Notable Men Photos
Henry H. ("H.H.") Cole was a well-known Tazewell County photographer. Over the years, he has become recognized as an early pioneer in the photographic art form.
Here's your chance to own a photograph of your Tazewell County ancestor taken by the same man who photographed Abraham Lincoln during his campaign for the U.S. Senate in 1858 (Lincoln lost to Stephen A. Douglas).
Mr. Cole created a historical picture gallery of notable Tazewell County residents—displayed at one time on the hallway walls of the Tazewell County Courthouse. Many of these photographs are of early Tazewell County settlers.
Some of the images are photographs which H.H. Cole made of earlier portraits (paintings) or photographs of the early men of the county, but most are original photographs taken from probably the late 1870's up until the 19teens (or so we estimate).
Our archivists were given access to over 1500 of the 5"x7" photos that had been stored in the basement of the Tazewell County Courthouse for decades. The photographs were scanned digitally (lossless tiff format, 200 dpi).
Many hundred hours of work by our volunteers went into this project. We are fortunate that we have been able to preserve these important images— we have heard about for years—but very few ever had access to them.
Here's some samples of the photographs (size reduced to fit available space):
Search the Notable Man Photo list below for your ancestor. As you enter criteria into a search box, the display will automatically change to show only matching rows. The upper Search Box searches the entire database. The boxes at the bottom of each column limits your search only to that column's content.
You may notice some names are listed more than once. Some of the men have multiple photographs, sometimes taken years apart. In other cases, photographs may be of a father and son with the same name.
Also, the list contains the names as they were originally handwritten (and interpreted by various courthouse workers throughout the years) on the photographs. We have merely copied what was written on the photos.
The spelling interpretation sometimes seems somewhat suspect—so be sure to check for spelling variations of your names (Ex. Cassidy, Cassady, Cassedy). Of course, accuracy of the identification cannot be guaranteed.
Unfortunately, no additional information about the men pictured in this collection came with the photos. Of course, we know they were relatively well-known men of the time or H.H. Cole wouldn't have included them in the collection.
If we have been provided any additional information or comments about any of the photos, they have been placed in the Remarks column. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the comments.
If you have questions or comments about specific photographs, please feel free to contact us. A notable men photo book with a small sample of each photo can be reviewed at our library.
If you'd like a copy of a photo, we can send the digital image to you by email. Or, if you prefer, we can have the 5"x7" photo printed on high-quality photo paper, suitable for framing and display in your home. Your choice for only $12.00.
The photos can have minor flaws such as torn corners in the photo's matting, number stickers, or handwritten notes on masking tape (see sample images above). These blemishes are generally not to the image itself and can easily be repaired using image editing software. Or, at the time of the photo order, you can add our $6 editing option for up to 1/2 hour of photo clean-up before we send you the photo.
Orders may be placed at the Society's library, through the mail, or online using our shopping cart.
Prints will be mailed to you at no extra charge. Your order must be paid for before we email or print the photographs.
List of Notable Men Photos
~~ Copyright Restrictions ~~
The Notable Men Photographs are part of the Tazewell County Genealogical & Historical Society Photographic Collection and are not to be reproduced without the consent of the Society.
Any purchased reproduction is not to be used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research, as set forth in the Tazewell County Genealogical & Historical Society Copyright Policy and the copyright law of the United States (Title 17 U.S.Code).
