Later Cabinet Cards, Galesburg, Illinois

In the last installment of this series, I analyzed, dated and identified the persons in the Scully family photo. In other previous installments, I had been showing various cabinet cards found in Margaret Forsyth's photo collection (access provided by Nick Hyslop). We left off with the cabinet cards of the Scully family members from #Galesburg, Illinois. In this installment I'll discuss additional #Cabinet Cards from Galesburg, but for the most part these are still unidentified. I am hoping someone will recognize some of these people and provide details. The persons found in the following cabinet cards do not appear to be members of the Scully family, so it is a good assumption that they are all members of the Godsil family as that was the only other family is Galesburg who would have been related at that time. That is, except for in-laws of the Scully siblings' spouses.

The first of the cabinet cards comes from the Loomis studio. It is very similar in design to the Loomis card found in the first Galesburg collection showing my great grandmother and her little sister. That photo can reliably be dated to about 1887. This cabinet card could range anywhere from 1880 to 1890. There is a very good chance that this is Mary (Reily) Godsil, the wife of William Godsil, Irish immigrants. She was born about 1816 and died sometime after 1880 in Galesburg Illinois. I have not found a record of her death. According to the obituary of their son Patrick Henry Godsil, they arrived in 1864. No immigration record has been found. However and reportedly, Patrick married his wife, Frances Cratty in Galesburg, Illinois in 1869. Obituaries of other siblings and census records do not necessarily agree on the immigration date. The obituary for their daughter Ellen (Godsil) Hickey, for instance, puts their arrival near 1873. The family is not found in the 1870 census. Their two eldest sons are known to have come separately, Michael Godsil in 1865 and Maurice Godsil together with Edmund Scully in 1866. Their daughter Margaret Godsil, Edmund Scully's wife, may have come in 1868, at least an immigration record under her name came at that time. Family lore claims that Edmund came after Margaret, so maybe the 1864 date is also true for her. In any case, the only record of Mary (Reily) Godsil in the U.S is the 1880 census record where she is listed at 64 years old. Her age therefore fits the woman depicted in this card. Other less likely possibilities are Mary (Reily) Godsil's daughters Mary Godsil, Ellen (Godsil) Hickey or her daughter-in-law, Bridget (Drummy) Godsil, all of who were born in 1849 or 1850. Of course we would have to date the photo to 1910 or later, which does not seem probable.

The next cabinet card is also from the Loomis studio and includes frontside imprinting with center logo making it probably newer than the last card. It probably dates from between 1885 and 1890 and is unfortunately not labeled. It is more likely that this is one of Mary (Reily) Godsil's daughters Mary Godsil, Ellen (Godsil) Hickey or daughters-in-law, Frances (Cratty) Godsil or Bridget (Drummy) Godsil.

 

The next two cabinet cards are from the Windsor studio and also include frontside imprinting with center logo. They probably date near 1890. In the first card, the young ladies look similar in appearance to the previous woman and are perhaps her daughters. The girl on the right wears a hair veil and corsage.

The next cabinet card may have been taken at the same sitting as the previous card. The young man may be a brother to the two sisters.

The next cabinet card is from the Merritt studio and has a similar design the the previous ones. The young man in not identified.

The next cabinet card, also not dated or identified was once again taken at the Loomis studio, but has a modern design with scalloped eghes. It probably dates from between 1890 and 1895.

 

The next card is also taken at the Loomis studio, and has an even more modern design, dating it to about 1895. The gentleman is not identified

The next card was taken at Rosel's studio and has a dark border. In this case, the subjects are identified as "Lill Godsil and sister". Lillian Elizabeth "Lilly" Godsil was the daughter of Michael Edward and Bridget (Drummy) Godsil and was granddaughter of William and Mary (Reily) Godsil. She was born in 1875, dating this photo to about 1895. She married Edward Francis McNally in 1899, but they did not have any children. Lilly had a younger sister Theresa born in 1879, and older sisters Kate who was born in 1873, neither of which can I find a record of after the 1880 census. They may have died young. Her oldest sister, probably the one depicted here, was Mary Jane Godsil who was born in 1869 and married George W. Kennedy in 1891. They had 5 children.

The last of the cards presented in this installment was taken at Loomis studios and also has a dark border and is probably dated to 1900 or later. The subject is unknown.

In the next installment, we will look at additional unidentified cabinet cards from this collection that were taken of babies in Galesburg, Illinois.