One of the problems with cataloging graphic material is that the cataloger can get sucked in to the details while attempting to figure out the content and context of the image. This nearly happened to me with this portrait of ten American Board missionaries in Turkey. The issue was that the people sitting for the portrait were identified by last name, with only three listing initials. The four individuals standing in the back are, from left to right: Smith, Trowbridge, Hallack, and Livingstone. The six sitting individuals are, from left to right: Long, I.G. Bliss, A.L. Thompson, Wood, Z. Goss, and Parsons.
I began researching this print using the Vinton Books, biographical sketches of American Board missionaries began by Rev. John A. Vinton (1801-1877) and updated after his death. Use of the Vinton Books only caused me to ask more questions, since the information I could find led me to believe that not all of the individuals listed above were in the same place at the same time. For example, Amherst Lord (A.L.) Thompson arrived in Oroomiah (Urūmīyah), Iran, in 1860 and died a month later. Smith (likely John Frances Smith, 1833-1896) graduated from Lane Seminary in 1862, was appointed to the American Board subsequently, and did not arrive in the Near East until 1863.
Because I was unclear about the content of the image, I left the catalog record with the information that I could verify, leaving it to the researcher to answer my lingering questions. This might sound callous, but it is difficult to provide access to a wide range of materials if all of our attention is focused on the details of individual items. If you have any ideas on how to solve the question of who this individuals are, please contact the Congregational Library.
--Abraham
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