Eugene L. Shepherd (1877-1958) Chemung County, NY

Portrait of Eugene L. Shepherd - 1912
Chicago Portrait Company

I love bad weather days since it forces me to stay inside and puts me in the mood for cleaning out and reorganizing.  This cold snowy morning I decided to work on archive boxes and files not touched for a while (years?).

A few years ago we visited my cousin who was preparing to move.  She presented me with all her mother’s family photos and memorabilia.  I accepted the material even though her mother is not in my family line. I accepted the material because I didn’t want it to go astray. With those documents and photos I developed a family history for my aunt. She was delighted with the information I had found on her family.

Although I have had this material since 2011, it wasn’t until this morning that I really looked at the large, 14 x 17 inch framed photo of a young man.  For the first time I noticed the elaborate frame, and then read the metal plaque on the back:

“Know ye These Presents Certify That”

This is an heirloom portrait of

Eugene L. Shepherd

Made from a photograph taken in the year

1912 and faithfully portrayed by the

artist in a manner and quality befitting a work

to be passed on to future generations as a

priceless heirloom.  Done at the studios of

Chicago Portrait Company in the City of Chicago,

County of Cook, State of Illinois, U.S. A.

       E.H. Boese

        Art Director

I did a little research on the Chicago Portrait Company. They had quite the business going, though the “portrait” in my possession is nicely done and the frame quite impressive.

I shouldn’t have this item. It belongs to someone in the Shepherd (Shepard) family, and so that is my next task. To find a descendant of Eugene L. Shepherd that would love to have this photo of their ancestor.