Susanna (Susan) LaRue Powers (1824-1881) was the wife of Thomas Thornton (1824-1916) and the mother of 12 children, one of them being Helen Thornton. I have been puzzled by the absence of a photo of Susanna in the family photo box. Then it occurred to me there may well be one. You will note that I have an unidentified photo that I have once suggested was Rebecca Thornton (Helen’s sister) and I have also proposed that it is Rebecca LaRue (Helen’s grandmother). Neither of these now seem correct. First, Rebecca Thornton died in 1940 and the photo is a CdV type which would not have been in use towards the end of her life. Second, Rebecca LaRue died in 1859 just as the CdV photo process was appearing.
So, my current thought is it make more sense to suggest the photo is of Susanna Powers. She died in 1881 when the CdV photo type would still have been popular. As noted before the photo we have was taken to the photo studio again in 1917 with instruction on how to improve it. The second photo makes her look somewhat younger and more attractive. It would make sense to do this if the woman in the photo was your mother. Since we have both copies of the photo one can imagine that multiple copies were made and sent to other family members. (The name “Simpson” appears on the back of the photo along with instructions suggesting the restoration may have been ordered by Helen Thornton Simpson.)
Here is the photo for the third time. What do you think? Do you have another copy of this photo?
