After extensive research, the Stratford-Perth Archives suspects the photo was taken by Thomas James Smith
Do you recognize any of the people in this photograph?
The image is a quite recent addition to the Stratford-Perth Archives that we don’t know much about. The large 8-inch-by-10-inch negative for the photo arrived in an envelope labelled 60 Bay St. with the date July 17, 1935, etched in the lower left-hand corner. Using the research resources available here, I learned that 60 Bay St. in Stratford was once the home of a photographer named Thomas James Smith. The large format of the negative and the fact that the word FLASH was also on the envelope makes it seem likely that it is a family portrait including Smith’s mother and other relatives, taken by Smith. (Plus, one of the men in the back row seems to be holding a remote shutter release.) But, of course, that is only a guess. If you can identify anyone in the photograph, please contact Stratford-Perth Archives.
Certainly, the Smith family had a long association with 60 Bay St., Stratford. Ellen Smith (née McGunegal) died in the house in 1940 at the age of 80. She had been living there for about 35 years. She moved to Stratford with her son Thomas. Before Ellen’s husband, William Smith, died in 1896, the family had farmed at Concession 7, Lot 24, in North Easthope Township. Both the McGunegal and the Smith families had been living in the township since the 1840s. Ellen was the oldest child of James and Mary Jane McGunegal (née Kirkpatrick). She had four brothers — William, Thomas, John and Robert, along with two sisters, Elizabeth and Mary. Ellen Smith’s obituary mentions that her sister, Elizabeth, and Elizabeth’s husband, Albert McFarlane, lived at 224 William St. in Stratford. Perhaps that is why Ellen moved into town when she found herself widowed with a young child.
Thomas James Smith, Ellen’s son, was born in 1893. He attended Stratford public schools and the collegiate institute (later Stratford Central). After high school, he worked as a cabinet maker at McLagan Furniture. While working there, he became a qualified draftsman, going on to work at Imperial Rattan and Preston-Noelting Ltd. He began taking courses in photography and, by 1917, was well known for his camerawork for commercial travellers. According to his 1950 obituary in the Stratford Beacon Herald, Thomas Smith had “a cheerful disposition, he was keenly interested in the welfare of others and had a wide circle of friends . . . He was a member of Knox Presbyterian Church and . . . a member of the Photographers’ Association of America and the Photographers’ Association of Ontario.” Thomas Smith married Hazel Robena Humphrey in 1922. They continued to live at 60 Bay St. for the rest of their lives. They are buried together, along with Thomas’s parents, in St. Andrew’s Cemetery in North Easthope Township.
The Stratford-Perth Archives welcomes donations to the collection and is open for drop-in research from Tuesday to Friday, plus other times, including Saturdays, by appointment. For details about what’s available during Reading Room drop-in hours and appointments for in-depth research, please visit www.perthcounty.ca/StratfordPerthArchives, call us at 519-271-0531, ext. 259 or email archives@perthcounty.ca.
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Reflections: Do you recognize the family in the photo?
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24.02.2024
After extensive research, the Stratford-Perth Archives suspects the photo was taken by Thomas James Smith
Do you recognize any of the people in this photograph?
The image is a quite recent addition to the Stratford-Perth Archives that we don’t know much about. The large 8-inch-by-10-inch negative for the photo arrived in an envelope labelled 60 Bay St. with the date July 17, 1935, etched in the lower left-hand corner. Using the research resources available here, I learned that 60 Bay St. in Stratford was once the home of a photographer named Thomas James Smith. The large format of the negative and the fact that the word FLASH was also on the envelope makes it seem likely that it is a family portrait including Smith’s mother and other relatives, taken by Smith. (Plus, one of the men in the back row seems to be holding a remote shutter release.) But, of course, that is only a guess. If you can identify anyone in the photograph, please contact Stratford-Perth........
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