Julie Manwarren is a freelance writer and a historical researcher. She has written for newspapers, magazines and online publications. Her passion for historical research brought her to Springwater, N.Y., where she learned about the life of Floyd Ingraham and his photography. She compiled what she learned into a book, “Floyd Ingraham’s Springwater: A Finger Lakes Hamlet.” This is the first book she has written.
“I was already researching the photography of Floyd Ingraham and several people suggested that it be a book. I decided to send a query to a publisher and they asked for a book proposal. I never imagined that it would actually be published until I had the contract in my hands. It was a lot of work but I am so glad to know that Floyd Ingraham and his collection of his photographs are now preserved,” she said.
Through her research she learned, Floyd Ingraham worked odd jobs in the small town of Springwater in the western Finger Lakes. Around 1900, he picked up a camera and began taking pictures, which were turned into postcards. The postcards were for sale. He took photos of streets in the town where he lived The pictures were of businesses, homes, churches, schools, lakes, rivers and other natural landmarks.
He married Anna Cork in 1909 and had one son, Kenneth. One of the pictures displayed shows Kenneth on a rocking horse. Ingraham died at the age of 38 when his appendix burst.
She gave a presentation at the Gathering Place, 304 S. State St., Clarks Summit.
Audience members heard her discuss her work as a history detective and researching the history of families, places, things and people. She then talked about Floyd Ingraham and the stories behind the pictures. She used 300 of Ingraham’s pictures in her book.
“I discussed my research of the photographs and how I use the clues in the pictures themselves to help me identify the subject matter. I have proving tools I use to verify a Floyd Ingraham photograph and help me identify it. I am passionate about and committed to accurate research,” Manwarren said.
She also talked about “Springwater – Then and Now” in which she showed pictures she took standing in the same place Floyd Ingraham stood more than 100 years ago when he took a picture of the same location when she visited Springwater.
Damian Leone is a member of a group who researches the history of the Abington’s and was at the event.
“Someone has found a picture and accurately researched it and followed it with a passionate intertest and Julie personifies this.”
“Julie was careful and respectful to Ingraham and his family and their feelings about a book being written about their family member. She was so careful to honor Floyd Ingraham and his family. I’ve known Julie for at least 18 years. We are good friends, support each other and celebrate events in our lives. I am so very proud of her journey and accomplishment on her book,” said Mary Patricia Martowicz.
Paul Holbrook found the glass plates on eBay and purchased about 500 of them. Hundreds of others may have already been sold. His hobby is the restoration of old photos and posting them on various Facebook groups and his own Facebook page, Camera American.
“Ingraham’s grandson and his family found the glass plates stored in a shed,” said Holbert. “We don’t know how may there were, but there were hundreds. He sold them in a yard sale. It was not known if the collection was then kept intact or partially sold but much of the collection stayed together until 2019 when the negatives were sold in batches or one by one. Julia saw some of my work on Facebook and contacted me to see whether I had further information about a series of pictures he was posting. I suggested she do the Floyd Ingraham photos. I provided her a short biography of Floyd Ingraham which was obtained through the Springwater Historical Society.
Several of Ingraham’s pictures are displayed at the Gathering Place and will be until April 6.
There is one titled “Porch Concert” in which Ingraham is shown playing instruments with his cousin, Gertrude Ford. He played banjo, fiddle and guitar.
“The Girl in Lace” picture depicts Marian Buckner who was born September 1899 and worked as a Bell telephone operator. She relocated to Rochester with her husband.”
Other pictures displayed captured the images of a “Springwater House Part,” “Meet at the Lake,” Waders,” “Swimmers at the Hemlock Lake” and “Henry K. Cooper House”
“Julie’s research is incredible but it is a prelude to her passion to historical perseverance,” said Paula Baillie of the Gathering Place.
“I enjoy genealogy and building family trees,’ said Manwarren. “I love solving the mysteries of the past and working with people to identify the photographs in their attics, the age and story of their homes or organizations and researching and writing about stories that celebrate community and preserve local and family history. This book married my love of research and writing.”
The book can be purchased at www.juliemanwarren.com.
