Category Archives: Genealogical Research

The Mysterious Mrs. Arundel(s)

Posted on November 19, 2014 by Patricia Moss

A signed and notarized letter dictated by the subject’s granddaughter had been passed down through a family. It began, “Portrait by Sully.” But a Christie’s appraiser and staff at two different Manhattan, New York, galleries said Thomas Sully (1783-1872) was not the artist. They offered no … Continue reading →

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Stories Behind the Portraits: Ruth McCarty (Mrs. Ephraim Allison)

Posted on November 21, 2013 by Patricia Moss

Ruth McCarty was born on April 7, 1844, in Saline County,Missouri.  At the age of 24, 0n 28 May 1868, she married Captain Ephraim Allison, 32, a Confederate veteran of the Civil War.  They honeymooned at the J. Huston Tavern … Continue reading →

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Stories Behind the Portraits: Eliza Rollins

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Patricia Moss

The eldest daughter of Dr. Anthony Wayne Rollins (1783-1845) and Sarah Harris Rodes Rollins (1787-1856) was Eliza.  She was born in Richmond, Madison County, Kentucky, on February 4, 1814, two years after her brother, James Sidney Rollins (1812-1888).  In the spring of 1830, … Continue reading →

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Stories Behind the Portraits: Miss Annie Allen (Mrs Samuel Long)

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Patricia Moss

Miss Annie Allen (1853-1927) was a granddaughter of Dinah Trigg Allen and Shubael Allen. When George Caleb Bingham painted Annie’s portrait, she lived with her disfigured, reclusive grandmother and her pharmacist father, Trigg Thomas Allen (1804-1905). Her mother, Ann January Allen, died … Continue reading →

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The Stories Behind the Portraits: Dr. Anthony Wayne Rollins – Part 2

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Patricia Moss

Dr. Anthony Wayne Rollins was “a remarkably fine-looking man, near six feet in height, and weighing about two hundred pounds, with a kindly and benevolent disposition, always neat in his dress, and very social, but dignified.”  After studying with Dr. … Continue reading →

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Stories Behind the Portraits: Dr. Anthony Wayne Rollins, Part 1

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Patricia Moss

In the 1835 portrait of Dr. Anthony Wayne Rollins by George Caleb Bingham, the frilled dress shirt and carefully coiffed hair belie his humble beginnings. Continue reading →

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