 |
| (Top row) Frank, John, Artie (Front row) Joe, Harry, Lyman |
I have heard my husband speak of a photograph of his Whitaker great-grandfather and brothers that he saw as a child; one that reminded him of the James Gang. Definitely a child's perspective. Not a whiff of a rumor of outlaw behavior in this crew of merchants, farmers and bankers. Still, his eyes lit up when he saw this photo again in Grandma Bonnel's photo album, some 50 years after first seeing it.
The boys are the sons (there were daughters, too) of Henry L. Whitaker and Harriet Merriam. The cardboard frame is stamped "M. W. Rudolph, ATCHISON, KANSAS" and the names are handwritten on the frame. Artie (Arthur S. Whitaker or Stephen A. Whitaker), standing at the right, was the youngest brother, born in 1876. Lyman, seated in front on the right, was the eldest brother, born in 1858. I estimate the date of the photograph to be in the very late 19th or first decade of the 20th century.
