Description:
Group of three photographs, two of which (.1 & .2) are of Sexton/Lincoln house and one (.3) of the Abercrombie House by an unknown photographer, inscribed on the back, "Abercrombie House, circa 1920. / Gift of Mrs. J. Douglas Abercrombie, 1978." The photographs of the Sexton/Lincoln house are both inscribed in ink on the back: "The old house which stood where the Abercrombie house now stands at the South end of Deerfield street and was burned." and stamped "Printed by Newman & Co. / 133 Essex St. Cor. Houston" and "Champ" for James Wells Champney (1843-1903); and inscribed in pencil, "Photograph by James Wells Champney / circa 1890 [appears added later] / Gift of Mrs. J. Douglas Abercrombie, 1978." The original Sexton house was built for David Sexton (1734-1800) about 1798, and used by his son, Rufus (1769-1857) until his death. The house fell into disrepair under subsequent owners until bought in 1887 and restored by Mary Willard Lincoln (1847-1900) of Boston; the house burned to the ground in 1891. In 1896, William Hyslop Abercrombie (1851-1940) of Deerfield and Brookline bought the empty lot and built the brown-shingled summer home shown in HD 78.132.3, which descended to his nephew, James Douglas Abercrombie (1913-1978), husband of Emily C. Abercrombie (d.1994). Born in Boston, James Champney served in the 45th Massachusetts Volunteers from 1862-1863 before being invalided out of the army; he then taught drawing at Dr. Dio Lewis's "Young Ladies Seminary" from 1864-1866. After deciding to become a professional artist, Champney moved to Europe where he studied in France with Pierre Edouard Frere (1819-1886), a well-known French realist genre painter; in Antwerp with Joseph Francois Henri Van Lerius (1823-1876); and in Italy. In 1870, Champney returned to Boston where he opened a studio; in 1873, he was commissioned by "Scribner's Monthly Magazine" to illustrate "The Great South; A Record of Journeys in Louisiana, Texas, the Indian Territory, Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland," a series of articles on the Reconstruction South by Edward King (1848-1896) where the two travelled more than 25,000 miles and Champney contributed at least 500 illustrations. In 1873, Champney married Elizabeth Johnson Williams (1850-1922), whom he had met at the "Young Ladies Seminary;" she was a graduate of the Vassar class of 1869 who became a popular children's author of her period and many of whose whose works Champney illustrated. Born in Springfield, Ohio, Elizabeth Williams was the half-sister of Orson Bennet Williams (1834-1912) and daughter of Samuel Barnard Williams (1803-1884), originally of Deerfield, whose second wife was Caroline Johnson (d.1885) whom he married in 1844; the granddaughter of Elijah Williams (1767-1832) who married Hannah Barnard (1772-1853), daughter of Samuel Barnard (1721-1788) of Deerfield, in 1803; and great-granddaugher of Dr. Thomas Williams (1718-1775) of Deerfield. In 1876 the Champneys moved into Samuel Barnard Williams' house in Deerfield where Champney built a studio; they lived in Deerfield for several years while he was professor of art at Smith College in Northampton, Mass., and one of the founders of the Smith Art Gallery. In 1879, Champney opened a studio in New York City, and from that time on the Deerfield became their summer home. James and Elizabeth had two children: Edward Frere (1874-1929) who studied art and became an architect, and Maria Mitchell (1876-1906) who was born in Deerfield, married John Sanford Humphreys in 1899, and was a miniature painter. Two sketches by Champney, probably copying HD 78.132.1 & .2 (see copy in file), were in the collection of Dr. George H. Humphreys (1903-2001) of New York City, the son of Maria and John Humphreys, who had been the Valentine Mott Professor Emeritus of Surgery at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital.
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