Michael Lally’s ancestors were neighbors of the Powell Studio.
And good customers
IN OCTOBER, 2025, the director of business operations at Lowell Cemetery read our Annie Powell social media posts and made a personal connection. Weren’t there photos taken by the Powell studios in his attic?
Yes, indeed there were. Lally contacted me about the trove a few days ago. I was delighted to scan and discuss 21 of the images at the cemetery’s Knapp Avenue office.
Michael still lives in the Andrews Street home where he grew up, in the house where his ancestors lived after migrating from Ireland in the 1890s. A christening, first communion, graduation, or wedding in the Murphy, Riordon, and Walsh families prompted a short walk to the neighborhood photo studio run by Annie and John Powell.
Even with the less than ideal storage of the attic, the collection is still in miraculous condition. None of the subjects are identified, but Michael remembers some likely names. With help of genealogy databases, we expect to identify most subjects based on their probable ages. I can date all of the photos within a year or two, based on research of the Powells’ many addresses and studio names.
The Powell choice of logos embossed on their commercial prints offer details of the couple’s life. In 1906, Annie and John separated both personally and professionally. They suffered much financial hardship. John, publicly accused of adultery, moved to Methuen before returning to Lowell where he pursued various professions including photography as a sideline. In one of the images above, a cobranding with the Bon Marché department store and his eyeglass fitting office on Merrimack Street suggests that he negotiated a photo concession. This links him to the “Photo by Bon Marché” credits seen in the newspapers of the time. I also found “Photo by John Powell” and “Photo by Powell” credits which likely signaled, respectively, John’s and Annie’s work, implying that the two were not just separated, but they were competing!
We also see furniture and backdrops which appear in photos taken at the site of the Lowell Textile School on Middle Street. This adds to a theory that the Powells operated an unadvertised studio for the convenience of downtown customers.
Michael’s family of a century ago would have also patronized the Powell extended family which operated a furniture store at 730 Lawrence St. and a variety store at 100 Andrews St. Their last names would have been Whiteley, Wood, and Reno. When I mentioned this, Michael said that Dan’s Variety Store still operated on Andrews St. when he was a boy, continuing the tradition of selling soda, ice cream, and candy.
I love that this is the second time in three years that a cache from Powell studios has connected a Lowell family with Lowell history. The first time, it was with Annie’s descendants, the Bacon family, who grew up in the Lowell Highlands neighborhood with perhaps thousands of her prints and glass plate negatives.
Bernie Zelitch, executive director
Originally posted in newsletter Nov. 26, 2024.
