Alfred Du Bois, W.E.B. Du Bois' father, with another unidentified male, early 1860s?

Containers:
Box 1, Image RL.11953-P-0001
Scope and content:

Informal bust portrait of two men of color wearing hats and collared shirts, shoulder to shoulder. One is said to be Alfred Du Bois, father of W. E. B. Du Bois. Based on a later photograph of Alfred, he is the man appearing on the left. There are no markings; photographer and location are unknown. Date estimate derived from biographical information: based on the biographical information, this photograph could have been taken in Haiti when Alfred was still a young man.

Biographical / historical:

Alfred Du Bois was born in Haiti to a white father and woman of color sometime around 1833 and had emigrated to the U.S. by the 1860 census. He served in the Civil War in Company D, 20th Regiment, U.S. Colored Troops, but deserted in 1865. Alfred was reported as 34 years old and working as a barber when he married Mary Silvina Burghardt in Great Barrington, Mass., 1867. They had one child, William Edward Burghardt (W.E.B.) Du Bois, born February 23, 1868. Alfred left the family sometime in 1870.

[Source: Massachusetts Marriage Records, 1840-1915, Ancestry.com website, viewed December 22, 2021; Wikipedia website for W.E.B. Du Bois, viewed December 9 2021]

Dimensions:
Image/sheet: 1 5/8 x 2 1/16 inches; mount: 3 x 3 1/2 inches

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials


Collection restrictions:

Access note. Collection contains fragile materials and is currently in Conservation for treatment. Contact Research Services with questions.

Use & permissions:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

Before you visit:
Please consult our up-to-date information for visitors page, as our services and guidelines periodically change.