Mabel Seaborne, Photographic Artist (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks #8)
One of the things I love the most about genealogy is seeing the link between families. The one that stood out to me the most was that between Mabel Seaborne and her uncle William Christopher Chappell
Mabel was born December 31st, 1889, in Freemont, Sandusky, Ohio, the daughter of Martha Rosa Chappell and her husband William Seaborne.2 Like her father, she was an artist. Mabel worked in the photographic industry and her main medium was oil over photographic portraits — a bit of luxury in a world that had not yet been introduced to colour photographic prints. Whilst she mainly worked in the New York City area,3,4,5 the she and the photographer she worked for also took the photographs for the graduate s of West Point Military Academy.6
After William Chappell and his family moved to Canada, the Chappell and Seaborne families took advantage of their proximity to visit each other over the years.7 The first visit that we know of was a couple years after William’s arrival to Canada when Mabel visited him, along with his wife Elizabeth Emma (Farthing) and their daughter Rosemary Cecelia Chappell at Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, in 1913.
It was most likely during this visit that Mabel painted the portraits of William Christopher Chappell and his wife Elizabeth Emma (Farthing) Chappell as Mabel married Alexander Burros on February 10th, 1914,9 and the portraits were signed with her maiden name.
The families continued to remain close, with Mabel being the maid of honour at her cousin Rosemary Cecelia Chappell’s marriage to Herbert Laurence Walsh in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, in September of 1921.12
In my search I found another two photographic portraits painted by Mabel Seaborne, though done much later in her career. The first was of Simon Walsh, Herbert Laurence Walsh’s uncle. It was likely painted in the 1930s.
The final portrait in the family collection is that of Larry Slinn, grandson of Rosemary Chappell and Herbert Walsh. The portrait was painted around the time of Larry’s tragic death in a motor vehicle accident.
The examples we hold within our family collection alone show the progression of Mabel’s work over the course of her artistic career and how her style continued to evolve. Mabel passed away in Greenwich, Connecticut, in 1976.15
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is a blogging prompt started by Amy Johnson Crow at No Story Too Small. My stories will include both sides of our family, including collateral lines.
Photo of Mabel Seaborne, photographer unknown, undated; original privately held by Joan [surname witheld for privacy], [address for private use], Simcoe county, Ontario, Canada; digital scan held by author, scanned Sep 2014. ↩
“Ohio, Births and Christenings, 1821-1962”, index, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed 19 May 2014), entry for Mabel Seaborne, 31 Dec 1889, Fremont, Sandusky county; citing FHL film 511731, reference p 18 rn 405. ↩
1920 United States Federal Census, Queens county, New York, population schedule, Queens Assembly District, Enumeration district (ED) 323, page 8a (penned), lines 37-40, household of Alexander Burros; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 May 2014); citing NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 1234. ↩
1930 United States Federal Census, Queens county, New York, population schedule, Queens Assembly District, Enumeration district (ED) 659, page 8b (penned), dwelling 284, household of Alexander Burros; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 26 Sep 2014); citing FHL microfilm 2341320; citing NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 1585. ↩
1940 United States Federal Census, Queens county, New York, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 41-614, sheet 7B (penned), dwelling 3341, family 50, lines 50 and 51, household of Mabel Burroughs; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 24 Oct 2014); citing NARA microfilm publication T627, roll 2732. ↩
Beverly [grand-daughter of Rosa Chappell], [Email address for private use], to Chriss Coleman, email, 26 September 2014, “Chappell Family”, Chappell family file; privately held by Chriss Coleman, [Email and Address for private use], Århus Kommune, Østjylland, Denmark. ↩
Photo albums of Rosemary (Chappell) Walsh, various dates; privately held by Joan [Surname withheld for privacy], [Address for private use], Simcoe county, Ontario, Canada, 2014. ↩
Photo of Mabel Seaborne with William Christopher, Elizabeth Emma, and Rosemary Chappell, photographer unknown; original privately held by Joan [surname witheld for privacy], [address for private use], Simcoe county, Ontario, Canada; digital scan held by author, scanned Sep 2014. [Reverse of photograph identifies individuals, dated 1913.] ↩
“New York, County Marriages, 1908-1935”, Alexander Burros and Mabel Seaborne, 10 Feb 1914; index and images, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : accessed 22 Oct 2014); citing Winchester, New York, United States; FHL microfilm 1031349, image 396 of 503. ↩
William Christopher Chappell portrait, ca. 1913, photographer unknown, portrait artist Mabel Seaborne; originally held by Joan [Surname withheld for privacy], [Address for private use], Simcoe county, Ontario, Canada. [Portrait is oil paint, hand-painted over a photographic print, unsigned, held in the Walsh family photograph collection, scanned Sep 2014 by author.] ↩
Elizabeth Emma (Farthing) Chappell portrait, ca. 1913, photographer unknown, portrait artist Mabel Seaborne; originally held by Joan [Surname withheld for privacy], [Address for private use], Simcoe county, Ontario, Canada. [Portrait is oil paint, hand-painted over a photographic print, signed Mabel Seaborne, held in the Walsh family photograph collection, scanned Sep 2014 by author.] ↩
“Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1801-1928”, digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 Mar 2014), Niagara Falls, Welland county, marriage of Herbert Laurence Walsh and Rosemary Cecelia Chappell, 7 Sep 1921, register 023606; citing Archives of Ontario, Toronto, “Registrations of Marriages, 1869-1928”, MS932, reel 592. ↩
Simon Walsh portrait, ca. 1930s, photographer unknown, portrait artist Mabel (Seaborne) Burroughs; originally held by Joan [Surname withheld for privacy], [Address for private use], Simcoe, Ontario, Canada. [Portrait is oil paint, hand-painted over a photographic print, signed Mabel Burroughs, held in the Walsh family photograph collection, scanned Sep 2014 by author.] ↩
Larry Slinn portrait, ca. 1968, photographer unknown, portrait artist Mabel (Seaborne) Burroughs; originally held by Joan [Surname withheld for privacy], [Address for private use], Simcoe, Ontario, Canada. [Portrait is oil paint, hand-painted over a photographic print, unsigned, held in the Walsh family photograph collection, scanned Sep 2014 by author.] ↩
“Connecticut, Death Index, 1949-2001”, Mabel S Burroughs, 02 Feb 1976; index, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : accessed 22 Oct 2014); citing Ancesty.com, “Connecticut, Death Index, 1949-2001,” Greenwich, Connecticut, Department of Health, Hartford. ↩
Copyright ©2015, Chriss Coleman