Famous from Rensselaer

I found the following article as I was reading through microfilm of old newspapers when the Library was still open.

There is plenty of information available about Marshall on the Internet. Wikipedia has a short article, as does the Oregon Encyclopedia. The blog of the Jasper County Library had an informative post about him and it linked to another blog post that was very interesting. I do not know if any of his books are currently in print, but used copies are available both on Amazon and Abe Books. Marshall was successful enough as a writer that he supported himself and his family solely from that occupation.

George Marshall, Edison's father, purchased a lot in Weston Cemetery for two siblings of Edison who died as babies. Also in the lot are two of his aunts from his mother's side of the family. His mother was a Bartoo, a family that settled in the Remington area. One of her brothers published the Remington paper for many years.

His aunt Jessie Bartoo, buried in the Marshall lot, died at the young age of 37. She became a photographer and I have seen pictures of her unusual round photography studio but cannot find any on the Internet. Until I read the long and touching tribute written by her brother-in-law, I had not realized that she was the proprietor of that studio. I had assumed that it was run by a man and I wondered who he was.

The map below is part of a Sanborn insurance map from 1899. I think the yellow building closest to the bridge was her studio. (Yellow indicates a wooden building, red brick, and blue concrete block. None of the buildings on this map survive today.)

I found three of her photographs on the Internet.

Here is one more from a findagrave memorial. It is of two Comer sisters.