A name with a face

I recently did some conservation work on some ambrotypes and a tintype for a friend of mine. The images are all of her family members, but unfortunately unidentified. These have been stored for years, and anyone that might have been able to tell who they were is long since gone.

The first is a handsome young man. This image is a 9th plate ambrotype, backed with black cloth. The case is missing its cover, but the preserver and cover glass are good. It has both a rectangular mat and an oval mat (I haven't encountered a double mat before).

The second image is also a 9th plate ambro of a young woman and is backed with japanned tin. This is also missing the front half of the case.

The third image is a 6th plate ambrotype, and the case is intact, but fragile. This one is backed with black velvet that has faded to a dark brown. This woman bears an amazing resemblance to the lady that own the images.

The fourth image is a 9th tintype, housed in a complete, undamaged, octagonal union case. He is wearing a Confederate uniform, but as with the others, my friend only knew that these were her ancestors, but not their names...

I asked her to send me any genealogical information she could find on ancestors that served in the ACW. She sent a list of 10 names, with birth/death dates and units in which they served. I ruled out a couple of names, as they were War of 1812 veterans. The remaining 8 names were all CS soldiers, but only 3 had birthdates that seemed right. The man in the image appears to be in his 40's, which would mean he was born in the 1810's to 1820's. With those 3 names, I started looking at the various genealogical websites, and found a photo of one of the men, taken years after the War.

Thomas Cody Green, born in Edgefield, SC, in 1818, was living in Barbour County, Al, when he enlisted in the 4th Alabama Reserve Infantry in 1864. This man was my friend's great-great-great grandfather, and he lived until 1899. In both photos he wears the same beard style, and there are enough similarities of features that I'm convinced I was able to give this man's name to his photograph.

 

I bet he was a Civil War veteran. I'd have been the right age, and the first image looks like the pictures guys had taken before shipping out.

 

You did a fine job freshening them up. Bravo!