Historical Portrait
Elroy Henry Tellyer (World War I, Tulare County)
Archive record
Public-domain historical portrait of Elroy Henry Tellyer from Dinuba East precinct, Tulare County, California, circa 1914 during World War I era.
About this photograph
The archive identifies this portrait as Elroy Henry Tellyer of Dinuba East precinct in Tulare County, taken between 1914 and 1918. The photographer is unknown.
Tulare County lies in California's San Joaquin Valley, a farming region built on irrigated agriculture and settled mainly in the late nineteenth century. The county library maintains a large collection of local history photographs documenting ordinary residents rather than prominent figures.
Though the photograph is dated from 1914, the United States did not enter the First World War until April 1917. Selective Service then registered roughly 24 million men, and around 4.7 million served. Local photography studios photographed enlistees in uniform before departure, producing portraits that often remained the only formal photograph a young man ever sat for. Many were made so a copy could stay with the family at home. County historical collections across the country hold large numbers of these wartime portraits.
The record does not state whether Tellyer enlisted or what became of him. The photograph survives as part of the Tulare County Library's holdings and was digitised through California Revealed, a statewide programme that makes material from California libraries, archives and historical societies publicly available.
Compiled from the catalogue record and reference notes on the formats and events involved. The archive record above is the primary source.
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