Irvin H. Farr

It was truly the most thoughtful Christmas present a friend could give me: an old photograph.

Irvin H. Farr
Apparently through all my ravings about genealogy and photography, she was actually listening: she picked this cabinet card out in a Wisconsin antique store specifically for its photographer stamp on the bottom and the clearly written name on the back: Irvin H. Farr.

Irvin appears to be a young man in his early twenties or late teens.

Searching "464 High Street, Holyoke", the address of the photography studio, returns a likely match to Holyoke, Massachusetts: a small town in the middle of the state, directly north of Hartford, Connecticut. So I begin my search there.

I search for an Irvin Farr living in Massachusetts, and the first result I am met with is a 1920 census: Irvin Farr, married to Ruby B. Farr, living Holyoke Ward 6, Hampden, Massachusetts. We learn our young Irvin was born in 1883, which explains the curious "HHS '00" symbol on the bottom left of his cabinet card: this was a high school graduation photo!

The 1920 census informs us that Irvin was a physician in 1920, and his wife worked as a musician at the church. They have no children listed in the census, which is concerning as they seem to be at prime child-rearing ages: Irvin, 37 and Ruby, 33.

Irvin's WWI Draft Registration Card informs us that the H. in his middle name stands for Harris.

We also find his marriage record, from October 6, 1914, to Ruby, née Beeching.

The next entry is a Find-A-Grave record. It would appear Irvin died quite young: in 1926, when he was only about 43. A simple Google search or "Irvin Farr" immediately returns a memorial written for him published in Volume 7, Issue 1 of Radiology (a peer-reviewed journal), which sheds a bit more light on his position as a physician.

Memorial in Radiology to Irvin H. Farr
Continuing the Google search, I come across the Muncipal Register for the City of Holyoke, which tells us that Irvin was once the city physician, with his office at 261 Maple St.

It would appear that after graduating from Holyoke High School in 1900, Irvin went on to be an undergraduate at Tufts University where he was a member of Delta Upsilon, and later attended Dartmouth Medical School where he was a member of Alpha Kappa Kappa, a medical school fraternity founded at Dartmouth in 1889.

Unfortunately, it would appear that Irvin and Ruby remained childless until Irvin's untimely death at age 43, making the re-homing of his cabinet card difficult. Perhaps some research into extended family is required.

Hoit Farr and Mary Belle Porter

Hoit and Mary Belle are listed as Irvin's parents in the 1910 census, in which we also find Irvin had a younger brother, Clarence. A quick Google search leads us to a genealogy page on the Farr family, which informs us that Hoit was born on May 18, 1819, in Chesterfield, Cheshire, NH to Ora Farr and Hannah Harris.

Irvin's brother, Clarence, married Sarah Bean in 1920, which whom he had three children: Virginia, Robert, and Margery. While we could follow the genealogy of these three children to attempt to find a descendant that may be interested in Irvin's photo, I've decided instead to contact the owner of the Farr family genealogy page in hopes that he may be interested or know someone who would be.

Until next time!









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