William Dorsey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1870's

The inscription on the back reads:
"Presented to me by his
daughter, Sarah Dorsey,
during my visit in their
home at Colorado Springs
June 6th 1906
S.K.J"
Though the name of the man in this photo is not written, I believe it is William Dorsey of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

William Dorsey was a prominent minister of the Society of Friends, a merchant of the firm Benedict Dorsey & Son, and was a founder of Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. He was born on October 18th, 1810 to parents Benedict Dorsey and Mary Johnson. Benedict was a merchant and with his son ran a china store, Benedict Dorsey & Son. In 1834, William was married to his first wife Elizabeth Knight. Sadly, both Elizabeth and William's father, Benedict, died in 1841. In 1842, not long after his 32nd birthday, William was married again to Susanna Haydock.

An article from the Evening Telegraph, November 11th, 1869

William was a member of the Building Committee for Swarthmore College, which opened in 1869. On the day of the school's official opening, Dorsey gave an address alongside Lucretia Mott, a fellow Quaker and an activist for abolition and women's rights. When William Dorsey died in 1874 at age 63, his obituary was published in newspapers across the country.

From his first marriage, William had two daughters, Mary and Elizabeth. With Susanna, he had Sarah. Sarah lived with her sister, Elizabeth, in Colorado Springs for many years. She was an active member of several groups, including the Needlework Guild of America and the Women's Advisory Board of the El Paso County Horticultural Society. In 1906, the same year her sister Elizabeth died, Sarah presented this carte de visite of her father to an "S.K.J". I wonder who those initials belong to?

If you know who this may be, let us know in the comments!