From The Daily Journal (Vineland, Millville, Greater Cumberland County), October 25, 2004 ..... Buried treasures - Family portraits found in A.C. reveal African-American middle classBy DAVID PESCATORE, Staff Writer, dpescatore@thedailyjournal.comA summer stroll in Atlantic City turned into the find of a lifetime and the beginning of a century's worth of questions for the founder of Newtonville's African American Heritage Museum. Ralph Hunter, 66, has been collecting African-American relics for 35 years, but he never dreamed of what he found in the crawlspace of a Michigan Avenue home. Under seven inches of mud, termites and debris, Hunter unearthed seven charcoal portraits depicting members of what he believes to be three generations of a well-to-do African-American family. "It was rare in the early part of the 20th century for black families to have the kind of money to spend on having portraits done," he said. "But this family looks to have been among the middle class, members of the black bourgeoisie." The family not only went to the expense of hiring a portrait artist, they sent the completed drawings to Chicago, where they were glued onto stretched linen, then set in ornate, handmade frames assembled with handmade nails. In one portrait, a girl who appears to be about 9 years old is wearing a high collared Victorian dress. Hunter said he found a similar dress on sale for $3 in a turn-of-the-century catalogue. The average salary at the time was about $5 per week. Other portraits depict well-dressed men and women. One of the men appears to be wearing preacher's clothes while another's slacks, morning coat and boutonniere makes Hunter think the man was a bit of a "player." The oldest person among the collection is a woman wearing the white house clothes of a domestic worker. The portrait shows her standing in front of shuttered doors, wearing an intriguing smirk. "The likeness of the women is remarkable," Hunter said, pointing out the group's similar cheeks, eyes and noses. "They are related in some fashion." Treasures in a crawlspaceHunter has found similar portraits in the past, but never entire families.He said he was walking in the city in August when he passed a family moving out of their home. He asked them if they had any antiques for sale and eventually was directed to the crawlspace. He found a plate from the Shelburne Hotel dated 1917, then a piece of glass sticking out of the mud became a photograph of an old woman. After some more feeling around in the earth, the portraits began to surface. Each was drenched and a few were ripped, but all were in reasonably good shape, given their living conditions for the last 60 or so years. Earl Parker, owner of Parker Masterpieces in Williamstown, will restore the works he said are known as "crayon prints." A photographer would take a picture of a subject and make a faint print on paper. Then, the image would be completed by an artist. The process gave the appearance of a painting, but saved the subjects the hours of posing. To restore the works, Parker said he would apply a liquid to build-up the paper and remove mold and acid from the original, then rebuild the charcoal. "I'm redrawing it, really," he said. Parker said the portraits would not have a much of value in a monetary sense because they were done for a family and do not show anybody famous. Putting names to facesThe find put Hunter on a trail to determine the identity of the family.The 1930 census has a Jevenirale (possibly Jeremiah) and Bertha Pettijohn living in the house. Both worked in an unspecified hotel. The 1920 census has a Jerry Pettijohn married to Annie and living a few blocks down on the same street. News of the portraits moved amateur genealogist Walt McClister to gather the census information and speculate that Pettijohn was married to Annie, divorced and later married Bertha and moved down the street. McClister, 42, from Galloway, thinks the portraits may have been buried because of their connection to the previous marriage, or they could have come from the hotel where Pettijohn worked. The portraits are scheduled to be displayed in the African American Heritage Museum early next year after they are restored. In February, Hunter plans to show them at the Atlantic City Arts Center with the hope that someone will recognize the people and offer information. For Hunter, the portraits are an important reminder that, "African-Americans came to Atlantic City when Pitney founded the island and were a very important part of its building. "Large numbers of black workers cleared the blueberries and black snakes. We were the sl… no not slaves, we were the labor force," he said. The portraits dispel the myth that African-Americans were "boat boys," summer help that came in for the summer season, Hunter said. "African-Americans stayed over and found ways to make do during the winter. They became carpenters, riggers, masons, blacksmiths; they poured concrete," he said. Pieces of a puzzleHunter founded the museum a little more than a year ago. About 90 percent of the nearly 4,000 items on display come from his personal collection, he said."I need to tell the story to the next generation of African-American kids and non-African-American kids, so people will know the role we played," he said. "We had a great deal to offer, but our service is not taught in school." He also has a traveling display that he brings to schools to spread the message. Hunter said he hopes to foster respect among the races. "You can respect others if you know what they contributed to America," he said. "I'm trying to share information I didn't have." Ellis Peopples, a museum volunteer, said: "African-American history is like a jigsaw puzzle with pieces missing. We share information not taught in schools. Some is denigrated and there are gaps. We are trying to fill in the gaps." The African American Heritage MuseumWhere: Dr. Martin Luther King Center, 661 Jackson Road, NewtonvilleHours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, closed Sundays and Mondays. Telephone: (609) 704-7262 Admission: Free Web site: www.africanamericanhistorymuseum.org The museum contains more than 3,000 items related to the African-American experience during the 20th century. Highlights include turn-of-the-century appliances, advertising materials, artworks, and dental equipment used by Ida Gray Nelson Rollins, the first black woman to receive a doctorate degree in dentistry.
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