Coming To A Close

(Included at the bottom of this entry are my most favorite photographs of Edwin's that do not appear in the final album)

As I wrap up the end of this project having started in the first week after learning of the assignment in September I sadly close this album. I have encountered many family stories and fantastic photographic opportunities within this endeavor. As I re-created the images and put together the final album mixing together the re-created images, a selected grouping of Edwin's collection and two studio photographs taken of Edwin's personal effects. These photographs are put together within an album that I found in a store near the University of Toronto campus. This album I felt added to Edwin's history as he was a conservationist and loved taking photos of flowers within his body of work. The photographs are accompanied with a short write up of what appears in the album and this blog acts as the second digital component of the overall project.

Through this entire journey I feel like I have succeeded in finding my ancestor and fellow image artist and the forgotten photographer.

Sincerely,
Lizz Hodgson
__________________________________________________________________
Pieces that do not appear in the final album:

(Black and white photograph painted by hand onto the glass slide)

Shooting the re-makes of the photgraphs

This blog includes some of the process shots in the re-making of Edwin Haynes' pieces.

The plaque outside of University College on University of Toronto campus where the Newel post was rumored to be.

Wide angle of University College on University of Toronto campus

My Father standing at the top of the staircase above the Newel Post after we had located it

My Father standing in Stouffville, Ontario comparing the main stretch of Main street as well as helping me deduce the angle at which to capture the re-make

Surprise discovery on the main stretch of Stouffville, Ontario. In the clock tower that appears in the original Haynes photograph I came across a plaque commemorating those who donated to the re-building of the town's clock tower. Two significant to my family appear engraved in the stone Mrs. H. Hodgson who is related directly to my blood line and three above that you can see one Ambrose Stover who was Edwin Haynes' Father in law. This was a fantastic family find!

My Father posing for the re-make of Edwin's self-portrait. We have dressed him similar to what Edwin appears in as well against a background that comes close to that in which appears in the original.

My Father working as a camera assistant in the set up of the studio photograph of Edwin's personal effects that we still have today in our family's possession

The final copies of these re-made images are found within the tangible album component of this project.

The Continued Journey

Main street in Stouffville Ontario

Lombard Street Fire Hall in old town Toronto

The Newel Post at University College University of Toronto

On Sunday March 7th my Father and I travelled to three locations within Toronto and one in Stouffville Ontario. My Father and I had tracked down the Newel post on the campus of The University of Toronto. This post appear in one of Edwin Haynes' photographs taken sometime in the 1900's. It is suspected that Edwin attended a part of The University of Toronto called University College. There are many assumptions as to his presence at University College including the fact that he was apart of the Toronto Camera club. I contacted a history professor at the University of Toronto and was told that the legendary Newel post was located in the University College building located on U of T's campus at 15 King's Circle in the East staircase. It is rumored that the dragon/gryphon carved into the post is a lucky mascot of those who have attended the school (students rub its head before exams). The photo of the gryphon that Edwin had in his collection was meticulously outlined by a substance called opaque material to close cut the image. This is an extraordinary feat for anyone performing photography at this time.

My Father and I located University College and found the Newel post. I duplicated the image as best as I could to a copy I had brought with me. The result was a pretty close recreation of Edwin's original. My Father and I marveled, standing in the same place our ancestor did over 100 years earlier.

Next stop was to locate the fire hall Edwin photographed during the Great Toronto Fire. In the past my Father had done research to try and locate the older fire hall's in Toronto that likely responded to the disaster that ruined much of the downtown parts of Toronto. We travelled first to 50-58 Richmond street where we tried to reconstruct the possible location of the corners appearing in his photograph. We weren't completely satisfied with the result and continued further to try and find a closer match. At 110 Lombard we found the closest matching fire hall we had come across. This station had been around since 1867 and had similar arches to the three which appeared in Edwin's picture. Within the research obtained earlier my Father had discovered that there were very few fire halls that actually had three arches to house the larger water tanks and horses. What we found largely matched his photograph and considering the fire hall's location in conjunction to where the fire was we assume this is either the exact location or the closest existing match that still stands today.

After matching the fire hall and the Newel post my Father and I travelled North East of Toronto to the town of Stouffville Ontario where family history resided. In Stouffville we were hoping to recreate a photograph of a main street within the town. We found what was the best fit and continued onward to find a clock tower that matched that of one in the shot. When coming to the actual tower and going inside we found plaques with names of Stouffer and Hodgson who helped to fund the building of the newer clock tower for the town's centennial celebration. This was an unsuspected find and confirmed our thoughts in matching the shot to this main street in this old town. After recreating this image my Father and I drove outward of the main streets in hope of finding Mary Stouffer's grave site (Edwin's wife who died in child birth) we are unsure of her resting place as she passed while living out West. We did not find the grave site we hoped to but we did happen across a museum on the outskirts of town. Although it was closed my Father and I harbor suspicion that these preserved historical buildings are in some way connected to Mary's family who the town of Stouffville was named after.

The photo's that accompany this post are those that I will re-touch to further best represent their originals.

The Journey

The Newal Post at the University of Toronto taken 1911

Through the past couple of months I have been gathering information from my Father and Grandparents to piece together more of Edwin's story. I have completed the biographical part of his life from birth onward. There are some holes here and there within his schooling and teen life. I'm going to search out some archival information to add to his background.
I have written down the background information that my Father and I can compile, but now I feel the rest lies within Edwin's photographs. In some odd way this has made some sort of full circle though the different generations of my family. These photo's came to my Father at a time when he was working in photography as a professional and when I happened to be taking a photography and popular arts culture class. I sit within a section of time where I will be graduating University with a degree in film and hope to go onward in making documentaries. There is something to learn from Edwin's photo's. If not just on a technical level but also on a basis where I re-connect to my familial history and roots. Somehow I feel like I belong in some cosmic order of things and that I am where I am supposed to be, to be putting together this kind of project with this material.

I have decided on the format of my project as a photo album. I will be recording some personal and factual findings here online. Further I will be taking photo's of the original glass slides to capture their actuality, choosing selected images from his repetorie of photos taken over time (I will provide the background information I have on these images) and further will re-create 3-4 of his photographs taken within Ontario.

I will be searching U OF T for something called the Newal post which, he photographed many years ago. I also hope to find the fire hall that he captured during the Great Fire of Toronto 1904. I will also be hoping to take a portrait re-creating the self portrait he took of himself. I will be using my Father as my duplicate subject.

The factual, autobiographical and literal photographic journey continues.

The Background

Self-Portrait of Edwin Haynes
Date Taken: Unkown

Born: Edwin Thomas Haynes November 11th 1876, Gloucester England
Died: October 31st 1918 of Spanish Influenza

Parents: Edwin Haynes Senior (Born:January 27th 1850 Stroud England- Died: July 3rd 1928) Maria McLachlin (Born: April 5th 1850 Endinbourough Scotland- Died: December 30th 1924)


Edwin Haynes: The Early Life

Born in Gloucester England he was moved to Toronto, Ontario Canada as a two year old. The family travelled from Bristol, England to Canada in 1879. Moved to 122 Strachan avenue in Toronto, Ontario. Edwin Jr was educated in Toronto as a young child and likely into his early teenaged years. There is a large gap between the ages of 2 and 33 in his life, we are unsure when and where he was educated but have collected that due to his father’s success as a cabinet builder for Massey Harris during the early 1900’s he was at sometime educated in or around Toronto. There exists some information that links Edwin in his 20’s to Ingersol, Ontario as a Merchant. Edwin filed a marriage application in Stouffville, Ontario in the Fall of 1909 to be married to Mary Stouffer. They were married in Stouffville in the Spring of 1910. Their honeymoon took place on a cruise ship called the S.S Virginian. This boat launched from Montreal and travelled directly to Bristol England and from there a train to Cheltanham England to visit where Edwin’s Father’s home was located. From Bristol the vessel likely made its way to the Mediterranean where the couple visited Gibraltar, Italy, Morocco or North Africa. Edwin continued to expand his already large collections of photographs on this honeymoon through the Mediterranean. These consisted of landscapes and obviously set up portraits of the people he came across on land during his travels. After this honeymoon they settled back in Chestley, Ontario where he had a photo business in that town. From Chestley the couple moved to Toronto, Ontario and resided in Parkdale in 1916. Edwin and Mary's son Edward was born in Toronto. From here the family appears to of traveled across Canada from Sault Sainte Marie to the Saskatchewan plains where he photographed the Blackfoot Indians and further to different valleys of British Columbia. Gathering from research and analysis of different signs and locations Canadian Pacific Railway buildings, construction sites and shipping harbours continue to appear within Edwin Haynes’ photographs through this time. There appears to be a section of photographs within his collection that document some streets in the East end of New York City (Mulberry street, The Bowery and the Aqua Duct)

Edwin Haynes dies October 31st 1918 of the Spanish Influenza, his wife and son move to British Columbia whilst his box of slides holding the images he had taken over many years stay with his Father in Toronto. Mary goes back to a well to do man she met on the families travels out West. She works as this wealthy mans house maid while Edward was still a baby. Mary became pregnant with this man’s child and gave birth to a daughter and died in child birth. Edward was now 4 left as an orphan. This wealthy man got in contact with Edward’s aunt May Hodgson who still lived in Toronto. Edward was sent back on train from British Columbia to Union station where May Hodgson and her son picked up 4 year old Edward Haynes. Edward was alone in the station standing in a crowd of people with only a name tag around his neck. This is the only way May and Russell knew who he was. Edward stayed in Toronto and grew up as Russell's brother.

The box of slides made their way to my Father through Edward Haynes, as he knew my Father held an interest in photography. Edward later passed away leaving this family history in a wooden box that somehow found it's way to me.

The Forgotten Photographer Project

Photo of the original Toronto Camera Club circa 1900
Edwin Haynes is amongst those in the photograph

WHAT: FACS 2400 Photography, Film and Popular Culture with course director Seth Feldman at York University.
CHALLENGE: To write an essay or put together a photographic or film project that encompasses the themes and studies of the course.

PROJECT: I will compile and organize a collection of a second generation relative who lived in Toronto and worked as a photographer. Likely contracted to photograph places outside of Canada in the 1900's Edwin Haynes did not just take photo's at random and without a specificity of his naturally artistic eye. He had a gift. One that was lost for many years inside a small wooden box in a basement in Etobicoke; where hundreds of glass slides of his work sat, doing nothing but collecting dust. My Father was given this box of slides by his third cousin Edward Haynes in 1975. By 2004 he began sorting, scanning and re-documenting Edwin's lost history through the photographs.
This is his story.

Note: This project will consist of a blog complete with many of his photo's, a tangible album complete with history and information about the images and reproductions of some accessible locations within Toronto that appear in Edwin Hayne's photographs. Further, my journal entries and findings on the journey of finding the forgotten photographer.