Ezra Greenleaf Weld (October 26, 1801 – October 14, 1874), often known simply as "Greenleaf", was a photographer and an operator of a

daguerreotype Daguerreotype was the first publicly available photography, photographic process, widely used during the 1840s and 1850s. "Daguerreotype" also refers to an image created through this process. Invented by Louis Daguerre and introduced worldwid ...

studio in

Cazenovia, New York Cazenovia is an incorporated Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 6,740 at the time of the 2020 census. The town is named after Theophilus Cazenove, Theophile Cazenove, th ...

. He and his family were involved with the

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

movement.

Family

Greenleaf was the son of Ludovicus Weld and Elizabeth (Clark) Weld. His brother was

Theodore Dwight Weld Theodore Dwight Weld (November 23, 1803 – February 3, 1895) was one of the architects of the American abolitionist movement during its formative years from 1830 to 1844, playing a role as writer, editor, speaker, and organizer. He is best kno ...

, one of the most important abolitionists of his era. These Welds are all members of the very notable

Weld Family The Weld family is an ancient English family, and their possible relations in New England, an extended family of Boston Brahmins. An early record of a Weld holding public office is the High Sheriff of London in 1352, William. In the 16th and 17th ...

of New England and share ancestry with

Tuesday Weld Tuesday Weld (born Susan Ker Weld; August 27, 1943) is a retired American actress. She began acting as a child and progressed to mature roles in the late 1950s. She won a Golden Globe Award, Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Female Newcome ...

William Weld William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

, and others.

Personal life

Weld was born in

Hampton, Connecticut Hampton is a New England town, town in Windham County, Connecticut, Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The populatio ...

, and lived there until 1825 when his family moved to

Pompey, New York Pompey is a town in the southeast part of Onondaga County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 7,080. The town was named after the Roman general and political leader Pompey by a late 18th-century clerk interested in ...

. He married Mary Ann Parker on August 16, 1827. Mary died on April 30, 1831, soon after giving birth to her second child. After moving to Cazenovia, Ezra remarried to Deborah Richmond Wood on April 12, 1840, and they later had four children.

Photography

Weld opened his first studio in his home in 1845. In 1850, Cazenovia hosted the abolitionist meeting known as the

Fugitive Slave Convention The Fugitive Slave Convention was held in Cazenovia, New York, on August 21 and 22, 1850. It was a fugitive slave meeting, the biggest ever held in the United States. Madison County, New York, was the abolition headquarters of the country, becau ...

. This gave Weld the opportunity to photograph the legendary orator

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was the most impor ...

with the

Edmonson sisters Mary Edmonson (1832–1853) and Emily Edmonson (1835September 15, 1895), "two respectable young women of light complexion", were African Americans who became celebrity, celebrities in the Abolitionism in the United States, United States abolition ...

, Gerritt and Abby Kelley Foster. This daguerreotype was given to the imprisoned abolitionist William Chaplin who had helped many of the attendees escape to freedom. Of the six

s of Douglass that have survived, only one besides Greenleaf's image has had its daguerreotypist identified. Greenleaf's image is unique because it is a group shot at an outdoor meeting rather than a studio portrait. Daguerreotypes were seldom attempted under these circumstances because the long exposure time required made it difficult to get a satisfactory result. Weld's is the only daguerreotype of Douglass whose date is known with certainty. This daguerreotype is also unique in the paradoxical sense that it is the only one known to have been copied. Two original half-plates exist: One is held by the Madison County Historical Society in

Oneida, New York Oneida () is a city in Madison County in the U.S. state of New York. It is located west of Oneida Castle (in Oneida County) and east of Wampsville. The population was 10,329 at the 2020 census, down from 11,390 in 2010. The city, like b ...

, the other is in a private collection and currently on display at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

in Washington, D.C. The copy (shown above) is in the

J. Paul Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California, United States, housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. It is operated by the J. Paul Getty Trust, the world's wealthies ...

, Los Angeles, California. In the ''New Englander'', in a piece that survived only because

Garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

reprinted it in The Liberator, he discussed his admiration for Douglass and desire to photograph him. In the mid-18th century, most American towns had at least one studio. In an 1850 advertisement in his local newspaper, Greenleaf offered:

"Miniatures executed in the finest style, and put in Rings, Pins, Lockets and cases, of great variety size and price."

Greenleaf seems to have been very successful with his daguerreotype business. By 1851 he had leased new quarters on the top floor of a building, where he placed a

skylight A skylight (sometimes called a rooflight) is a light-permitting structure or window, usually made of transparent or translucent glass, that forms all or part of the roof space of a building for daylighting and ventilation purposes. History O ...

to receive northern light for his studio sessions. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

years, he made numerous pictures in and around Cazenovia. At some point, he included his son, Albert Weld, in his photography business and renamed the company ''E. G. Weld and Son''. Ezra died on October 14, 1874, at Cazenovia and was buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Cazenovia, New York.

References

External links

The Getty Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weld, Ezra Greeleaf American abolitionists 1801 births 1874 deaths Photographers from New York (state) People from Cazenovia, New York 19th-century American photographers Activists from New York (state)