Dear Cliff and other listers! Thank you very much, Cliff, for your latest comment on John Silvan Morgan and his occupation. Your definition of his "photographer" activity sounds logical and likely, particularly if that's a procedure that was practiced back in those days. So I guess I'll go for that, unless something else should show up. I believe "our" John Silvan was indeed married for a short time and then divorced, but whether he is the one from the 1910 census married to Jennia in Minneapolis, MN having a son named Frank, I still doubt. However, the single salesman listed in St. Paul, MN in 1920 may well be him... The niece of his that I talked to years ago, was born in 1914, and as I recall it, she was kind of "reluctant" talking about this uncle of hers... Thanks again for your great assistance trying to find information on John Silvan Morgan! Very sincerely yours, Lars E. Oyane ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On Apr 3, 2015, at 9:00 AM, Cliff Lien via wrote: > Lars, > > I have a feeling this John was a "door-to-door" salesman AND photographer. > These portrait companies used a photograph to produce an oil-painted > portrait. > > So John came to your door and showed you some samples and a catalogue. > If you purchased a portrait he would take some pictures of you "portrait > style" (head and shoulders) > > Then he sent the film to the Roman Oil Portrait "studio" where they would > develop the film and print an enlarged picture of the size you had ordered. > Then an artist would paint over the photograph with oil paints to produce an > oil-painted portrait. Before cameras and enlargers having a portrait > painted would involve sitting for hours in an artist's studio. > > > Cliff Lien > Alberta, Canada > cjl@interbaun.com > > -----Original Message----- > From: Lars E. Oyane via > Sent: Thursday, April 02, 2015 5:41 PM > To: norway@rootsweb.com > Subject: Re: [NOR] John Silvan Morgan (1881-1962) - photographer > MN-WI-IN-CA- newspaper items? > > Dear Annette, Barbara, Doris and other Listers! > > Thank you very much for your interesting messages on this John Silvan Morgan > topic of mine. > > I am not quite sure I have understood everything correctly, but I have a > "hunch" John must have been travelling quite a lot working for the Roman Oil > Portrait Company and maybe also while working for the Sterling Food > Products, but I have difficulties understanding why he is said to be a > photographer!? Maybe his job by Roman Oil Portrait consisted in reproducing > "higher quality" pictures of old portraits? And he may have continued doing > that also after moving to Los Angeles, CA? Hard to tell... > > If we could only locate John Silvan for sure in the 1920 and 1930 > censuses...!? > > Thanks again for your great assistance in this matter. I know it's a > "tough" problem, but I know that if someone can find the answers, I can > trust you NORWAY listers! > > Very sincerely yours, > > Lars E. Oyane