FYI -- this is the Willis who was the photographer in C'ville at that time. I think I've seen a pic or two with McQuown too but know in 1900 Mont co census only one is James McQuown and he's listed as a gardener not a photographer History of Montgomery County, Indiana. Indianapolis: A. W. Bowen, 1913, P 1242 ABNER DENMAN WILLIS Abner Denman Willis came of a line of pioneer stock whose Indiana history began with the very early settlement of the state. He was born January 14, 1834, near Alamo, in Montgomery county, Indiana, on the farm which his father secured by parchment deed from the national government. He was a son of Benjamin Will and Susanna (Butts) Willis, to whose lot fell the task of rescuing a fertile farm from the primeval wilderness. The settlement of his father on government land, however, was not the beginning of the family history in Indiana. The first Benjamin Willis, grandfather of the subject, came to Indiana in the early twenties from near Dayton, Ohio, where he had married Nancy Allison and raised a large family. He was buried near a favorite tree on his farm. Glowing reports of the fertility of the soil near Alamo brought the younger Benjamin to Montgomery County just after his marriage. There were born to them nine children, of whom eight grew to manhood and womanhood. T! here were Steven Decature, Abner Denman, Julia Ann, Amanda Jane, John Wesley, Benjamin Franklin, Sarah Elizabeth, Joseph Martin. Abner Denman was apprenticed to a Tinner in Crawfordsville until he was old enough to attend a school of higher learning, when he entered Barnabas Hobbs Quaker Academy at Bloomingdale, Indiana. After graduation there, he taught a district school for several years and while teaching in Vermillion County in the winter of 1863-1864 he met Frances Ellen Comegys, a pupil, to whom he was married on September 29, 1864 near Danville Illiinois. He operated a traveling Photograph Gallery having become especially proficient in the making of daguerreotypes. In 1866 he moved to Crawfordsville where he bought a Photograph Gallery, which he operated for twelve consecutive years. In 1878 he moved to Harrisonville, Missouri, where he operated a Photograph Gallery for three years, after which he returned to Crawfordsville, where he remained in the Photograph b! usiness until 1898, when he died of pneumonia while on a business trip to Harrisonville, Missouri. He was the father of six children, of whom three died in infancy. Those who lived were Nathaniel Parker, Lucius Comegys and Anibel Ellen. For thirty years A. D. Willis was one of the most widely know citizens of Montgomery County. He took an active part in politics both national and local and was a stanch Democrat although he never held any political office. He was a student of more than ordinary diligence and depth. His affiliations were with the Christian church and the Masonic order, but he delved into many philosophies and became an especial admirer of the philosophy of Swedenbourg. He spent a great deal of his leisure time reading and discussing these philosophies and became known all over the country side for his erudition and his love for literature of the better class. One of the tenets of his faith was a scrupulous honesty and forehandedness, which led to the accumulation of a comfortable competence, although he never had a large! income. As a schoolteacher he was a strict disciplinarian and was known as one of the most successful in the county. As a photographer, in which profession he became best known, he earned a reputation for a conscientious work and the scrupulous care with which he kept faith with his clients. He was buried on December 9, 1898, in Oak Hill cemetery, the funeral being conducted by the Masonic order. The website management appreciates all the contributions provided for use here. Citation: The Indiana GenWeb Project, Copyright ©1997-2007, Montgomery County. ----- Original Message ----- From: <gc-gateway@rootsweb.com> To: <INMONTGO-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, August 20, 2008 7:59 AM Subject: Re: [InMontgo] Photographers in Crawfordsville ca. 1890 > This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. > > Author: gostraka > Surnames: > Classification: queries > > Message Board URL: > > http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.indiana.counties.montgomery/1159.2/mb.ashx > > Message Board Post: > > I haven't heard of Willis & McQuown, but I know Willis was taking pictures > from at least the late 1890's until the 1910's sometime. He maybe started > out with a partnership and then went off on his own after he got some > experience. If you could post a copy of the picture somewhere for us to > look at, perhaps that might help us narrow down a time frame. > > Important Note: > The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you > would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link > above and respond on the board. > > > > > http://ingenweb.org/inmontgomery/ > > List Manager - inmontgo-admin@rootsweb.com > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > INMONTGO-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message