I originally picked up this cabinet card because the image is nicely exposed and crisp. I saw there was a second one in the basket that wasn’t as good, so thought “yay me, I got the better one!” Don’t you just love his huge polka dotted tie?
Oh fool, me. This one has the name written on the back. I had to buy them both because I was on vacation and I just knew I wouldn’t remember this fellow’s name after I got home. Le sigh.
This is Will Maurer, photographed in September 1898 at the Bottomley studio in Pueblo, CO. Taking a guess that he’s around 12 here, I searched ancestry records for people with the name Will Maurer in Pueblo, CO born as early as 1885. Not surprisingly, there are a few potential matches. Records have these people as either as a foreman or farmer in later years. I don’t know if it will be possible to find which one is the exact Will Maurer without knowing more about his family, unfortunately.
The photographer was Bottomley, at 239 North Union Ave, Pueblo, CO. There was a female photographer named J. B. Bottomley in Lamar, CO around that time, but I really don’t know if it’s the same person.
Who Were They? 