The Clifford Henry Photo Album
Kirksville Photos by Drake, 1893
Clifford Henry (1873-1959) was the son of Benjamin Franklin & Barbara Isabelle (Bates) Henry. He clerked in his father’s drugstore on the south side of the Square as a teenager then, after graduating from Kirksville High School, attended St Louis College of Pharmacy. He earned a PhG (Pharmacy Graduate) in 1894, followed by an MD in 1896 from Jefferson College of Medicine in Philadelphia. Dr Henry spent most of his professional life in Minneapolis as a practicing physician and Professor of Anatomy at Northern Institute of Osteopathy. He retired in 1939 and returned to Kirksville for the remainder of his life.
The Violette Museum Documents & Photographs Collection (Musdp) contains two albums of late 19th century Kirksville photographs. This one has 35 5×8” black & white pictures by “Drake, Fotografer” mounted on 6½ x 9½” cardboard pages. It originally belonged to Clifford Elmore Henry, who wrote his name on the flyleaf.
The album donor, Mary Jane (Laughlin) Denslow (1914-1991), was a native of Kirksville and the granddaughter of AT Still, founder of osteopathy. She taught History of Osteopathy in Chicago at one time and was later connected with the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine and the Still Museum. We have been unable to learn anything about the photographer other than that his name was Drake and he was from Aurora, IN.
1:1 Wabash Railroad Depot, 300 W McPherson
1:2 First National Bank, 101 W Washington (SE corner of the Square)
1:3 East side of the Square (100 block N Franklin)
1:4 North side of the Square (100 block W Harrison)
1:5 West side of the Square (100 block N Elson)
1:6 Towers / Gibbs Residence, 502 E Harrison
1:7 William D Sigler Residence, 316 S Marion
1:8 W J Smith House, 210 E Washington
1:9 Jonas B Caskey Residence, 314 S Main
1:10 H J & Nannie Bailey Residence, 516 E Patterson
1:11 Sherwood House, 407 E Washington
1:12 Benjamin F Lamkin Residence, 416 E Washington
1:13 Charles Ross Residence, 210 S Franklin
1:14 William D Dobson Residence, 315 E Jefferson
1:15 DeWitt C Pierce Residence, 216 S Elson
1:16 Normal School Chapel
1:17 Grassle Brothers Wagon Factory, 201-203 S Main
1:18 Cumberland Presbyterian Church Interior, SE Corner High & McPherson
1:19 Valentine Miller Residence, 415 N Franklin
1:20 Pool’s Hotel, Main & Washington
1:21 Normal School Faculty
1:22 Normal School Students
1:23 Normal School Band
1:24 Unidentified 1 Story White Frame House
1:25 Kirksville Mercantile College Students & Faculty
1:26 Office of the Kirksville Democrat, 210 N Franklin
1:27 Harrington (or Dutcher) Jewelry Store Interior, 107 W Washington
1:28 Unidentified 1 Story White Frame House
1:29 Henry Drug Store Interior, 105 W Washington
1:30 Clifford Henry in Pharmacy Lab, St Louis College of Pharmacy
1:31 Kirksville Mercantile College Students & Faculty (duplicate of 1:25)
1:32 Interior of Unidentified Drug Store
1:33 Benjamin F Henry & His Bicycle
1:34 Hart or Sands Jewelry Store Interior, 107 W Washington
1:35 Clifford Henry in Anatomy Lab, St Louis College of Pharmacy
Kirksville Photos 1897
Mudsp Coll K2
The Violette Museum Documents & Photographs Collection (Musdp) includes two albums of late 19th century Kirksville photographs. One contains pictures taken in the spring of 1893. This one has 28 5×8” black & white pictures mounted on 6½ x 9½” cardboard pages that appear to have been taken in 1897.
Using Kirksville city directories, local histories, articles in newspapers, and a perpetual calendar, we have been able to identify a building dedication, an ice storm, a clearance sale and a parade, all of which occurred in early 1897. Other shots seem to have been taken later that summer and fall.
We have no information as to the origins of the album, its photographer or donor, but various unidentified people, whom we collectively call the “Mysterious Someone”, have apparently tried to identify the subjects of the pictures both before and after the album was given to the Museum. Bits of information have been written by different hands on the borders and while some of it has proven to be on target, some has been a bit misleading. We have yet to indentify all the buildings, but we are making progress. Viewers who have information regarding positive IDs of people or places that we have labeled as “unidentified” or “believed to be” are invited to contact us. We welcome your help.
2:1 American School of Osteopathy & AT Still Infirmary
2:2 200 Block N Franklin
2:3 De France Park
2:4 Independent Order of Odd Fellows Parade
2:5 Baptist Church / James H Reynolds Residence
2:6 Alley North of 100 Block E Harrison
2:7 Robert Lorenz Residence
2:8 Normal School Steam Plant
2:9 Normal Pond & Park
2:10 Unidentified 2-Story House
2:11 Methodist Episcopal Church
2:12 Nurses’ Cottage
2:13 Thomas J Dockery Residence
2:14 West Side of the Square
2:15 Porter Flats
2:16 Richard Ringo Residence
2:17 Newton E Winn Residence
2:18 James W Martin Residence
2:19 James T Baird Residence
2:20 Benjamin F Heiny Residence
2:21 Burr J Trowbridge Residence
2:22 Unidentified 1-Story House
2:23 Unidentified 1-Story House
2:24 Unidentified 1-Story House
2:25 Unidentified 2-Story House
2:26 Valentine Miller Residence
2:27 George C Farmer Residence
2:28 George F Englehart Residence
Sources Used to Identify and Date the Photos in These Albums
- Annual Catalogue of the Officers, Alumni, and Students of the Missouri State Normal School, First
District. Moberly: F.L. Link, Printer, 1894. - Directory and Commercial Register of the City of Kirksville, 1892. Kirksville City Directory Company, [1892]
- Federal Census for the City of Kirksville, Benton Twp, Adair County, MO, 1900. FamilySearch Records Database.
http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#start. - History of Adair, Sullivan, Putnam and Schuyler Counties, Missouri. Chicago: The Goodspeed Publishing
Co., 1888. - The Kirksville Daily Express, various issues, 1920s-40s. [obituaries]
- The Kirksville Journal, various issues, 1892-97.
- Kirksville-Adair County Bicentennial Committee. A Book of Adair County History. Kirksville: Simpson Printing Company, 1976.
- Pope, Barbara M, Reference Librarian/Archivist, St Louis College of Medicine to Elaine M Doak, Special
Collections Librarian/Archivist, Truman State University. 3 Sept 2003. - Ryle, Walter H. Centennial History of the First Baptist Church. Kirksville: Simpson Publishing Company, 1968.
- Selby, P.O. Kirksville Presbyterians. Kirksville: First United Presbyterian Church, 1971.
- Towne, Ruth Warner. From These Beginnings: A History of First United Methodist Church, Kirksville, Missouri. Kirksville: Journal
Printing Company, 1984. - Violette, E.M. History of Adair County. Kirksville: The Denslow History Company, 1911.
- Wallin’s Kirksville City Directory for 1899-1900. Kirksville: Wallin Directory Co., 1900.
- The Weekly Graphic, various issues, 1893-97.
For information concerning this collection or to request copies contact: speccoll@truman.edu