Five oldest sons of Josephus Bingaman (L to R): Henry, Frank, Oliver, Rice and Fred.
About the time I finished writing my last post, correcting the record regarding the identification of several individuals included in a studio photograph of the Josephus Bingaman and Mary Rice family, I located this brief newspaper article. Emphasis mine.
At the residence of E. T. Bingaman on King street in Ottawa, last Sunday, occurred a reunion of the five oldest sons of J. Bingaman. Those present were E. T. Bingaman of Ottawa, F. L. Bingaman of Hickory street, R. W. Bingaman and family of LeLoup, C. H. Bingaman and family of Chippewa and O. M. Bingaman of Rice county. The latter having spent most of the time for the past five years in the west, returned to spend New Years with his parents in Garnett and visit other relatives. He expects to return the latter part of the week to Rice county wher[e] he is employed as a foreman on a ranch. 1
If the information in this newspaper is taken at face value, Oliver M. Bingaman had been away from the family working in another part of the state. If Oliver was indeed reunited with his family for a visit after five years, it suggests that the studio photograph would necessarily have to have been taken prior to his removal. This lends credence to the assertion that the family photograph was taken circa 1900-1901. Also shown in the table in the last post, Oliver was recorded still living at home in his father’s household at the time of the 1900 census (April 1900). This information, coupled with the dark clothing of those in the photo suggests the photograph may have been taken in the Fall of 1900 or over the Winter months of early 1901.
It should be noted that the identification of E. T. Bingaman, should be E. F. Bingaman. There is no one in the family with the initials of E. T. “Fred” Bingaman is the author’s great-grandfather.
Source:
1 “Chippewa”, The Ottawa Herald (Ottawa, Kansas), 18 Jan 1906, p. 6, col. 4. Newspapers.com (http://www.newspapers.com : accessed 28 Dec 2014).
This post and associated image first appeared on AncestorRoundup.com on 29 Dec 2014. The image of the original photograph was edited by Dawn Bingaman. © 2014. All rights reserved.
