Charles Sheldon Collection
The Sheldon Collection includes pictures taken in Shorewood, Wisconsin between the late 1890s and the 1930s. The photos were either taken by Charles Sheldon (an amateur photographer) or acquired by him. Sheldon combined the photos with his knowledge of early Shorewood history and became a popular community speaker.
Sheldon’s daughter, Mary Sheldon Green, said, “Our old, compact-folding Eastman Kodak was always with us. Wherever we went, the camera went too – that’s why I’m in so many of the scenes.” Mrs. Green gave all of her father’s glass lantern slides to the Shorewood Historical Society in 1985. The Society had prints and negatives made from the slides.
Sheldon’s interests are reflected in the people and scenes he personally photographed. He was a charter member of the North Shore Presbyterian Church. He was a musician and played clarinet with the Shriners Band until he was 90. In the 1920s, he gave instrumental lessons to neighborhood children until the school system added a band program. He was also very interested in trains.
A native of Massachusetts, Charles Talbot Sheldon came to Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1909. He was an engineer and worked for a number of Milwaukee companies including the Milwaukee Transport Co., A.O. Smith and the Milwaukee Gaslight Co. In 1920, he and his wife Agnes bought a home at 2308 Stratford Ct. in Shorewood (a Milwaukee suburb) where he lived until 1976. He passed away in 1978 at the age of 95.
