George W Godfrey

photographer: Godfrey
146 E Main, Rochester, NY
example from LOST GALLERY

photographer: Godfrey
146 E Main, Rochester, NY
example from LOST GALLERY

George W Godfrey
(1818-1888)

G W Godfrey was a bit older than the usual photographer of the cabinet card era. He started with tintypes and Daguerreotypes and moved on to the CdV and Cabinet card format when they became popular.

There are only a few records of the life of George W Godfrey and they are mostly city directory listings.

1818
Massachusetts, state records, George W Godfrey is born
1842 Sep 04
Middleborough, A, state records, George W Godfrey and Jane B Fuller are married
1864 – 1882
Rochester, NY, city directory, G W Godfrey as photographer (or Daguerreotypist) at 81 Main; res Dansville
1884 - 1887
Rochester, NY, city directory, G W Godfrey as photographer at 146 E Main

1888
Rochester, NY, city directory, G W Godfrey as photographer at Sunbeam Picture Gallery, 81 E Main; (this may actually be a misprint as he had been at 146 E Main for the past three years)
1888
Rochester, NY, city directory, at age 70; steady city directory listings end this year; there are no other records beyond this year;
1888 Mar 27
Rochester (NY) Democrat and Chronicle, obit says George W Godfrey has died at his winter home in Winter Park, FL

G W Godfrey kept a gallery at 81 Main in Rochester, NY, from 1864 to 1882. Then from 1884 to 1887 he operated at 146 E Main in Rochester, NY.

Sarah L Cassidy and her sister Lodaska Cassidy, ran the galleries for Godfrey for about 20 years. When Godfrey died, they moved to Winter Park, Florida, to manage their orange grove. (See newspaper item below.)

Rochester (NY) Demcrat and Chronicle -
03 Apr 1888

Rochester (NY) Demcrat and Chronicle -
15 Apr 1888

Rochester (NY) Demcrat and Chronicle -
25 May 1888

Rochester (NY) Demcrat and Chronicle -
24 Jul 1888

photographer: Sunbeam Gallery
Geo W Godfrey and Co
81 Main St, Rochester, NY
example from auction site

reverse of CdV at left

The tintype at the left was probably not made at the Sunbeam studio. It was the practice back then to copy photographs of famous people and sell them in the lobby of the gallery.

photograpehr: Godfrey
81 East Main, Rochester, NY
example from auction site

photograpehr: Godfrey
81 East Main, Rochester, NY
example from auction site

photograpehr: Godfrey
81 East Main, Rochester, NY
example from auction site

photographer: Godfrey
145 E Main, Rochester, NY
example from auction site

photographer: Godfrey
145 E Main, Rochester, NY
example from auction site

photographer: Godfrey
145 E Main, Rochester, NY
example from auction site

photographer: Godfrey
145 E Main, Rochester, NY
example from auction site

photographer: Godfrey
145 E Main, Rochester, NY
example from auction site

Not the one you were looking for? Here's the photographer's INDEX by name. All the Cabinet Card photographers of the 19th century found in LOST GALLERY are listed there.

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