A PORTRAIT OF 

ELIZABETH JEMIMA (PHILPOTT) RENCHER

 How important is it that extended family members you may have never met know that you are very interested in preserving your extended family history and researching your genealogy?  How important? Extremely!

My maternal grandmother Jessie Mary (Wiltbank) Burgess died in July 1938 at age 51 when my mother Virginia was only 12.  Therefore, I never met this grandmother for whom I was named.  Jessie Mary’s mother Mary Ellen (Rencher) Wiltbank died at age 57, in October 1907, when Jessie was 20, and 19 years before the birth of Virginia, so my mother never met her grandmother, either. Mary Ellen’s mother Elizabeth Jemima (Philpott) Rencher died at age 80, January 1909, 15 months after the death of her daughter Mary Ellen.

My mother Virginia (Burgess) Whetten recently passed away in my home at the age of 96.  After her funeral here in Mesa, she was buried next to my father in the small town of Eagar AZ, the town of her birth.  Some of her extended relatives were at this burial service. One of these elderly men, surnamed Rencher whom I’ve only met once before, said he had something for me.  He had recently discovered among his deceased father’s possessions the original portrait of Elizabeth Jemima (Philpott) Rencher.  He explained that he wanted the photograph to go to someone who would treasure it.  He thought of me (rather than either of his two sons or his sister and her children) because of a book I compiled in 2016 containing life stories of 46 of my mother’s ancestors—a book which included many of his Rencher ancestors.  He said since I had compiled the book which had included the story I wrote about Elizabeth Jemima, he felt I would appreciate and care for the portrait.  Wow! [You have to realize that professional genealogist David Rencher, CG, AG, FUGA, FIGRS, past president of FGS and the Director of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, is also a descendant of Elizabeth Jemima (Philpott) Rencher, and he could have chosen David to receive this treasure.  Instead, he gave it to me.  Wow, again.]

The picture is slightly damaged which could easily happen as it is not currently framed and the charcoal image is easy to smear.  Of course, I do not know the type of camera nor the process used to create this portrait, but I find it quite interesting that is was finished with charcoal.

Maureen Taylor in Family Tree Magazine states these charcoal portraits are both a drawing and a photograph. They belong to the hand-coloring tradition and date from the 1860s into the 20^th century. Portraits could be enhanced with India ink, charcoal and crayons, and they were large so they could be displayed on a wall.  Evidently hand-coloring first started in the daguerreotype era of the 1840s. Although mine is black and white, she says the photographs sometimes have a bit of pink on the cheeks and a touch of gold to make them more lifelike, plus the clothing might be colored. Maureen wrote that the images could be enhanced to fix graying hair and wrinkles¹, which I think is possible in this portrait of Elizabeth Jemima.

Another article² describes solar cameras, the first patented in 1857, where a negative was placed at the back of the enlarger and a mirror reflected the sunlight into it.  Concentrated by a condenser before passing through the negative and lens, the image was projected onto a screen holding photographic paper.  By 1859 a solar camera was invented that could be operated unattended.  The 1864 version was supported on a stand with rack-and-pinion movement so that it could be pointed towards the sun.  The progress of enlargement was observed through a yellow window on the side of the camera.  Some say this is the camera which became the most popular in America.

Albright and Lee, in the article mentioned above, state the most common enlargements were albumen and salted paper photographs and that there were two methods for making solar enlargements.  In the 1^st method, albumen or salted paper was exposed in the camera from 30 minutes to several hours until the image was visible.  Then it was washed, toned, fixed, and rewashed.  In the 2^nd method, the image was partially printed with only 3 or 4 seconds of sunlight exposure. The final procedure was the painting or coloring the photograph to increase contrast and reduce streaks or blemishes which were not as noticeable when the photo was not enlarged.³    

Whatever the method used, I am thrilled to be owner and caretaker of this portrait of my 2^nd great grandmother, Elizabeth Jemima (Philpott) Rencher.

 

¹               Maureen A. Taylor, “A History of Charcoal Portraits”, Family Tree Magazine, https://familytreemagazine.com/photos/a-history-of-charcoal-portraits/

²               Gary E. Albright and Michael K. Lee, “A Short Review of Crayon Enlargements: History, Technique, and Treatment,” American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, http://resources.culturalheritage.org/pmgtopics/1989-volume-three/03_05_Albright.pdf

³               Ibid.