Shared Photo: Cropped photo of Eli and 1st wife, Elizabeth Shelley

Question

The photo was given to our family by a woman who was the granddaughter of Eli and Elizabeth Shelley. It's supposedly a wedding photo. It actually contains Eli and Elizabeth Shelley. I've cropped it to show just Eli. The woman who gave me the photo, Mrs.Martha Malcolm, was in her 90's at the time and had someone doing her genealogy. He suggested I contact her, which I did. She has since passed away. Her son said they got rid of everything after she died and had no idea about a Civil War letter from Eli. We lost a copy of the letter in the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. Mrs. Malcolm had sent it when she sent the photo. It was written for Eli, as he didn't know how to read or write. Sadly, the letter is now lost forever.

I wanted to share this family photo of Eli Harris with the community. Location: Indiana, probably Henry County.. Date: 1864.

Click here for the image details page or here for the full-sized version (800 x 1008).

Answer 1

A very handsome well dressed man with impeccable personal grooming.  Was he a doctor or lawyer? it just looks like he was a man of means. Thank you for sharing Eli's Photograph with us.

Comments

Actually, he was a farmer. This was his wedding photo, so he probably put on his best clothes. I cropped the photo. His wife is standing next to him on his left.

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It does not matter who his first wife is I guess. That is totally up to you. The story about the elderly woman Martha and  the Civil War letter. Have you ever searched for Eli in the Civil War? Any luck?

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Yes, we have Eli's military history. Years ago, when I was doing professional genealogy, I was a Civil War Specialist and taught classes on how to find Civil War records. I wrote two books : Civil War Records A Useful Tool 1& 2. You can still find them listed on the internet. They are both at the Mormon Library in Salt Lake, the Library of Congress and in libraries across the country. They were written basically before computers. Now alot of the records listed in the books are accessible on the internet.

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That is great anonymous. A wonderful feat. I have one question. With a name like Anonymous did you use a pen name so nobody knew who you were?

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Lol, I'm still new and I forgot to add my name. I'm used to places that add it for you. Thanks so much for your comments.

Sherry Harris

Answer 2

I love his checkered vest.

Comments

He definitely wanted to look dapper. He was 20 yrs old at the time.

Sherry Harris

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He looks very GQ-ish or whatever magazine they had back then :o)