James V. Brandow
Catskill, NY and Windham, NY
Pictures from the private collection of Sylvia Hasenkopf
James Vernon Brandow was born in February 1861 in Greene County, the son of Henry Brandow and his wife Julia if Catskill. In 1894 James married Cora Woodvine (born April 1863) the daughter of William T. Woodvine and his wife Sarah E. The couple made their home with Cora's parents in Windham. Cora died in 1905 and is buried in the Windham village cemetery. It appears that James was a photographer in Catskill before moving to Windham. As late as the 1930 census for Windham, James is calling himself a photographer, despite suffering two paralytic strokes in 1922. According to the local newspapers "he was still confined to his bed, the entire right side being affected." By 1915 Hattie, James' sister, moved in with him in Windham. She was a saleslady and one must wonder whether she worked the front desk at James' photography studio. By 1930, Hattie is no longer living with her brother and has likely died.
From Patricia Morrow, Windham Town Historian : Photographer
James Vernon Brandow was the son of Henry and Julia J. (Stone) Brandow. He was
born in Hensonville on 16 Feb 1861, was living in Catskill by 1870, and died in
Catskill on 29 Jun 1938. He's buried in the Windham Cemetery, but has no
gravestone. He had photography studios in Windham and Catskill, as well as the
Royal Palm Studio in Miami, FL. I think he may have had studios in Kissimmee,
FL, Stamford, NY and possibly one in Schoharie County, too. James Brandow and
Cora Woodvine were married in Troy, NY on May 22, 1894. She was the daughter of
William T. and Sarah (possibly Clark) Woodvine and was born in Greene County,
probably in Prattsville, and died in Miami, FL on January 6, 1905. She is buried
in the Windham Cemetery, as were her parents, although they have no gravestones.
Photographic studio of James V. Brandow in Windham, as posted on the Windham Historical Society Facebook Page.
Ruth I. Allen was born in March 1897, the daughter of George L. Allen and his wife Isabelle of Windham. Her siblings were Percy L, born October 1884, Adah L, born November 1886 and Ethel M., born January 1899. By the 1910 census the family had moved to Durham.