Every once in awhile, I poke around on Ebay, just on the off chance I'll find something up for sale related to one of my ancestors. One regular 'alert' I've set up there is for the town of Wellston, Oklahoma. I have so many ancestors from there, so I like to be aware of any finds from that town that might be relevant to my genealogical research.
I get hits fairly regularly on 'Wellston,' but up until a few months ago, nothing has proved too useful. But when I got this particular alert, I knew I'd found something awesome. It's related to my maternal great grandfather, John Arthur Kephart. In his younger years, Grandpa Kephart had been a photographer. He even had a studio between 1908-1916, though he'd been taking photos before that, and I'm sure afterward as well. I posted about this once, including a photo of his photo gallery that was in Wellston. The photo had been found by a woman named Carol, who worked at the Lincoln County Historical Society in Chandler, OK. She sent me a copy and I was thrilled to get it. Prior to that, I'd found advertisements for Grandpa Kephart's photography in old newspapers, and even some photos he'd taken that appeared in the newspaper.
Well, the alert I got from Ebay was for a photo postcard from Wellston, Oklahoma. And not only did it have Wellston on it, it also had the name Kephart on the top left of it. Photographers would frequently add their names to the photos they took in that way, to identify themselves as the photographer.
The postcard left the Post Office in Guthrie, OK, headed to Miss Edna Meyer in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, from one R. E. Davis. The image shows East Main Street in Wellston.
This may be the only postcard or actual photo I ever find that was taken by John Arthur Kephart, so I will treasure it. But I'll stay on the hunt for more mementos of his photography past.
