Philip L. Dobereiner. CDV Photographer in Caledonia from 1864 -1885

He was 28 years old, and advertised himself in the 1865 Grand River Sachem as Photographer. He specialized in what were known as Carte de visite or Visiting cards. They were inexpensive paper photographs mounted on a 2 ½ x 4 inch card. They were small, cheap to make, as well as inexpensive and fashionable to buy. They were quickly becoming popular all over the world. Philip Dobereiner sold them 12 for a dollar, 6 for fifty cents.

    

  

   

Invented by French Photographer Louis Dodero in 1851. Patented in Paris by André Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri in 1854.  Specially designed cameras with 4 to up to 15 lenses were used to take the photos. The original design initially exposed ten images on one plate, exposed either simultaneously or in sequence.  Once printed onto contact sheet, the photographer would then cut out each individual photo and paste them onto cards to make them easy to carry, share and to mail.  People would give them to each other as calling cards, or send to loved ones, as well as buy them from photo galleries; to collect ones of famous or interesting people of the time. 

The Beginning

Philip Louis Dobereiner  was born on June 17, 1828, in Altona, Nord Jylland, Denmark. His parents were Anna Maria & Johan Christian Dobereiner. Together they had 4 boys and 5 daughters. Philip was their youngest child.  In 1841, when Philip was 11, his mother passed away at the age of 56. The following year his oldest brother passes away at the age of 33. In 1843 Philips father dies at the age of 72.  

Aug 16, 1850   New York Arriving Passengers and immigration to Ellis Island has a record of passenger: 

#109. Phil Dobereiner age 22, from Altona. His profession is listed as Book-seller.

Jun 29 1855 New York Census records Philip Dobereiner age 27, bordering a room in Montgomery New York. His profession is listed as Ledger-maker.

May 1863 Elmira, New York IRS Tax Assessment Lists Philip Dobereiner, Photographer. 

Philip Dobereiner lived and worked in America for 13 years.  Learning photography somewhere in his time between Montgomery and Elmira.    

Then, at the age of 35 years old, he is drafted in the Civil War.  The record shows that single men could be drafted at the age of 35 - 45. 

 June 1863 U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records. Orange County, New York.

He is listed as:

Dobereiner, Philip. Age: 35. Profession: Artist. Place of Birth: Germany 

Remarks: In the country for 13 Years. An Alien. 

There is no mention of P. Dobereiner in the 1863 Tremaine Map of the County of Haldimand, Canada West business directory.

  

  Nov 22 1864 P. Dobereiner places his first advertisement in the Grand River Sachem. 

His Gallery was on the 2nd floor, over A.C Bucks store on Argyle St. Which was on the west side of Argyle, half way between Caithness and the bridge.   Depending on the seasons, Philips Gallery windows would have direct sunlight from morning till half past noon. 

For the next 20 years he advertised his studio in every issue of the Grand River Sachem, and would change them according to the seasons.

                                                

The Sachem (as well as the printer of Philips CDV cards) would occasionally misspell his name.  The most common misspelling of his name was: P. Doebereiner.  The Sachem would also spell his name  P. Doberinner and P. Deobereiner.   

 

Barbara Martindale, briefly mentions in a For what its worth, Feb 03,1998

In 1867 when the Sachem was just 11 years old, a photograph gallery was where Morton's stands today. Philip Dobereiner was the photographer.

The article included a small grainy photo of a building on the South Eastern corner of Argyle and Caithness. You can see a large banner across the top of the building that reads PHOTOGRAPH GALLERY.

This is Philip Dobereiners second studio in Caledonia.   A two story building on the eastern Corner of Caithness and Argyle.  Again, his studio was on the 2nd floor.  Now with two corner  windows facing west & North, he had the light of day from noon to sundown; and away from the ever present dust from the traffic on the dirt roads. 

 

According to this advertisement dated Oct 23, 1876, he bought the building.

Over the years, he had a fun relationship with The Sachem. 

Sept 17, 1883 Philip Louis Dobereiner (55) married Anna Sophia Gabe (22) St Martin's Church, Hamilton, Ontario.
Anna Sophia Gabe was born on May 21, 1861, in Alma, Ontario. She was the eldest of 4 daughters of Martha and William Gabe of Caledonia.


September 9, 1884, Philip and Anna had their first child. William Herman Dobereiner in Haldimand, Ontario. He was named after Annas father William Gabe.

 

Philip Dobereiner found love, had a family and a very successful portrait photography business in Caledonia for over 20 years.  

There are no known copies of The Grand River Sachem from the year 1855. 

 Feb. 16 1885  The Hamilton Spectator reported:

FIRE AT CALEDONIA.

Many Buildings in the Centre of the Town Destroyed.

There was a big conflagration in Caledonia Saturday morning. It originated-or is supposed to have originated-in an unoccupied building on Caithness street owned by P. Doebereiner (sic) and formerly used as a stable. Before discovered it had communicated to Old's livery stable adjoining. Both of these buildings, which were  of frame, were destroyed. A barber shop occupied by Mr. Cochrane was also burned and from it the fire spread to the large building on the corner of Caithness and Argyle streets owned and occupied by Mr. Doebereiner, photographer. This building was of rougheast and together with its contents was almost destroyed., Turnbull's livery stable was then discovered to be on fire and was soon destroyed. The sparks from Turnbull's stable ignited the roof of Miss Wigg's millinery establishment, which was also burned. Brown's dry goods and clothing store, one of the largest business places in the town, was ignited and the fire continued its way along Argyle street towards the river. In rear of the buildings named were a lot of small frame buildings, most of which, with what they contained, were destroyed. The fire started at about 3:30 o'clock, and at daylight was still burning. The men of the town turned out and worked with all their will ; but not having any suitable appliances, they were not able to meet the flames with any degree of success. The fire was caused by hot ashes being dumped, by a member of Doebereiner's family, too near the frame work in his stable. His large building, stable and sheds, and his stock were totally destroyed. His loss is several thousand dollars, with no insurance. Mr. Kennedy, who left a tailoring and dry goods establishment in Mr. Deobereiner's (sic) building had his stock almost destroyed. Brown's large brick building and his were saved stock by the prompt action of the people in pulling down a small frame building occupied by Smith, a tailor, adjoining. A vacant brick building owned by Mr. Booth, was also saved, Old's residence, tin shop and stable were destroyed, loss about $1,500. The only buildings between Caithness street and the bridge that were saved were Brown's dry goods store, Booth's vacant building, a toll gate and small frame building. Just twenty years ago Saturday the same block was burned to the ground. A dispatch from Caledonia says: The fire broke out in a woodshed belonging to P. Doebereiner, from a box of ashes, about 3 o'clock this morning. It spread eastward through a wareroom of James. Old, sr., and occupied by Mr. McConnell, agent for J. O. Wisner, Son & Co., of Brantford, and through a livery stable of James Old, sr., and occupied by James Gardiner, V. S., to Josiah Corcoran's barbershop and residence. From the wareroom southward through a stable occupied by Avery & Son, carriage makers, as a stable and wareroom, and then through the shed of Wm. Old to his brick tin shop. Westward it spread to a large building owned and partly occupied by P. Doebereiner as a photograph gallery and occupied by D. Kennedy as a clothing house, and then to a brick store owned and partly occupied by Miss M. A. Wigg as a millinery and fancy store and partly by D. M. Turnbull as a jewelry store. Everything was saved except some lumber and a horse and colt belonging to Avery & Son, and some machines of M. McConnell and J. O. Wisner, Son & Co. The losses are as follows : Miss Wigg, building, $1,500, insurance in the Western, $1,000 ; P. Doebereiner, building,$2,500, no insurance ; Jas. Old, sen., building, $1,200 insurance in the Western, $1,000; Josiah Corcoran, building, $1,800, insurance in the Phonix of London, $900 ; M. McConnell, machines, $100, no insurance; Avery & Son, on horses and lumber, $1,000, no insurance; Wm. Old, building, $800, insurance in the City of London, $500 ; G. H/Gorroch, building, $200. The building was pulled down to stop the fire.

 Incredibly, there is a first hand account of the fire written by Charlie Webber in the Memories column of The Grand River Sachem Wednesday, January 15, 1936.   He was still mad about it. 

 I was awaken that February morning by the ringing of the foundry bell and the shouts of FIRE! from those citizens already roused. Hastily dressing and rushing out but half clad into the more than frosty atmosphere, I was advised to return for cap, gloves and overcoat. Fortunately for my own well being, I accepted the advice as far as the cap and gloves were concerned, otherwise I am afraid there would have been badly frozen ears and some "nipped" fingers. I am quite confident that were the Ontario weather statistics to be consulted, the morning of the "big fire" would still take its place as a record breaker among the most frigid days of the past. Of the actual day and its date I am not certain. but would venture to guess that the day was Saturday, because many farmers' wagons loaded with farm produce passed through the village, while the blaze was in progress, on their way to the Hamilton market, their owners tramping beside the horses and buffeting themselves with their mittened hands to keep the blood in circulation and themselves from freezing. Oh, yes, it was cold alright; fur coats were a smother of hoar frost, and whiskers (in style then) were miniature skating rinks. The site of the fire and its commencement point proved to be a shed or outhouse adjacent to the building that stood at the southeast corner of Argyle and Caithness streets, where now stands the up-to-date hardware store of our old friend, Bruce French, whose continued popularity is shown by the splendid vote he secured in the recent municipal elections. The cause of the fire was the placing of ashes containing hot embers in a wooden receptacle, the danger of which had been pointed out more than once to the person who did it. The flames, having secured some headway before discovered, made their quickest progress eastward, first destroying a barn facing on Caithness street and then attacking a frame building occupied by the late Josiah Cochrane as a dwelling place and barber shop. A determined effort was made to save the Cochrane home by means of a quickly organized bucket brigade under the direction of that veteran organizer, John Scott, but the only visible result was the ability to save the furniture before the fire had assumed complete control. My own place in the fire line upon that memorable morning was the roof of the Cochrane building, the water pails being passed from hand to hand from the pump that stood in front of the Revere House, whose never failing well in those days was the source of good water for a considerable section of the village. Had there been any ordinary fire protection system in vogue at that time there would have been no difficulty in coping with the situation but the lack of anything more adequate than a few wells and pump in below zero weather made it more than obvious that the business and houses on the east side of Argyle street was doomed to destruction. Those who suffered losses in that destructive fire that occurred nearly fifty-one years ago were : P. Doebereiner, photographer; Wm. Gal1er, groceries; Misses Wigg, millinery; D. Turnbull, jeweler; W. F. Old, tin smith and hardware, and T. Cochrane, barber.
Toronto, Jan. 11, 1936.
CHARLIE WEBBER.

He wrote a follow up article on Wednesday, January 29, 1936 with further details.

Dear Sachem, Reminiscences of the fire of February, 1885, would be incomplete without calling to mind some of the incidents in connection therewith that linger in my memory. There is nothing that will reveal either the excitability or the sang-froid of people as will a fire. I recently read of a man who jumped from a sixth floor window, with fatal consequences, when informed that the basement was on fire. Nothing serious as that occurred upon the occasion of Caledonia's ancient blaze, However, but there were happenings that, as in the case of the man who scampered from his burning home with a mirror under one arm and a pair of Indian clubs under the other, provided the reasons for many a hearty laugh. even though a near tragedy was in the making. The nearest thing of a fatality was when a member of the bucket brigade situated upon the roof of Josiah Cochrane's home hurled an iron pail to the ground, said pail just missing by inches the head of Postmaster John Scott, who stood at the foot of a ladder efficiently engaged in conducting measures for combating the fire. The principal actor woke up when informed of the reason for the explosive "Toot, toot" that reached his ears. There was no more "blind" pail throwing. Another "high light" was the case of an elderly citizen who, in his excitement, momentarily forgot that he was the father of a recent arrival and then ran around in circles, wringing his hands and crying "De baby, de baby." Fortunately a mother had remembered the baby and all was well. One lady, in an effort to save her household effects, surprised spectators by throwing glassware out of an upstairs window while unbreakable articles were being carried out through the doorway. That was to laugh. One of those who suffered loss by the fire was Donald Kennedy, merchant tailor, a good friend of mine in those days and one with whom I spent many a pleasant talk fest as he plied his needle nor pressed a finished suit. By his intimate friends he was known as "Dang It," that being his severest expression when circumstances demanded language beyond the ordinary. Friend Donald's stock-in-trade had been safely removed to the street, but before a safer place for storing it had been found sneak thieves had been busy, thus adding additional loss to that achieved by the fire. The blaze upon that exceedingly cold morning, when gloves froze to the fingers of the fire fighters, failed to make much impression upon the weather until it reached the cellar and its finish in the building occupied by W. F. (Billy) Old, whose stock included paint, varnish and oil. There vast volumes of black smoke and intense heat made the scene impossible of approach, the efforts of onlookers being confined to preventing destruction of other property in the vicinity. One of the duties that fell to the lot of a certain printer's devil in the winter months of that time was the lighting of the fires in the Sachem Office, a job that necessitated a trip.to the news emporium before breakfast. Upon my late arrival at the Sachem Office that February morning I discovered I had lost the key of the door somewhere in the fire zone, and after forcing the door, discovered that everything had frozen solid, including the water in the boiler. There was no typesetting done that day; it took two stoves and a slow fire under the boiler nearly all day to thaw things out. During the years that have intervened, while working amidst the up-to-date advantages of a modern city plant, have I remembered the discomforts and disadvantages of a country printing office in the nineteenth century.

                 

 

The February 15, 1863 fire is mentioned in the Caledonia Tweedsmuir community history book, but not this fire.  

  Tragically, this fire destroyed Philip Dobereiner s photography business in Caledonia.  The last time he is listed as photographer in Caledonia is in the Ontario Gazetteer business directory of 1884.

 1885 he has a studio on the 2nd floor of a new cement brick building, on the corner of Wyndham St & Macdonell in Guelph, Ontario.

 1886 a short paragraph is written about him in Representative Businessmen of Guelph :

Philip Dobereiner, Photographer, Macdonnell Street. The photographer's art is one that requires much judgment, artistic skill and long practice, to successfully prosecute it. Of late years the process has been scientifically developed, so that now a photograph is a "thing of beauty and a joy forever." business in Guelph is Mr. Philip Dobereiner, of Macdonnell Street, who has been established in his present premises for the past 18 months, although he conducted the same line of business in Caledonia for 18 years previously. The premises occupied by him are 18x85 feet in dimensions and two floors in height, on the lower being the reception rooms and studio, which are tastefully fitted up, and contain all the latest requirements of the photographer's art. His custom comes from all parts of the city and the surrounding country. Mr. Dobereiner is a native of Germany, but has resided in this country for a great many years. He is an expert photographer and a thorough artist, and his works do him praise.

June 19, 1886, Arthur Edward Dobereiner, Their second child is born in Wellington, Ontario. 

1887 he is listed in the Union Publishing directory for farmers and businesses as P. Dobereiner, Photographer..... and under his name is Mrs. P Dobereiner, Dressmaker. 

I don't know who this refers to yet. Perhaps Anna was a Dressmaker.

January 21, 1888 Alma Bertha Dobereiner, their 3rd child is born in Guelph Ontario.  

1889 he is listed in the Guelph city directory as P. Dobereiner & Ward in the same location Wyndham St & Macdonell.

(I would like to find out more about this partnership.) 

  May 19, 1890 Lillian Dobereiner, their 4th child is born in Guelph Ontario. 

  May 28, 1890 Lillian Dobereiner, passes away. 

  June 20, 1891 Harriette Ursula V. Dobereiner, their 5th child is born in Guelph Ontario. 

  March 21, 1901 Philip Louis Dobereiner passes away at 72 years old.

The Woodlawn Memorial Park cemetery in Guelph has a tombstone that reads:

  Philip L Dobereiner

 1828 - 1901

 His wife Anna S Gabe

 1854 - 1937

A good life.   He lived in the perfect moment in time to be part of the CDV era.  A young man reinvents himself by coming to America. Lives in Montgomery and Elmira for 13 years; in a time when having your photo taken was finally available and affordable to anyone; and everyone wanted their photo taken. I would love to know more of his decade in America and where he learned photography.   Did he leave America because he was drafted? Maybe. Nonetheless, Its understandable why he left.  The Civil war had been going on for 4 years by the time he was drafted.  By then it must have seemed as if the War had gone on forever and would never end.  

I still don't know why he chose Caledonia, perhaps there are clues in Elmira still to be found for his motivations, but I suspect its probably the same reason we all did. Thankfully, he chose it as his home for over 20 years.  Many families in Caledonia had entire albums full his photos. The gift of his photography to the history of Caledonia is unequaled and precious.   Like many of us he built a life here, worked here everyday, got married here, owned property, he was part of the community.  Watched the same sunsets we do, walked down the same streets, sat by the same river.    Then instantly loses everything in a fire at 3 am. Two decades of work erased from history in an instant. The only photos of his that are left in the world are the ones customers had in their homes or sent to loved ones abroad. His personal archive destroyed. 20 years of promises that negatives preserved, copies can be had anytime, gone.  By all reports, the fire was his fault, started by the negligence of someone in his family, and he had no insurance.   Its understandable why he left town.   

 So he has to start all over once again; but now he has a partner with Anna,  together as a team they build a life in Guelph, Ontario. He rebuilds his business, a new archive, continues to consistently improve on his work and grow their family with Anna.  Together they have 5 children.  He dies in 1901 at the age of 72.  The year the Brownie camera is now in the hands of anyone who has one dollar to buy one; the price he charged for 12 photos.   

Sources:

My personal collection. 

Heidi Bradt, Bradt family photo archives.
Geneva Gillis - Cayuga Library and Heritage Center. Thank you so much for all your help

The Edinburgh Square Heritage & Cultural Centre, Caledonia Ontario.  

https://www.canadiana.ca/ https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.8_06526_1803/2

https://guelph.pastperfectonline.com/bycreator?keyword=Dobereiner%2C%20Philip https://wcma.pastperfectonline.com/Search?search_criteria=Dobereiner&onlyimages=false https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=Nb0HLiwjfsIC&dat=18660307&b_mode=2&hl=en Ancestry.ca Archives of Ontario The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC, USA; Consolidated Lists of Civil War Draft Registration Records (Provost Marshal General's Bureau; Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865); Record Group: 110; Collection Name: Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865 (Civil War Union Draft Records); NAI: 4213514; Archive Volume Number: 1 of 6 The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC, USA; Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1820-1897; Microfilm Serial or NAID: M237; RG Title: Records of the U.S. Customs Service; RG: 36

Thank you to The Edinburgh Square Heritage & Cultural Centre. 

Thank you Anne, Dylan and Gillian for your all help and guidance.