Willard D. Tripp, Former Union Officer in 29th Massachusetts Infantry, circa 1870s.

At first glance this is just a run of the mill Cabinet Photo - a man with mutton chops & a mustache, photographed by Woodward & Son in Taunton, Mass.  And not only that, it's pretty faded.

On back, however, written in barely legible hard to read pencil and competing with other random scribbles for your attention is the following: "Capt. Willard D. Tripp", and "State House".  I have no idea who may have written this,  and I hope someone wasn't using the back of this photo just to jot down a note.  My assumption is that the person in the photo is Willard Tripp, and he just became a little less anonymous.   I suppose he'd be surprised that 82 years after his death, anybody noticed.

Willard Dean Tripp was born in 1838 & died in 1931, (92 years old) and is buried in Woburn, Massachusetts. (Find-a-grave has him buried in Mayflower Cemetery, Taunton, Mass). He served most of the civil war years as an  officer in the 29th Massachusetts Infantry.   A regimental history (from 1908) has his rank as Lt. Colonel, other documents refer to his rank as Captain.   The 29th Mass was involved in several campaigns during the civil war, and apparently Captain Tripp rose in rank.

I can't find too much about his life after the war, but he was involved in state government.   He was employed by the Massachusetts State Board of Lunacy and Charity in the late 1890s, then in the early 1900s, by the Division of Adult Poor, both happy sounding agencies.  I'm not sure what positions he held, or what his responsibilities were.

This photo is probably from the 1870s-1880s.

Update:  Sold!

Civil war era CDV of a man wearing a military coat

This is a CDV portrait of a young man wearing what looks like a military uniform coat.  If it is indeed a military uniform, that makes it an unusual acquisition, at least for us.    There is photographer information on the back:  E. M. Smith, 268 Main St., Buffalo.   Also, someone wrote the following in pencil:  "Mrs. Goodrich son".   They wrote it exactly like that.

We believe we have a portrait of someone who was either serving (or had served) in the US Army during the time of civil war.

What we know:  The CDV has the right look to be from the 1860s.  The photographer, E. M. Smith, was at the address listed on the back in Buffalo, NY from 1861-1864, which corresponds to the era of the CDV and the dates of the civil war.   The man is definitely of military age, and the coat has a military look to it.

What is conjecture:  We're assuming his last name is Goodrich, but it may not be.  If his father had died and his mother remarried, for example, he probably would not have the same name as his mother.  I'm assuming the coat is military, but I'm no expert. If it is, he was most likely a private, because there is no rank insignia.  NCOs would have patches on the sleeves, officers would have shoulder boards.

So, it is what it is.  Personally, I think this guy was a soldier when this picture was taken.  And I think his last name was probably Goodrich.

Update: Sold!