A Photographer in Five States

The biography of photographer C. Alfred Garrett has been a long-term project for me. I found bits of information over a decade ago, and by 2018 I thought I had a complete document of his time in West Chester from 1864-1871. But I realized his story had some intriguing twists and turns. He came from a family of photographers and social activists. The more I explored it, the more fascinating it became. I needed the whole story!

I knew that he had a studio in Salem, New Jersey in 1863 before coming to West Chester. I also knew that he was the grandson of a well-known Conductor on the Underground Railroad, Thomas Garrett. But I could not account for C. Alfred Garrett’s movements in 1860-1862. He seemed to disappear from his native Wilmington, Delaware home. Where did he go? What was he doing?

A search on a national newspaper database provided the unexpected answer – Garrett was in Louisville, Kentucky! Garrett would have made the journey from Wilmington, Delaware to Louisville probably by boat, through the system of canals and rivers. There he partnered with George H. Nicholson, who hailed from Massachusetts. How the two met came to operate the Telegraph Gallery in Louisville has still not been explained. They produced an historic body of work while there. Learn about the “Sketches of Camp Boone” album they created documenting the training of the Kentucky State Guards in Part 1 of the biography.

Part 2 of the biography reveals Garrett’s photographic career after 1863 in Salem, West Chester, Philadelphia and later North Carolina. I learned a lot about his career and family life, but he seemed to have kept his beliefs private for the most part. Was he active in the antislavery movement? There is still more to know, so I am asking for anyone with additional resources to contact me. I am especially looking for personal letters, perhaps a diary, or family photographs. Please contact me through the contact link on this website. Thank you, readers!