Cayuga County Portraits

Cayuga County Historian's Office

Frank A. Barney, painter - Image Source

Collection Facts

Extent:

Dates of Original:

1860-1950

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Historical Context

Cayuga County, nestled in the Finger Lakes region of Central New York, is named for the Cayuga nation of the Haudenosaunee people. Today, there are just over 75,000 residents in Cayuga County. The largest waves of European immigration were in the late 19th century and came from Italy, Poland, and Ukraine.

Scope of Collection

These photographs of people are taken from the general file of the Cayuga County Historian's Office and collectively show the variety of lives lived in Cayuga County.

Subjects include Jerome "Brud" Holland, a native Auburnian who became the first African-American to play football for Cornell University, a distinguished president of Delaware State College, the first African-American to sit on the NYSE, the first African-American to sit on the board of the Red Cross, and the Ambassador to Sweden.

There are also pictures of factory workers, farmers, activists, and others.