A 4"x6" glass plate negative, full figure portrait photograph of Miss Ida Derby, David City, Nebraska, wearing a white blouse with stand collar and black bow tie, ankle-length, princess-cut coat with a wide-brimmed black hat decorated with stiff, black ribbon and white ostrich feathers, holding a pair of leather gloves in one hand, standing in front of a painted backdrop.
Thorpe Opera House Foundation/Boston Studio Project
Local Accession Number
00C00500000
Source
Original format: 4"x6" glass plate negative from the Boston Studio Project collection.
Historical Notes
Ethel and Ida Derby were two of the nine children born to Charles and Ida H. Warren Derby who were married in 1873 in Butler County, Nebraska. Their father, Charles Derby, was born in Illinois. Charles' father died when Charles was a young boy, forcing Charles to make his own way in the world at eleven years of age. He worked as a farm hand and came to Butler County, Nebraska, in 1870 to cultivate a wild section of land for Jesse D . Bell in Savannah Township, where the town of Bellwood is presently located. He eventually saved enough money to purchase and improve an adjoining farm, then sold his property and began raising and selling livestock in the Bellwood area. In 1893 he was elected sheriff of Butler County and moved his family to David City. He later opened the Derby Hotel in downtown David City and equipped the stable with a large line of fine carriages and horses.
