About the Callahan Photograph Collection, Eastern Shore Public Library

The Callahan Family | Related Resources | Search Tips

The Doran S. Callahan collection of Eastern Shore photographs was donated to the Eastern Shore Public Library by Mrs. Doran S. Callahan (Ruby I.) on May 5, 1974. The photographs were collected by Doran Callahan's father, Griffin Clay Callahan, and complement a collection of printed historical materials donated to the Onancock High School library and later transferred to the Eastern Shore Public Library. The photographic images represent a variety of scenes from Accomack and Northampton Counties. Subjects include homes, churches, courthouses and other buildings, landmarks, and gravestones. Some of the buildings depicted no longer exist.

The Callahan Family

Doran S. Callahan (1892-1971) was an eleventh generation descendant of Sir George Yeardley (1587-1627), Governor of Virginia and organizer of the General Assembly at Jamestown in 1619. The first Callahan on the Eastern Shore was the Reverend Griffin Callahan (1759-1833), a native of Talbot County, Maryland. He was admitted to the Baltimore Conference of the Methodist Church on September 18, 1788, as a traveling minister. He served for forty-five years mainly on the Eastern Shore.

Eastern Shore Public Library

Related Resources

• Lewis, Taylor Biggs. Chesapeake, the Eastern Shore: Gardens and Houses (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993).
• Nicholson, William S. Historic Homes and Churches of Virginia's Eastern Shore, v.1 (Accomac, Va.: Atlantic Publications, 1984).
• Rothery, Agnes. Houses Virginians Have Loved (New York: Rinehart, 1954).
• Whitelaw, Ralph T. Virginia's Eastern Shore: A History of Northampton and Accomack Counties by Ralph T. Whitelaw and George Carrington Mason, 2 v. (Richmond, Virginia Historical Society, 1951 [reprinted 1968 by P. Smith]).

Search Tips

Punctuation and capitalization are disregarded. Entries in this database are arranged in letter-by-letter alphabetical order. In addition to the regular searches, you may click on any highlighted element of a database record (such as a subject) to initiate a search on that element. Each record in the Doran S. Callahan Photograph Collection database consists of:

• the title of the photograph
• the date the photograph was taken (if known)
• note providing additional information about the subject of the photograph (if available)
• subject headings
• image numbers
• a link to the digitized image of the photograph
   

Titles
Titles consist of very brief descriptions of the photograph such as West House and store [graphic]. The information in the title field is taken from an unpublished finding aid compiled by Miles Barnes.

Dates
The date the photograph was taken (if known) is recorded in the database record. Dates are keyword searchable. (Note that in most cases date information is not available.) Examples of dates are:

• June 1, 1894
• Feb. 1928
• 1900
• [ca. 1895]

Notes
When information is available on the photograph in addition to the title, it is recorded in a note. Additional descriptive information has been provided based on printed resources. All of the information in the notes is keyword searchable.

Examples of notes:

• Named for an ancient seat of the Kerrs in the south of Scotland. Pronounced "Carr." Built 1834.
• Title continues: . . . Eastville. This courthouse has been torn down and another put up in its place.
• Title continues: . . . about three miles from Shadyside, Northampton County, Virginia. John Custis of Wilsonia is buried here.

Image Numbers
Image numbers, based on the numbers listed in the finding aid, were assigned to the photographs as they were cataloged and are visible only in the MARC display.  These numbers are keyword-searchable.

Example: image numbers:

• ES/002
• ES/045

The image number must always contain "ES/" plus 3 digits.

Subject Headings
Each record contains one or more subject headings. Words found within subject headings are keyword searchable.

Example: Subject Heading Searches:

• Dwellings -- Virginia -- Northampton County -- Photographic prints.
• Cemeteries -- Virginia -- Accomack County -- Photographic prints.
• Baptist churches -- Virginia -- Accomack County -- Photographic prints.
• Carts & wagons -- Virginia -- Accomack County -- Photographic prints.
• Mills -- Virginia -- Accomack County -- Photographic prints.
• Custis, John, d. 1713 -- Tomb.
• Northampton County -- Photographs.
• Photographic prints -- Virginia -- Accomack County.

Links
Click on the URL at the top of the full record display to view the digitized image.

Locating Photographs by Place

There are three methods of locating photographs by place name:

• Basic (keyword) search (using Words Anywhere) under place name (e.g. Eastville) (Must be used for local place names.)
• Browse search for subjects beginning with Accomack or Northampton
• Basic (keyword) search (using Words in Subject) (retrieves Accomack and Northampton used as subdivisions in subject headings)

For more detailed help with searching, click on the "Help" link on the main search screen and scroll down to "Search Functions" and "Search Tips."