Sarah Parsons Bascom, New Haven, Connecticut 1890s

"Mrs. Horace Bascom
Aug 1890"

The woman in these two photographs is labeled as both "Sallie Parsons Bascom" and "Mrs. Horace Bascom." The portraits were probably taken a few years apart- the first in August 1890 (when she was 49), and the second sometime in the mid to late 1890s based on her large sleeves. I knew she must have been somewhat well-off based on her fashionable clothes and the fact that she was able to have 2 formal portraits done so close together.

Sarah Elizabeth Parsons was born in Massachusetts in 1841 to parents Justus Smith Parsons and his wife, Mindwell.  Sarah was the youngest of their 3 children and had 2 older brothers, Charles and Henry. 

"Sallie Parsons Bascom"

On January 4th, 1871, 29-year-old Sarah married Horace Sheldon Bascom in Huntington, Massachusetts. Horace was a dentist from Southampton. He had studied dentistry in Batavia, New York before returning home to Massachusetts. After Sarah and Horace’s marriage, the couple settled in New Haven, Connecticut, where he continued to practice dentistry. They had 3 daughters: Bessie (born 1876), Jessie (born 1878), and Helen (born 1879). Also living with them in 1880 were Horace’s mother, Betsy, and a 22-year-old servant, Mary Parker.

In 1900, the Bascoms held the wedding of their daughter, Jessie, in their home on College Street. According to the Morning-Journal Courier, the front parlor was filled with palms, ferns, and white roses as Jessie married John Henry Hill.

The youngest Bascom daughter, Helen, decided to follow in her father's footsteps and attended Pennsylvania Dental College. In 1902,  she was granted a license to practice dentistry in the state of Connecticut. She would go on to marry a fellow dentist, Fred Strong Frary, in 1909.

Their eldest daughter, Bessie, also married a doctor, Dr. William P. Lang, in 1910.

Sarah Parsons Bascom passed away at home in September 1904 at the age of 62. Her brief obituary notes that funeral services were held in the home before she was buried in Southington, (though I believe they mean "Southhampton") Massachusetts. Horace followed her in May 1908 at age 63. 

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