MS 311 - Blake Tyson Collection

MLA Citation

“MS 311 - Blake Tyson Collection.” Finding Aids. BGSU University Libraries, 24 Mar. 2014, lib.bgsu.edu/finding_aids/items/show/871. Accessed 22 Mar. 2025.

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TitleMS 311 - Blake Tyson Collection
Biographical Sketch

Blake Levi Tyson was born on May 16, 1935 in Wood County Ohio. His parents were Harley Frederick Tyson and Keitha Chloe Ward. As a young boy Blake would spend most of his time doing farm duties. In 1953 Blake graduated from the Montgomery Local High School in Wayne, Ohio. In August of 1954 Blake began a job at the H.J. Heinz Company in Bowling Green and worked there for a month and a half. Then on September 26, 1954, Blake started a job at Libby Owens Ford in Rossford, Ohio and retired there in September of 1984. In 1978 he purchased his parents 40 acre farm which included the home he grew up in and where he currently resides in Defiance Pike, Wayne, Ohio.

Scope and Content

The Blake Tyson Collection consists of sixty copy negatives and fifty-two black and white prints. Prints for some of the copy negatives are included in this collection. All of the negatives and prints depict scenes and events taken of or by the Tyson family who resided in Wood County at the beginning of the twentieth century. The time period of this collection is between 1900 and 1912 however most of the photographs are undated.

The events and scenes shown in these photographs consist of Tyson Family reunions, church picnics, school portraits, agricultural scenes, oil industry of Wood County, and indoor and street scenes. These copy negatives provide and excellent viewpoint into turn of the century lifestyles in terms of clothing, transportation, and interior home decorations.

Also included in this collection are forty-seven prints and twelve negatives given to Blake Tyson courtesy of the Hemminger Family. These photographs depict various elements of farm life in the early 1900's, oil industry, transportation, social events, United States Marine Corps barracks and dress, and other unidentified buildings and factories.

This collection does not contain original negatives but instead has copy negatives which are in excellent condition. A few of the copy negatives have had prints made and are filed alongside them. Negatives are arranged numerically and filed based on the subject of the photograph.

Series Description

PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIAL

COPY NEGATIVES
1900-1912
Arranged in numerical order, and filed with prints depicting scenes in Wood County, Ohio, of family and social events, school portraits, farming, and factory work.

PRINTS
1900-1912
Arranged in numerical order
Black and white prints of some of the copy negatives are filed alongside them, as well as fifty-two prints depicting scenes of oil industry, farming, military dress, and transportation in the early twentieth century.

Inventory

Box 1

Folder

  1. Negatives
    1. Outdoor scene. Men working at a Tile Mill, Bloomdale, Ohio, n.d
    2. Outdoor scene. Men possibly from same Tile Mill posing for a group portrait, Bloomdale, Ohio, n.d.
    3. Outdoor scene. Strout and Long Family Reunion, Bloomdale, Ohio, 1910
    4. Outdoor scene. Unidentified group, Bloomdale, Ohio?, n.d.
  2. Negatives
    5. Outdoor scene. Unidentified group, Bloomdale, Ohio?, n.d
    6. Outdoor scene. Annual David K. Tyson Reunion, Wood County, Ohio, 1910
    7. Outdoor scene. Tyson Reunion. Some people included: Elizabeth Tyson and daughters Evelyn, Almina, Verna, Iva; sons Harley, Milo, Mervin. Also pictured are Delbert and Matilda Cole and their children Lawrence, Freida, and Marjorie, as well as Reverend Krabell and his wife, Six Points, Ohio?, 1909
    8. Outdoor Scene. David K. Tyson Reunion at the Levi Tyson home.
    The man in the center of the second row with the long white beard is Isaac Tyson. Also included: Orville Tyson, Delbert Cole and family, and Reverend and Mrs. Krabell, Sandusky County, circa 1906
  3. Negatives
    9. Outdoor scene. First David K. Tyson Reunion, at Plantz Woods, Wood County, Ohio, 1905
    10. Outdoor scene. First David K. Tyson Reunion, at Plantz Woods, Wood County, Ohio, 1905
    11. Outdoor scene. Children of David K. Tyson.
    Front Row: Floyd Tyson, Orville Tyson, George Tyson, Ida Tyson Hillard, Angie Tyson Shoemaker. Back Row: William S. Tyson, Caroline Tyson Sumner, Sarah Tyson Sheets, Matilda Tyson Cole, Eliza Tyson Gunder, and Rose Tyson Aurand, Tyson Town, Ohio, n.d.
    12. Outdoor scene. Family portrait. Taken at the home of William S. Tyson (located on the south side of Highway 281, west of Emerson Road)
    Starting from the left is Mervin, Harley F. Sr., William S. (father), Iva, Evelyn with cat, Elizabeth (mother), Almina, Milo. Not pictured are Verna and Calvin, Tyson Town, Ohio, n.d.
  4. Negatives
    13. Outdoor scene. David K. Tyson stacking wood at his home, Tyson Town, Ohio, n.d.
    14. Outdoor scene. Angeline Tyson (wife of David K. Tyson) standing in front of the Tyson Family home, Tyson Town, Ohio, n.d.
    15. Indoor scene. Clarence Gunder, son of Elizabeth Tyson Gunder, grandson of David K. Tyson, as an infant, Wood County, Ohio, n.d.
    16. Indoor scene. Clarence Gunder as an infant sitting on a chair, Wood County, Ohio, n.d.
  5. Negatives
    17. Outdoor scene. Family portrait of the David K. Tyson Family.
    Front Row: ?, Verna Tyson Householder, ?, ?, Calvin Tyson, Angie Tyson Shoemaker, six unidentified children. Back Row: Floyd Tyson, George Tyson, Orville Tyson, Matilda Tyson Cole, Delbert Cole (holding son Lawrence), Sherman Aurand, Rose Tyson Aurand, William S. Tyson, Caroline Tyson Sumner, Sarah Tyson Sheets, Tom Sheets, Ida Tyson Hillard and daughter, Chub Hillard, Eliza Tyson Gunder, Soleman Gunder and child, Tyson Town, Ohio, n.d.
    18. Outdoor scene. William S. Tyson and sons Mervin, Harley, and Milo posing with horses in front of the barn, Tyson Town, Ohio, n.d.
    19. Indoor scene. May Sumner, Angie Tyson, and Grace Sumner (photographer B.A. Cole) May and Grace were daughters of James and Caroline Tyson Sumner, Six Points, Ohio, n.d.
    20. Indoor scene. Portrait of Reverend John Ferguson, minister of Mt. Zion United Brethren Church at Bays and Reynolds Roads from 1904 to 1912, Photograph taken by B.A. Cole, Six Points, Ohio, circa 1910
  6. Negatives
    21. Outdoor scene. B.A and Matilda Cole and family in front of their home, Wood County, Ohio, n.d.
    22. Indoor scene. B.A. and Matilda Tyson Cole and children Lawrence, Freida and Marjorie sitting inside their home, Matilda's brother Orville Tyson is seated on the left, Six Points?, Ohio, n.d.
    23. Indoor scene. Matilda Tyson Cole and children Freida, Marjorie, Lawrence and Ruth sitting in the home. Photograph was taken by B.A. Cole, Six Points?, Ohio, circa 1920
    24. Outdoor scene. Possibly the Cupp Family (related to the Tyson's), Wood County, Ohio, n.d.
  7. Negatives
    25. Outdoor scene. Keitha Ward Tyson and her mother Effie Ekert Ward at their home (located on Huffman road between Mermill Road and Highway 281), Wood County, Ohio, n.d.
    26. Outdoor scene. Dr. Earl Ward (left), uncle of Keitha Ward Tyson, on a grouse hunt, possibly Oklahoma, n.d.
    27. Outdoor scene. Keitha Ward Tyson and mother Effie Ekert Ward riding in buggy, Floyd Ward (father) is standing on the wagon in the background in front of the home located east of Bowling Green on Route 6, Wood County, Ohio, n.d.
    28. Outdoor scene. Birthplace of Keitha Ward Tyson, Wood Country, Ohio, n.d.
  8. Negatives
    29. Outdoor scene. Class Portrait of the students of the Tyson Town School. Tyson Town, Ohio, 1905
    30. Outdoor scene. Class portrait of the students of the Tyson Town School, Tyson Town, Ohio, 1906
    31. Outdoor scene. Class portrait of the students of Old Portage Center School. Paul Garner is the barefoot boy in the first row with rolled up pant legs. Keitha Ward Tyson is standing on the far right in front of the teacher, Portage Center, Ohio, n.d.
    32. Outdoor scene. Class portrait of the students of the Tyson Town School. Tyson Town, Ohio, circa 1912
  9. Negatives
    33. Outdoor scene. Class portrait of the students of the Tyson Town School, Tyson Town, Ohio, 1907-1908
    34. Outdoor scene. Possibly a school on Route 6, east of Bowling Green, Bowling Green, Ohio, circa 1910
    35. Outdoor scene. Class portrait, possibly of Bloomdale School, Bloomdale, Ohio, circa 1900
    36. Outdoor scene. Class portrait of Holcomb School Students located north of Wayne, Ohio on Wayne Road. The location is now a home, Wood County, Ohio, 1903?
  10. Negatives
    37. Outdoor scene. Class portrait, possibly of the Holcomb or Hall Schools. Wood County, Ohio, n.d.
    38. Outdoor scene. Possibly a church picnic, Bloomdale, Ohio, n.d.
    39. Outdoor scene. Possibly a church picnic, Bloomdale, Ohio, n.d.
    40. Outdoor scene. Methodist Church Picnic at Grabers Grove (also known as Gurlinger's Grove) located on Bays Road, east of highway 199 where Dieder road comes out, Wood County, Ohio, n.d.
  11. Negatives
    41. Outdoor scene. Steam Engine and its crew. Picture was sent to Floyd Ward by Keitha Ward Tyson's uncle Jess Powers who was a railroad engineer, Ohio, August 13, 1910
    42. Outdoor scene. Train wreck, Lemoyne, Ohio, August 12, 1910
    43. Outdoor scene. Main Street in Six Points, Ohio, circa 1900
    44. Outdoor scene. Men working at a Cider and Lumber Mill, Six Points, Ohio, circa 1900
  12. Negatives
    45. Outdoor scene. Main Street in Deshler, Ohio, Deshler, Ohio, c.1900
    46. Outdoor scene. African-American prisoners in front of prison building, Georgie, Alabama, n.d.
    47. Indoor scene. Probably of the Eckelbarger Family.
    Picture found in house(now torn down) on Reynolds Road between Jerry City and Bays Roads, back of Mt. Zion Cemetery, Wood County, Ohio, n.d.
  13. Folder includes
    48-59. Unidentified negatives
    Prints:
    1. Outdoor scene. Unidentified people sitting in the shade, possibly in front of their house, Ohio, n.d.
    2. Outdoor scene. Unidentified family sitting in front of their home. Print made from glass negative, Ohio, n.d.
    3. Outdoor scene. Possibly Rising Sun Women's Concert Band, Ohio, n.d.
    4. Outdoor scene. Unidentified family taking a break from farming, Ohio?, n.d.
    5. Outdoor scene. Unidentified farmer plowing with four horses, Ohio?, n.d.
    6. Outdoor scene. Unidentified farmer with four horse plow, Ohio?, n.d.
    7. Outdoor scene. Two horses adorned with American flags, attached to a plow, Ohio?, n.d.
    8. Outdoor scene. Six unidentified boys posing in front of a tractor, Ohio, n.d.
    9. Outdoor scene. Unidentified man standing next to a tractor in snow, Ohio?, n.d.
    10. Outdoor scene. Unidentified farmer plowing on a tractor, Ohio?, n.d.
    11. Outdoor scene. Four unidentified boys (see photo #8), standing on top of farm equipment, Ohio? n.d.
    12. Outdoor scene. Four unidentified women and one man standing with cows and pigs, Ohio?, n.d.
    13. Indoor scene. Worker at an unidentified factory, Ohio?, n.d.
    14. Outdoor scene. Man sitting on his motorcycle, Ohio?, n.d.
    15. Indoor scene. Unidentified man and woman, Ohio?, n.d
    16. Indoor scene. Two young unidentified girls, Ohio?, n.d.
    17. Indoor scene. Unidentified baby, Kenton, Ohio, n.d.
    18. Outdoor scene. Trains in an unidentified station, n.d.
    19. Outdoor scene. Group of US Marines talking with civilians. Picture was possibly taken at ?
    20. Outdoor scene. US Marine sitting in front of the barracks with his gun, unknown, n.d.
    21. Outdoor scene. US Marines talking with one another in front of the barracks, unknown, n.d.
    22. Outdoor scene. Row of US Marine Corps barracks, unknown, n.d.
    23. Outdoor scene. Colonel Harris home, unknown, n.d
    24. Outdoor scene. Factory? Unknown location, n.d.
    25. Outdoor scene. Unidentified train station, unknown, n.d.
    26. Outdoor scene. Unidentified building, unknown, n.d.
    27. Outdoor scene. Unidentified building, possibly a town hall?, unknown, n.d
    28. Outdoor scene. Unidentified bridge, unknown, n.d.
    29. Outdoor scene. Unidentified bridge, (different view), unknown location, n.d.
    30. Outdoor scene. Foster Machine Company, unknown. n.d.
    31. Outdoor scene. Town's main street?, location unknown, n.d.
    32. Outdoor scene. Unidentified couple at their home?, location unknown, n.d.
    33. Outdoor scene. Unidentified road with houses, location unknown, n.d.
    34. Indoor scene. Portrait of a family, Bowling Green, Ohio, photo by J.A. Walker, n.d.
    35. Outdoor scene. Four children riding on a one horse sleigh, location unknown, n.d.
    36. Indoor scene. Unidentified family in their home, unknown, n.d.
    37. Indoor scene. Infant standing on a chair, location unknown, n.d.
    38. Outdoor scene. Unidentified family standing in front of their home, location unknown, n.d.
    39. Indoor scene. Young woman with a book, unknown, n.d.
    40. Outdoor scene. Families (2?) standing outside a house, unknown, n.d.
    41. Outdoor scene. Unidentified house covered in snow, unknown, n.d.
    42. Outdoor scene. F.W. Hemminger barn, location unknown, n.d.
    43. Outdoor scene. Man standing on the side of a road with a boy passing in a buggy, location unknown, n.d.
    44. Outdoor scene. Unidentified man with horse and buggy, location unknown, n.d.
    45. Outdoor scene. Oil well erupting on an unidentified farm, location unknown, n.d.
    46. Outdoor scene. Unidentified oil well, location unknown, n.d.
    47. Outdoor scene. Car parked in front of an unidentified building, location unknown, n.d.
    48. Outdoor scene. Group of men with a machine and cut logs, n.d.
    49. Outdoor scene. Man with seeding machine drawn by two horses, n.d.
    50. Outdoor scene. Unidentified building, possibly a church, n.d.
    51. Outdoor scene. Photograph showing front side of United States Marine Corps barracks, unknown, n.d.