Colorized Smith's, circa 1867-1869.

The Jeff. R. Smith Family (1867-1869)
(l to r) Eva K., age 2-4, Emily D., age 30-32, Jefferson R., Sr., age 36-38, Jeff. R. II, age 7-9
Original photograph: Kyle Rosene Collection
Colorization by Gary Sheaf

The original photograph
(Click image to enlarge)

he final piece by Gary Sheaf is complete. He had a bit to repair in this case and he did a wonderful job at it don't you think?

I had asked Gary for a little information about himself and his hobby and here is what he had to say.

Hi Jeff

Here is the photo; I repaired the damage to it, before colourizing. I also added some carpet to fill out the image. I did some research on clothing colours for this period and I hope I have got the look right.

Annelie and Gary Sheaf

I have attached a photo of me and my Wife Annelie; I'm English and she is Welsh and we live in Swansea, Wales with our two boys Jacob (8) and Joel (just turned 1, it's been a busy week) my eldest; Josh (21) lives away. You might have detected a 'J' theme with their names! We thought it would be cute! gets confusing when we get angry with one of them! Annelie is a Drama teacher in a 'comprehensive' School for 11 to 16 year olds and I work as a Manager for Social Services delivering community mental health day services. I have trained in commercial illustration and currently enjoy oil painting sea scapes. In my younger days I lived in the US for 4 years working on ranches which fed my interest for the Old West. Learning Photo shop has sparked an interest in working with old photos, colourizing them, or indulging in a bit of fantasy (time travel) by adding myself to well known photos.

I hope you like this photo Jeff, if you would like to make any changes to it, please don't hesitate to let me know.

Gary

Don't need to change a thing Gary, it's perfect!

Note the part where Gary mentions the "J" theme in the name. Smith family members should recognize that same theme with the children of Soapy Smith's son, Jefferson Randolph Smith III. He had decided not to name a boy Jefferson Randolph Smith but named all the children with names beginning with the letter "J." Interesting to note, that the rules of genealogy insist that when there is a break in the generation of passing down a name, you are required to start over, thus when I named my son Jefferson Randolph Smith, he is starting all over thus he is the 1st or "Sr." 

Gary Sheaf's work
April 30, 2012
April 27, 2012
April 22, 2012 

MAY 9

1502: Christopher Columbus leaves Spain for his final trip to the Western Hemisphere. 

1754: The first newspaper cartoon in America shows a divided snake "Join or die" in The Pennsylvania Gazette. 

1785: Joseph Bramah patents the beer-pump handle. 

1825: The Chatham Theatre opens in New York City. It is the first gas-lit theater in the U.S. 

1879: Construction begins on Fort Assiniboine, south of Havre, Montana Territory.