Dowsett, Charles Frederick^{[1, 2, 3, 4]}

1885 -

• Name	Dowsett, Charles Frederick
  	VARIANT NAMES: Dowsett Studio; Dowsett's Studio.
  Birth	27 Jul 1885	Plaistow, Essex, Eng., UK   [4, 5, 6, 7]
  	His 1935 U.S. naturalization declaration and his 1942 U.S. military draft registration record give a birth year of 1885, but other sources make it 1886.
  Gender	Male
  Marriage	19 Jun 1918	Halifax, NS   [6]
  	Bride: Marion Coral Brown
  Business Address/Year	1919	Chilliwack, BC   [8]
  	Address: Yale Road Chilliwack, BC Canada
  Business Address/Year	1920-1921	Chilliwack, BC
  	Address: Yale Road Dowsett Studio Chilliwack, BC Canada
  Business Address/Year	1921-1922	Chilliwack, BC
  	Address: Nowell Street, next to Baptist Church Dowsett Studio Chilliwack, BC Canada
  Business Address/Year	1922-1923	Chilliwack, BC
  	Address: Wellington Street, above Banford Meat Market Dowsett Studio Chilliwack, BC Canada
  Association	Wilson, Alexander (Relationship: Partner; Co-proprietor)
  Association	Dowsett Studio (Relationship: Proprietor)
  Association	Tucker, E. Franklin (Relationship: Predecessor)
  Person ID	I1438	Camera Workers | D, vol. 2, 1901-1950
  Last Modified	2 Dec 2021

  
  

• Documents » Slide Show		C.F. Dowsett's ad, Chilliwack Progress, 18 Sep 1919, p. 3. States that he took over E.F. Tucker's studio.
  		C.F. Dowsett article, Chilliwack Progress, 18 Sep 1919, p. 5. Notes he was from Halifax, NS, and had a naval background during World War One; also mentions his purchase of E.F. Tucker's studio.
  		C.F. Dowsett ad, Chilliwack Progress, 30 Oct 1919, p. 7.
  		C.F. Dowsett's Christmas ad, Chilliwack Progress, 27 Nov 1919, p. 7.
  		Alexander Wilson article, Chilliwack Progress, 1 Apr 1920, p. 1. About Wilson's partnering with C.F. Dowsett. Wilson did not have "over 20 years experience" as a photographer. He worked as a photographer for Bishop and Christie in Vancouver between ca. 1913 and 1915 when he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He would have been simply too young to have chalked up those many years as a photographer prior to partnering with C.F. Dowsett in Chilliwack.
  		C.F. Dowsett's ad, Chilliwack Progress, 29 Apr 1920, p. 8. Touts the Dowsett Studio's services for amateur photographers.
  		Dowsett Studio ad, Chilliwack Progress, 27 May 1920, p. 4. This is the first ad which features C.F. Dowsett and A. Wilson's names together.
  		C.F. Dowsett's ad, Chilliwack Progress, 27 Jan 1921, p. 5. Announces the dissolution of his partnership with Alexander Wilson effective 31 Jan 1921.
  		Alexander Wilson's ad, Chilliwack Progresss, 10 Feb 1921, p. 5. Concerns the dissolution of his partnership with C.F. Dowsett.
  		C.F. Dowsett and the Dowsett Studio ad, Chilliwack Progress, 10 Feb 1921, p. 8. Ad is about its new location on Nowell Street.
  		C.F. Dowsett and the Dowsett Studio ad, Chilliwack Progress, 17 Feb 1921, p. 8. Ad is about its new studio opening on Nowell Street.
  		Dowsett Studio ad, Chilliwack Progress, 1 Apr 1920, p. 7. Features its services for amateurs.
  		Dowsett Studio ad, Chilliwack Progress, 7 Dec 1922, p. 8.
  		Dowsett Studio ad, Chilliwack Progress, 13 May 1920, p. 3.
  		Article about Dowsett Studio, Chilliwack Progress, 30 Nov 1922, p. 4. Concerns its new location on Wellington Street above Banford's shop.
  		Dowsett Studio ad, Chilliwack Progress, 19 Apr 1923, p. 4. Aimed at amateur photographers.

  
  

• Notes

  STATUS: Commercial. BIOGRAPHICAL DIRECTORY: During his time in Halifax, NS, he operated a photo studio with another sailor. After World War One he trained further in photography through a veterans' industrial training plan. Around Sep 1919, following his service with the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RCNVR), he took over E.F. Tucker's Chilliwack studio. While his specialty was portraits, he also produced postcards. He advertised extensively in the Chilliwack Progress, only a small sampling of which are included here. In Apr 1920 he was joined by Alexander Wilson, a former commercial and military photographer who had also served in World War One. Wilson became Dowsett's business partner. In Nov 1920 during a banquet for visiting Canadian Prime Minister Arthur Meighan, the Dowsett Studio was praised for photograph of the reception party by the prime minister. Dowsett and Wilson dissolved their partnership at the end of Jan 1921. In Dec 1922 the Chilliwack Progress reported that a RCNVR colleague, T.W. Platt, was now a financial backer of the Dowsett Studio. There are no newspaper ads in the Chilliwack Progress under the name Dowsett after the end of 1923. In his U.S. naturalization declaration he states he crossed the border with his family at Sumas, WA, on 28 Oct 1923. According to his border entry card his destination was Tacoma, WA. By 1930 he was living in Tacoma, WA, but no longer a photographer according to the U.S. census that year. He declared his intention to become a U.S. citizen in 1935 and registered, though nearly a senior citizen, for the U.S. military draft in 1942. [9, 10, 11, 12]

  
  

• Sources

  [S742] WRI22, (Vancouver, BC: Wrigley Directories, c1922), 127. Chilliwack: Dowsett, Chas. F. Portrait Photographer [S809] WRI23, (Vancouver: Wrigley Directories, 1923), 103. Chilliwack: Dowsett Chas F photographer [S464] D. Steele, Steele (1995), (West Vancouver, B.C.: D. Steele, August 17, 1995). [S924] Ancestry.ca (Web site). Charles Frederick Dowsett [family tree] URL (accessed 23 May 2021): https://www.ancestrylibrary.ca/family-tree/person/tree/5503897/person/212162821898/facts [S851] LAC archival records. Service Files of the Royal Canadian Navy, 1910-1941; URL (accessed 5 Feb 2020): http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/royal-canadian-navy-1910-1941-ledger-sheets/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=11640& [S667] Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, FamilySearch.org (Web site). "Nova Scotia Marriages, 1907-1932," URL (accessed 5 Feb 2020): https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVBK-8TF1 [S693] Chilliwack Progress, 18 Sep 1919, 5. "New Citizen Was in Halifax Disaster" [S693] Chilliwack Progress, 18 Sep 1919, 3. Ad [S693] Chilliwack Progress, 1 Apr 1920, 1. "Expert Photographer Joins Dowsett Studio" [S693] Chilliwack Progress, 4 Nov 1920, 4. [S693] Chilliwack Progress, 27 Jan 1921, 5. "Notice to the Public" Wilson ran his own ad in the Chilliwack Progress in Feb 1921. [S693] Chilliwack Progress, 7 Dec 1922, 5. "Dowsetts' Studio"