Louis L. McAllister Photographs
Collection Overview
Louis L. McAllister photographed people and places near Burlington, Vermont for 60 years. He was born in Columbus, Nebraska on October 16, 1876, the son of Julius S. McAllister (born 1841 in Lincoln, VT) and Rosette Gould (born in Vermont in 1851)...
Show moreLouis L. McAllister photographed people and places near Burlington, Vermont for 60 years. He was born in Columbus, Nebraska on October 16, 1876, the son of Julius S. McAllister (born 1841 in Lincoln, VT) and Rosette Gould (born in Vermont in 1851). Julius McAllister worked as a photographer and dentist in Washington D.C., Bristol, Vermont and Columbus, Nebraska. Around 1895, Julius, his third wife Amy, and their children left Nebraska for the Union Soldiers’ Colony in Fitzgerald, Georgia. By 1900, Julius and Amy were divorced, and Amy and her stepson Louis were working as photographers in Thomasville, Georgia.
In 1907 Louis McAllister married Cora Shepard (born about 1872 in Vermont) in Holland, Michigan. By 1910, they were living in Queen City Park in South Burlington, Vermont, where Louis established a photography studio. The McAllisters moved to Burlington, and by 1919 they lived at 47 N. Winooski Avenue. They continued to occupy a summer cottage at Queen City Park, and were active in the Queen City Park Association, which held spiritualist camp meetings annually. McAllister conducted his photography business from home until his death in 1963.
McAllister’s “trademark” was his panorama camera which made him familiar to all sorts of groups ranging from graduating classes to state police to summer camp groups. In addition he did print 8 x 10 photos, many of which document building construction and Burlington Street Department projects, as well as group and individual portraits.
The L.L. McAllister Collection includes portraits, construction projects, buildings, businesses and events in the Burlington area covering the period ca. 1920-1960. The collection also includes photos of street, bridge, airport and sewer construction and repair, as well as group portraits of clubs, schools, etc.
Revised April, 2010
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Related Archival Collection
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- Portraits - Family
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Ca. 1945 indoor photo of family, seen in mcalB14F19i08, with twin girls.
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- Portraits - Family
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1948 or 1949 outdoor family photo portrait of a man, his wife and three children. Same children as seen in mcalB14F05i06.
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- Portraits - Family
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Ca. 1957 outdoor photo of the family seen in mcalB15F08i01. Here they are seen sitting close to a house numbered 128.
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- Portraits - Family
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1944 indoor photo of proud mother with eight children.
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- Portraits - Family
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1949 - 1950 family portrait photo. Same family as seen in mcalB15F02i15. Taken outdoors on a lawn with trees behind.
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- Portraits - Family
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1958 indoor photo of family members from mcalB15F09i03, with the twins being held this time by the grandmother, with great-grandmother sitting at her right, and the parents standing in the back.
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- Portraits - Family
- Description
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1944 outdoor photo of young family--husband, wife, two sons, possibly twins, and a daughter holding a favorite cloth doll. See also mcalB14F15i01.
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- Portraits - Family
- Description
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1952 family Christmas portrait with tree, sled, sand truck, doll. Same family as seen in mcalB14F06i06, mcalB15F03i19, mcalB15F04i08, mcalB15F04i09, mcalB15F04i10
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- Portraits - Family
- Description
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A winter outdoor group portrait of an unidentified man, woman with eight children and family dog as they stand in front of a wood frame clapboard house. Three children kneel on a toboggan. Same family group also seen in mcalA09F12i34, mcalA15F02i30, i31, i32, i33, i35
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- Portraits - Family
- Description
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A man, his wife and two children stand outside their house. The same man appears in mcalA09F12i44 holding a carved wooden chain. He is missing his left hand. Duplicate image of mcalA15F02i12
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- Portraits - Family
- Description
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A 1951 portrait photo of a mother, father, infant and older brother seated in front of the Christmas tree. Same family as in mcalB15F04i08 and mcalB15F03i19
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- Portraits - Family
- Description
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1945 indoor photo taken at Christmas of mother holding her youngest child and the other two sitting in their chairs.
- Title
- Portraits - Family
- Description
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An outdoor group portrait of an unidentified man, woman with eight children and family dog as they stand in front of a wood frame clapboard house. Three children kneel on a toboggan. Same family group also seen in mcalA09F12i34, mcalA15F02i30, i31, i32, i33, i35
- Title
- Portraits - Family
- Description
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1951 Christmas photo with a young boy holding his younger sibling. Dad seen to the left, Mom seen to the right. See also mcalB15F03i19 for earlier family photo taken in 1950 when the little boy was a baby.
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- Portraits - Family
- Description
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1950 portrait photo of a mother and her baby boy seated in front of Christmas tree. A child's quilt is spread on the floor next to them. See also mcalB14F05i11 and mcalB15F03i19
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- Portraits - Family
- Description
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1944 indoor photo at Christmas of elderly lady (grandmother or even great-grandmother) seen in mcalB14F16i07 and two children. US Air Force hanging on right wall may indicate the armed service of one or more men in the family.
- Title
- Portraits - Unidentified Groups
- Description
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Mid 1950s outdoor portrait photo of a group of children and adults. Family celebration or reunion?
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- Portraits - Unidentified Groups
- Description
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More inclusive outdoor portrait group of adults and children. See mcalB16F09i01 for smaller select group of same family. Dated mid 1950s. Photo #2.
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- Portraits - Unidentified Groups
- Description
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Mid 1950s outdoor group portrait photo of several children and adults. Photo #7.
- Title
- Portraits - Unidentified Groups
- Description
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Another 1949 photo of a group of men, women, a nun and children gathered in a room; perhaps a kitchen (linoleum floor) for a portrait. See also mcalB16F01i06 with just the adults. Photo #4.