Joel's Genealogy Page
J. H. Martin of Willisville, IL — identified on the reverse as Photographer, Jeweler, Photo Supplier, and Motion Picturer. Martin is believed to have set his camera on the balcony of the hotel to capture this sweeping street-level panorama.
At least 250 people are visible in the photograph. Handwritten notes on the reverse identify the Central Baptist Church of Willisville prominently in the frame. The next building was a movie house — a high-resolution scan reveals two doorways fronting the street, one marked "This Way In" and the other "This Way Out." The building beyond was the Schmidt home place.
Far up the street, in front of the two-story slope-roofed building beyond the trees, the hearse carrying my great-grandfather's body is visible. He was transported from Willisville to Percy, where he is buried in the IOOF Cemetery. Whether J. H. Martin captured additional photographs that day remains unknown.
