A 5"x7" glass plate negative, full figure portrait photograph of Ella Gould, Bellwood, Nebraska. She is wearing a floor-length, long-sleeve print dress with two rows of narrow fabric ruffles on the hemline and one row of ruffles above the skirt flounce and back train. A black belt with metal clasp is cinched at the waist and a dark, polka dot purse with chain handle and ornate, metal clasp is hanging from her belt. A row of contrast-color trim edges the bodice placket and sleeve hem above the wide, ruffled-lace cuff. Her dark hair is pulled up and she is wearing a brimless hat piled high with fabric and stiffened ribbon. She is standing with one hand up at her chin, the other arm behind her, in front of a painted backdrop that features an open casement window, draperies, and wall shelves with a statuette and lidded urn.
Thorpe Opera House Foundation/Boston Studio Project
Local Accession Number
00038870000
Source
Original format: 5"x7" glass plate negative from the Boston Studio Project collection.
Historical Notes
Ella Armstrong Gould was the youngest daughter of George and Julia Ewing Armstrong. Her parents moved from Ohio to Omaha, Nebraska, in 1854. Her father served in Nebraska's Third and Fourth territorial legislatures, was mayor of Omaha in 1861 and 1862 and served as clerk of the district court and clerk of the Nebraska Supreme Court. Ella was born July 2, 1869, in Omaha. She married George S. Gould, December 19, 1889, while he was employed in the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Co. in Omaha. George Gould came to Omaha, Nebraska, in 1887, to work for his brother H. R. Gould, at McCormick Harvester Co. In 1888 he moved to Chase County, Nebraska and worked at the Chase County Bank at Imperial. Later that same year, he moved to Bellwood, Nebraska, and worked for the Platte Valley Bank until April 1889, when he returned to Omaha to work with Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Co. In 1891, Ella and George moved to Bellwood where George built the first steam elevator in the city. Ella and George had two daughters while living in Bellwood: Roberta and Henrietta. Ella died August 25, 1945, in Oakland, California.
