Who Worked for William Henry Jackson (Part 3) 1891-1896

This post examines William Henry Jackson’s employees between 1891 and 1896. Jackson’s business travels took him away from Denver, so he needed a solid management team. He bought out his former partners, the booksellers and publishers, Chain & Hardy and moved to a modern studio on Colfax Avenue. In 1897, Jackson left Denver to join the Detroit Publishing Company.

The list below provides Jackson’s entries from the Denver city directories, followed by a list of his employees and their roles in the firm, if cited, and the dates of their employment. I have included all the names associated with Jackson’s photo studio.

For earlier employees see the links at the end of this post.

1891 W. H. Jackson Photograph and Publishing Company, 1615 Arapahoe Street

Horace A. Bird secretary and treasurer, W H Jackson Photograph and Publishing Co.  1891-93                                                                       Bird (b. circa 1859) started his career as a newspaper reporter.  Later he joined the Colorado Midland Railroad, where he most likely met William Henry Jackson.  In 1889, Bird authored History of a Line (Colorado Midland Railway): A Handbook for Tourists and Sportsmen in the Rocky Mountains.  He joined Jackson’s firm at a critical moment, after Jackson bought out Chain & Hardy and planned to increase photo sales across the country.

Walter S. Cross                                                                                            Probably Walter Shaumburg Cross (1869-1951), a Baltimore photographer, who spent a brief time in Denver in the early 1890s, working with photographer Horace E. Hunt before his employment with Jackson.

Joseph Edelmann                                                                                               No biographical information found.

George A. Ferguson (1891-1893) toner, printer                                   After four years with Jackson, Ferguson (b. 1871), worked as a photographer in Chicago (1897) and Detroit (1899-1901).

Miss Florence L. Hoopes, often incorrectly spelled Hooper (1891, 1893) colorer                                                                                                         Hoopes (b. circa 1862-1944) attended Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, graduating in 1886.  In 1891, Hoopes and Emma Jackson (see below) lived at the same Denver address.  After working for Jackson, Hoopes relocated to the Baltimore area.

Miss Emma K. Jackson  (1891, 1895) artist                                           Emma Jackson (1858-1927) was William Henry Jackson’s sister. She remained friends with her co-worker, Florence L. Hoopes, for many years. They traveled together and attended art lectures in Santa Fe and Detroit, where Emma Jackson later made her home.  Emma Jackson continued to color photographs after she left her brother’s firm.  Most notably, she hand-colored twelve photographic transparencies from various projects undertaken by the United States Geological Survey that were exhibited at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis and other sets that were exhibited in 1909 at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition and the 1911 International Exposition in Turin, Italy.

1892   W. H. Jackson Photograph and Publishing Company, 1615 Arapahoe Street

E. Cameron Hunter                                                                                          After one year with Jackson, Elijah Cameron Hunter (b. circa 1862-1928),  worked for Denver photographers Max Kalischer (1893) and Alvah B. Thompson (1895).  He remained active in Denver’s  photographic community through 1902.

Miss Sadie E. Potter, clk                                                                                 Potter is listed as a photographer in the 1891 Denver City Directory, one year before  working for Jackson.  She rented Benjamin F. Marsh’s Greeley studio during February and March of 1891, making cabinet photographs.  

1893  W. H. Jackson Photograph and Publishing Company, Industrial Bldg, Colfax Avenue, bet 12th and 13th

Paul Balsiger, toner                                                                                

Paul Balsiger (1862-1943) moved to Colorado from Highland, Illinois, around 1891 with his sister, Marguerite. He worked for Denver photographer, Frederick E. Post, before taking a position with William Henry Jackson. Around 1900 Balsiger and his sister opened their own studio which they operated for about a decade. The Denver Post frequently published his work. The Denver Public Library’s collection includes many of his architectural views and street scenes focusing on the Denver City Tramway Company.  In 1912 Balsiger sold his studio and relocated to a farm in southwestern Colorado.  Paul and his sister moved to Redlands, California in 1923.

Miss Daisy Burchfield, colorer                                                                         Daisy Burchfield (b. circa 1863-1939) briefly worked for W.H. Jackson, but she had a long career as a Denver artist.  She specialized in hand coloring photographs and lantern slides. Photographers Howard F. Peirson and Paul Balsiger, a former employee of Jackson, both hired  Burchfield as a colorist.

Arthur C. Burnham, operator                                                                       No biographical information found.

Kensel P. Howe, clerk, finisher (1893, 1895-97)                                 Kensel P. Howe (1875-1957) spent decades as a photographer in Denver. In the 1910s Howe made photographs for the Colorado State Highway Commission.  His landscape views appeared in several issues of Denver Municipal Facts. Around 1925 Howe moved to Los Angeles where he continued his photographic career.

Miss Mills, printer                                 No biographical information found.

Mrs. Mary Donaldson Wetherwax, stenographer, bkkpr,  1893-1897                                                                                                                   Around 1913, Mrs. Wetherwax (1861-1936) moved to Colorado Springs with her husband George E. Wetherwax where  they remained until their deaths.

Miss Minnie Wilder, finisher                                                                           Wilder (b. 1873) lived in Denver throughout the 1890s.  She married Harry Lander Price in Texas on June 5, 1900.  

A. Woodward, printer                                                                                       No Biographical information found.  

1894 W. H. Jackson Photograph and Publishing Co., Industrial Bldg, 433 Colfax Avenue W.

Walter F. Crosby, secretary, vice-president (1894-95)                   Photography enthusiast, Walter F. Crosby (1857-1915), managed Jackson’s business for two years.  Through  his efforts, the business moved into a sophisticated studio in the Industrial Building at 433 Colfax Avenue. Crosby maintained mining claims in the Cripple Creek area and was later treasurer of the Union Pacific Railroad.

Clarence S. Jackson                                   Clarence S. Jackson (1876-1961) was William Henry Jackson’s son.

 

1895 W. H. Jackson Photograph and Publishing Company, Industrial Bldg, 13th and Tremont Street

William M. Rhoads, sec. 1895-96                   Son of Philadelphia photographer, William H. Rhoads (1835-1885), William M. Rhoads returned to Philadelphia where he continued his photographic career.

William H. Walker, photographer                                                             Walker worked only one year with Jackson, but was active as a photographer in Denver (1887-90, 1892-99, 1910-17) and Idaho Springs (1891-92).

1896  W. H. Jackson Photograph and Publishing Company, Industrial Bldg, 13th and Tremont Street

Miss Mary S. Cassedy, colorist  1896-1897                                           Cassedy (1867-1898) moved with her parents and siblings to Denver in the mid 1890s.  She died in 1898 at the young age of 31.  Her younger sister, May L. Cassedy also worked as a colorist in Denver.

Louis J. Schiermeyer, printer                                                                       Probably Louis C. Schiermeyer (1872-1899).  Louis was born in Germany, but his family moved to the United States shortly after his birth.  The Schiermeyer’s operated a grocery store in Denver, with Louis working as a clerk before his employment with Jackson.

Who Worked in William Henry Jackson’s Denver Studio? (Part 1)

Who Worked for William Henry Jackson? Part 2 (1884-1890)

Thank you to Beverly Brannan, recently retired photography curator, Library of Congress, for editorial assistance and to Breahna Beecher for bringing Daisy Burchfield’s work in the Amon Carter Museum’s collection to my attention.