistics, when he explained that logistics was simply.." be there firstest with the mostest."
   Like many a hero, whether Jackson, Grant, Custer or Moseby, he also had his flaws, being founder of the KKK.

   OK..on with the only historical figure I am introducing in this series, who was born after 1799.  I am talking "little Miss sure-shot"...Annie Oakley (nee Phoebe Ann Moses).  (1860-1926)
   Annie came to fame, right off the family farm near Woodland, Ohio, where she gained her shooting ability by supplementing her impoverished family's menu with wild game.
    One day a travelling sharpshooter named Frank Butler arrived in the area, to put on a shooting show.  Mr Butler was in the habit of challenging spectators to a shooting match.
  When this little whisp of a girl beat him at his own game, he hired her on the spot..and featured her in his show.

   No surprise Mr Butler later married the girl,because she was quite attractive, along with her shooting talents!

  OK ..let's open it up to other historical figures, but keep it to posthumous histories...

     

[VA Rifleman]

Lieutenant Issac Newton Brown. Commander of the CSS Arkansas.

History buffs will recall the Arkansas as a scratch build ironclad using worn out parts and railroad track for armor. Brown, gave battle to the entire Union fleet on the Mississippi to reach Vicksburg.


https://blog.marinersmuseum.org/2021/08/css-arkansas-the-yazoo-city-ironclad/

“As Arkansas began its strike against the Federal fleet, Brown called his officers together and said: “Gentlemen, in seeking the combat as we must win or perish. Should I fall, whoever succeeds to the command will do so with the resolution to go through the enemy’s fleet, or go to the bottom. Should they carry us by boarding, the Arkansas must be blown up; on no account must she fall into the hands of the enemy. Go to your guns!”

[Graybeard]

Don't think that's Annie Oakley but rather an actress who played her. All photos I've seen of the real one she's ugly as sin.

[Bob Riebe]

That's her it is a profile of a young Annie Oakley, profiles usually make a person look better than straight on, it hides eye set, cheek set etc.

[ironglow]

.
  Profile may generally help appearances with some, but I still think Annie was above run-of-the-mill for
 her time and occupation..   Keep in mind, in her photos, she appears to be using little or no cosmetics..

   Is it possible that you have Annie confused with Calamity Jane? 

   Here arte multiple shots of little Annie...

   https://www.google.com/search?q=annie+oakley&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=848&bih=369&ei=HQHjYazsFZHXytMPh52JEA&iflsig=ALs-wAMAAAAAYeMPLZ8CapEa2dPDcopo2JZi9At_OmN2&oq=annie+oakley&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQARgAMggIABCABBCxAzIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDoICAAQsQMQgwE6CwgAEIAEELEDEIMBULcKWKUrYJZMaABwAHgAgAFkiAGVCJIBBDExLjGYAQCgAQGqAQtnd3Mtd2l6LWltZ7ABAA&sclient=img

   
     

[BUGEYE]

Don't think that's Annie Oakley but rather an actress who played her. All photos I've seen of the real one she's ugly as sin.

I agree. 
She probably proposed to Butler and since she was the best shot, he was forced to say yes.

[oldandslow]

I have always considered Annie above average in the looks department. Today with makeup and color photography she would probably be considered a knockout. Those old B&W photos never did justice to anyone's looks.

[mcbammer]

Nathan Bedford Forest
With no military training, went from private, to Lieutenant General.
When his father in law was murdered, he killed 2 of the perpetrators at once, with a pistol, and a Bowie knife.
With very little education became one of the richest men in Tennessee.

Forest killed  33 men in battle ,his last was in my little community during the Battle of Ebenezer Church in Stanton .He was severly wounded by knife but  survived    by  shooting  the  attacker  .

[Dee]

This IS Annie Oakley

[mcbammer]

This IS Annie Oakley

FWIW , her guns are on exhibit  at the Ralph Foster Museum in Point Lookout Missouri  along with many others  such as Wyatt Earps.      www.rfostermuseum.com Its well worth admission if you ever travel  that way .   

[Bob Riebe]

So is this:


and this



and this:

[ironglow]

 .

  I thought everybody would look at the link I offered, which shows many old photos of Anniue, from several
 different views.  Yes a few in that group are modern actresses, playing Annie.

   Notice the girl did not wear makeup...  just think how many big celebrities would look without today's cosmetics !

     As O&S said, and I can attest to what modern photography can do for some sad situations, since that is exactly my son's line..and I often watch him work in his stiudio.

    There are programs for the amateur photographer, that can automatically take 10, 20 or 30 years off anybody's face.  My son doesn't use those amateur assists, but when he does "headshots" for business or legal professionals, for instance..he gets a clue as to what the subject wants, employs his own artistry.

    He does much of the following....  removes zits, whitens, straightens and even replaces crooked teeth.
  Birth marks are either removed or reduced, and wrinkles smoothed out.
      Fly away hairs, and moustaches are removed from men or women as needed.  ..And those pesky gray hairs colored back to a nice consistant auburn.
         Studio photos are done under bright lights..so the pupils restrict and grow smaller...most people look much better with larger pupils..so presto!..larger pupils.  Oh, is there a fleck pf brown in that blue iris..it goes bye-bye..

    That roll at the waist goes too...as does that little pouch under the chin..  Is the skin too light ..or perhaps too dark..what would the client like?
  ...And that mole beside her nose..been there all her life..so maybe not remove it, but just tone it down to
   about half what it really is..

   Now that bump in the middle of her nose..I guess it has to stay, but it doesn't have to be so large and obvious.
   ..And those bushy eyebrows..can you trim them and lay them down?  ...Done !

   If my son is doing head shots for a firm such as real estate sales people, most want about 10 years dropped
  off their appearance..  However he has one female client, head of a law firm..who insists that about 40 years removed..  Some of her new clients may be surprised when they first meet her...  
   
  The reason why iIthought some may have confused Annie with Calamity Jane is shown below..

   Meet Calamity Jane..
   

[ironglow]

.
  ..Moving ahead in time..  Introducing a 'humble hero' !

   Sgt Alvin York...  Born in poverty and humble in personality, he seems to have remained a "laid back" personality, despite his status as a hero.

   Alvin performed so well with his Springfield '03,  Kaisers troops who faced him, seemed to think they were facing an overwhelming force.

  One of 11 children, Alvin in his young adult years..was a "wild child', until one night returning home on his mule through a lightening storm, was knocked from his mount..and had Pauline like experience.
   He realized he was going the wrong path..and turned to Christ..

[Dee]

And there is always Audie Murphy. Most decorated soldier of WWII.
And from Farmersville Texas, about 20 miles from my home town.

[ironglow]

And there is always Audie Murphy. Most decorated soldier of WWII.
And from Farmersville Texas, about 20 miles from my home town.

  Interesting...for my most recent post, I considered both York and Murphy..but settled upon York..
  An interesting sidelight.. Murphy was turned down by the Marines, because he was "too small" !

  ..Again proving that...."it's not the size of the dog in a fight, but the size of the fight in the dog!"

    ..Another man born into a life of poverty..but growing into greatness..