by Shannon Butler
For this week’s entry, we thought it would be fun to take a look at a family photo album from the early 20th century. These images were taken by members of the Konsier and Russell families and if you look closely, you may recognize some of the places they photographed. Anna Gertrude Russell was born and raised in Staatsburg NY, the daughter of a William (a painter based on the census records) and Gertrude Russell. Anna married a printer from Poughkeepsie named Louis Konsier in 1905 and in 1906 they had a daughter named Florence.
Off to the right you can see Anna when she was a young new bride sitting on the porch. Louis can be seen holding his young daughter Florence as they take a nature walk through Vassar. Anna and her daughter sit for a portrait together in the next photograph. On the porch of the Konsier family home in Poughkeepsie we can see Louis holding his clarinet with a friend playing the banjo (we wonder if this band was any good?). William Russell, the brother of Anna, stands on the porch of his home in Staatsburg. Someone in the family also enjoyed photographing their pets as we can see with this lovely cat and Jack Russell Terrier.
Finally, here is a sampling of some of the places they made visits to either in Poughkeepsie or Staatsburg. Of course we have a lovely image of our very own Adriance Library. Next we see a great view of the City of Poughkeepsie and the railroad bridge and Soldier’s fountain can be seen in all of its glory. The last two images are both scenes from Staatsburg. In the first we see St. Margaret’s church and a fountain on the main street. The second image shows Dinsmore Mansion which was torn down in 1941 to make way for a newer house.
