solomon butcher january march photographer spent life central nebraska great plains region united_states homestead act began produce photographic record history white settlement region survive depict houses butcher wrote books incorporating photographs early days nebraska development great american plains butcher unable achieve financial success farmer photographer number schemes later life time death felt failure number scope photographs nebraska pioneer life valuable resource students period history staple historical texts popular works alike described important chronicle saga america early life solomon butcher born january oldest child butcher burton state virginia later west_virginia family moved illinois father worked family remained nearly years butcher finished high school briefly taught business photography winter term attended henry illinois worked travelling salesman firm clyde ohio announced leaving secure job railroad moving west establish homestead nebraska good job grown tired work thought seriously seeking fortune great west march party consisting butcher father brother george brother law started westward covered wagons seven weeks arrived northeastern occupied near north bank west northwest present day party began construction house butcher quickly came decision west soon came conclusion man leave boarding house day salary month lay nebraska cents day fool completion house butcher father returned illinois bring mother youngest brother nebraska butcher return stayed illinois months returning nebraska days left construct dwelling homestead failure mean claim butcher father brothers built occupied saving claim weeks later went east moving milwaukee wisconsin abandoning homestead remained kept batch years declared butcher attended medical college minneapolis winter spring met barber hamilton young widow working nurse hospital married soon butcher decided west place seen wild west unfit living east wrote october couple returned moved father winter worked photographer plains butcher able save teacher salary borrow open photography studio studio housed building measuring feet dirt floor cotton lieu glass cover windows backdrop photos old cloth wagon cover cloth rats holes patches showing photographs butcher attached springs old bed ceiling hung backdrop taking picture backdrop springs motion combined long exposure time required blurred backdrop patches visible photograph photography pay bills butcher opened post office studio named jefferson father proved lucrative postal income came stamp months amounted cents farm work father wage cents day december town established near butcher homestead butcher wife children moved built house butcher found business partner supplied money frame building studio established time rains unusually good resumption normal dry conditions led town demise butcher family leave house weeks residence forced sell building moved town rented years spring butcher conceived idea writing illustrated history thought key fame found lost desire rest sleep embark project needed financing unlike butcher father succeeded farmer running business butcher turned assistance initially skeptical son arranged photograph agreed provide team wagon project june butcher took photograph book met certain skepticism called fool began work thirteen years establishment homestead county hardly said history took photographs recorded narratives hard times struck early 1890s crops failed good crops following years offset low prices harvest small spring summer entirely devoid rain county nationwide depression began butcher early victim agricultural economic collapse lost farm forced suspend history project predecessor strong 1890s carrying elections decade beginning butcher attached movement elected justice peace clerk rising farm prices generally improving economy allowed secure home nearly debt resume work history butcher house burned destroying entire contents including pioneer narratives photographic prints fortunately history project glass stored escaped fire house carried insurance butcher left butcher setting task compiling pioneer narratives secured assistance editor editing accounts preparing manuscript cover cost publishing recruited early wealthy butcher knew populist activities agreed expenses placed advertisement chief assuring readers orders butcher forthcoming book filled orders book began flowing edition copies sold delivery date summer second printing copies issued christmas year book titled early days nebraska included pages later career encouraged success butcher began planning similar photographic histories buffalo counties border south moved county seat opened photography studio son widely colorado utah wyoming carrying equipment wagon site shipped women employees prints customers butcher ran business making million cards local trade published second book development great american plains urging lawyer hoped use butcher photographs accounts sell land nebraska visited produced set butcher abandoned history buffalo counties spending thousand dollars project profession photographer failed fortune sound financial turned efforts turned studio son began work agent gave lectures buffalo counties promoting company lands south texas plans dispose thousands inch glass plate debt attempt accomplish offered collection head wrote time buy cheap need money badly november signed contract sale butcher receive rest paid nebraska legislature passed bill funds purchase unfortunately butcher feud raging secretary ardent populist follower conservative democrat believed tactics displace predecessor secretary believed bring society control legislature session bill introduced pay butcher purchase bill passed house unanimously ran stiff opposition senate probably end butcher forced accept compromise payment butcher texas land deals came moved december year suffered ill health years died short time early butcher worked collection adding narratives included married nation butcher briefly worked travelling salesman grain flour mill abandoned practical schemes invented described electromagnetic oil applying principles discovery oil planned photographic expedition central_america produce material series lectures tried interest skeptical expedition launched began marketing patent medicine consisting chiefly alcohol dubbed butcher wonder age moved colorado butcher died march works butcher work received little notice outside nebraska lifetime market photos depicting romance public preferred mountains open prairie later life popular taste inclined modern sophisticated images gathered houses fashion photographs little recommend artistic standpoint biographer describes aesthetics adequate technical abilities prairie recognition butcher work came later history settlement plains began written photographs staples textbooks popular works dealing homestead era according carter images think plains settlement butcher compared painter painted native americans 1830s nebraska writer photographer depicted rural nebraska 1930s 1940s like butcher recognized era plains history passing tried document visually gone short career face nebraska changed houses earlier photographs increasingly supplanted frame buildings later ones butcher recording events took place present historical events photo example behest cutting fences photograph accepted historians documentation actual event closer examination reveals wire wood butcher photos photographed hill important early cedar trees trees cut long got camera trees bare hill negative illustrate account battled posed scores dots negative depict flying insects sought illustrate large flock ducks realized birds flying fast camera record photographed scene dozens ducks negative butcher purposes occasion damaged spot negative producing hole photograph house undertaking round trip miles shoot scene concealed damage drawn turkey negative seeing finished product expressed declaring owned white persuaded aside doubts camera incapable lying butcher determination record era led photograph detail life homestead era according editor edition direct camera butcher collection consists nearly nearly taken houses number scope butcher photographs valuable resource historian period nebraska conducted detailed analysis butcher house photos including farm equipment animals etc initiated present day investigations house construction living studies based photographs continue 21st century digital image processing enabled researchers details inside doors windows appeared dark original prints butcher achieved financial success artistic recognition died believing failure work endured according writer photographer captured settlement insight experience
Solomon Butcher