Orlow Ball ca 1864

Orlow Ball ca 1864
Originally uploaded by jmoule.

Yesterday I sent a photo of Esther Power, daughter of Jacob B. Power and Polly Thrasher. Attached is a daguerreotype of her first child, Orlow. She obviously had the time and inclination to dote on him. This photo was probably taken in Connorsville, Fayette Co., IN. Orlow was born in 1859 so, judging from his age in the photo, it was probably taken near the end of the Civil War.

Jacob B. Power served in the Civil War. While he was gone, Esther's husband, George Ball, ran Jacob's wagon making business. In one of his letter's to his wife, Jacob asked her to remind George not to sell the wagons for less than the cost of making them. That says a lot about Jacob's confidence in his son-in-law's business acumen. (It was probably justified.)

I am a little surprised that this photo is a daguerreotype. Silver iodide prints from glass plate negatives had begun to replace daguerreotypes by this time. Perhaps the Power family had a favorite photographer who had not yet changed his equipment.