Name/Title
Celeste Fontaine, Annie Redd Fontaine, Ella Fontaine, & Annie Fontaine SmithEntry/Object ID
2025.6.3Description
Black-and-white cabinet card photograph of six individuals, four women and two men. The subjects are seated outdoors on a hillside amidst plant material in front of a single tree trunk.
The two unidentified men flank the women in the center. They both wear jackets and ties with dark trousers. They both look directly into the camera. The man on the right holds what appears to be a small-caliber or air rifle.
The women all wear light-colored tops, large hats, and dark dresses. The figure second from right holds what appears to be a small-caliber or air rifle. A closed umbrella rests against the central figure, who looks away from the camera.
The image is adhered to a cardstock backing with a small decorative border.Photograph Details
Type of Photograph
Cabinet CardMade/Created
Date made
circa 1895 - circa 1915Inscription/Signature/Marks
Type
InscriptionLocation
Reverse, centerTranscription
Women left to right
Celeste Fontaine
Grandma Fontaine (Annie Redd)
Ella Fontaine
Annie Fontaine SmithLanguage
EnglishMaterial/Technique
PencilProvenance
Notes
This photograph depicts at least four descendants of Patrick Henry, taken in the late 19th or early 20th century.
Annie Elizabeth Redd Fontaine (1847–1936), a great-great-granddaughter of Patrick Henry, is seen in the center of the image. She is the mother of two of the women pictured—Celeste Dandridge Fontaine Creath (1873–1969) (second from left) and Ella Redd Fontaine Smith (1866–1941) (third from right)—and the grandmother of one woman pictured, Annie Fontaine Smith Quarles (1885–1945), who is the daughter of the pictured Ella Smith.
The two men are unidentified; however, they may be related by blood or marriage to the women pictured.
This photograph was donated to the Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation by Martha Luchsinger (1976–living) in memory of her grandmother, Dorothy Spotswood Quarles Nichols (1923–2020), on April 28, 2025.