DeVan Family History and Genealogy

These black and white photos were made from plate glass negatives taken by someone in the family. At first I thought it was Grandfather Furnace "Ferny" DeVan. Most of these photos were taken in the late 1800s and early 1900s. After closer inspection of the photos, and a little research, I realized that Ferny would have been about 13 or 14 and most likely not the photographer of the early photos. Erastus' wife, Ruth, was the artist and most likely took the early photos.

The glass negatives came as quite a surprise to me on a visit to my Aunt's house in Ohio. Out of the blue, she said she had them and offered them to me, along with a few more precious old family photos. I had no idea the glass negatives even existed. They are not in good condition, as they have not been stored properly. Who would know unless they did research on glass negatives.

Covered bridges are cherished in Ashtabula County, there's even a covered bridge festival every October. There are currently 16 covered bridges and number 17 is being built. In the 19th century there were as many as 60 covered bridges in the county. There are eight photos of covered bridges in this group of photographs.

The file size of black and white photos is much larger than an equivalent color photo and it's very difficult to get them down to a small size for dial-up modem users and still maintain the fidelity of the original negative. I apologise for that, but there's not much I can do and still maintain a decent photo. The thumbnails should come up quickly, but, if you are on dial-up, allow about 30 seconds for the photos to appear after clicking the thumbnail.

Click on a photo to see a larger image. Close the window to return to this page.