Theodore B. McGinley

Theodore Beaumont McGinley was born about 1830, the second son of John McGinley, the manager of the popular Mansion House Hotel in West Chester^[1]. John McGinley was a prominent figure in the Borough, having been appointed as postmaster in 1843^[2]. John and Catherine McGinley raised a family and managed hotels in West Chester and Oxford, Pennsylvania.

Intrigued with the West as many young people were, Theodore McGinley headed to California to find his fortune^[3]. McGinley enlisted on August 2, 1863 in Stockton California and served in Company L, California 1^st Cavalry Regiment. He deserted on January 18, 1864 at Sacramento, California^[4].

A conscientious voter, McGinley’s movements in California can be traced through the voter registers. Working as a cook he resided in Calaveras^[5] and San Joaquin^[6] during 1867, in Alameda in 1868^[7]. All of these towns are associated with gold mining camps. The 1870 Census taken in June records him as a gold miner living in a hotel in Calaveras County^[8].

He returned to West Chester later in 1870 where he studied photography and assisted Thomas W. Taylor in his studio. In 1871 McGinley decided to open his own gallery in West Chester at 11 W. Gay Street above Thomas Travilla’s store^[9]. Known as “McGinley’s Photograph and Ferrotype Gallery,” he advertised a dozen cartes-de-visite for $1.50^[10]. There are a few examples of his work in the Chester County History Center Photo Archives, including a self-portrait^[11].

McGinley also offered services to hand color your photograph in a large advertisement published in The Jeffersonian, October 14, 1871. It is unfortunate that he does not name his artist.

There was significant competition among the photographers in West Chester, with two big studios as competitors, namely Beecher & Grier and Thomas W. Taylor. McGinley needed keep his name before the public. He advertised in The Daily Local News on February 3, 1873, hoping win away some of the customers:

But the landscape of the West was still on McGinley’s mind, such that a refined Pennsylvania town could not contain him. The Daily Local News of March 29, 1873 announced his change of plans:

McGinley enjoyed the freedom and sights along the road as an itinerant photographer in California operating “McGinley’s Flying Photograph Gallery^[15].” Other sources record “McGinley & Schubert’s Flying Photograph Gallery.^[16]” He relocated to Hollister, California where he operated a gallery on Fifth Street in 1875^[17].

McGinley is recorded in the 1880 Census as living in the mining town of Clarksville California^[18]. The photographer is single and boarding with blacksmith Leonard Grigg and family.

By 1884 McGinley was in Fresno City, with a gallery on Mariposa Street^[19]. The 1888 Voter Register records a career change for McGinley to miner once again^[20]. He also gives his name as Theodore Beaumont McGinley, Sr. – here he is expressing his pride in his nephew namesake Theodore Beaumont McGinley born in Ohio in 1854.^[21]

The voter registers paint a picture of McGinley’s later years marked by frequent moves and changes in employment. The register from 1892 records him as a laborer living in Nevada, California. In 1893 he is back in Fresno^[22] here they describe him as being 63 years old, 5’5 1/2” with a light complexion, blue eyes and white hair. In the 1897 register his occupation is given as clerk^[23].

His last listing is in about 1900 in Tuolumne, California at age 73^[24]. There is no further information about McGinley after that date.

© Pamela C. Powell, 2019.