Old photo, mounted on cardboard frame, circa 1883 – 1900.  Photo studio:  Ritchie Bros., Rantoul, Illinois. 

Price:  $15.00          Size: 2 and 1/2 x 2 and 5/8″ including frame.

A small photo, glued to a decorative cardboard frame, of an older woman with a nice smile. (Someone we would have liked to have met.) On the reverse, a descendant wrote:   “Savillah Rudy Grandma Ward Dad’s Grandmother”. A record for child, Orlando Francisco Ward, shows that Savillah (or Savilla) married Jesse Ward. The 1850 Federal Census for Berlin, Holmes County, Ohio has Jesse, Savilla and one-year-old H. I. Ward. Savilla was born in Pennsylvania in1827. She died at her home in Rantoul, IL, January 29, 1901, per the following obit:

No online records were found for the photo studio of Ritchie Brothers.

Sources:  Various Illinois County Courthouses; Various Illinois County Courthouses; Marriage Records; Collection Title: Marriage Records. (Ancestry.com).

Year: 1850; Census Place: Berlin, Holmes, Ohio; Roll: 696; Page: 193b. (Ancestry.com).

“Rantoul Lady Passes Away.” The Champaign County News, February 2, 1901. Saturday, p. 2. (Newspapers.com).