Men stand with their horses and delivery wagons outside of Charles Boylan’s grocery store in this delightful old-timey photograph. There were several small details in this photo that helped me identify its precise location.
Here is the image cropped from its mat.
The store sold “Fine White Potatoes” for 60 cents per bushel, “Snow Flake Flour” at 90 cents, “Syrup” for 25, and many other items.
They even delivered! Here are some closeups of the Charles Boylan Order Wagons, one of which shows a partial address.
The address, partially obscured, appears as “1011 Mt Ver”. An obvious guess would be 1011 Mt. Vernon. I took these available clues and headed to my ancestry and newspaper archives sites to research.
While there were many Charles Boylans to explore (even several that were grocers), it quickly became clear that this Charles Boylan hailed from Columbus, Ohio. This 1894 Columbus, Ohio City Directory confirms that there was a Charles Boylan grocery store at 1011 Mt. Vernon.
A 1900 U.S. Federal Census lists Charles Boylan as the owner of a grocery store also at that address. He was born in Northern Ireland and came to the United States around 1880. He lived with his wife (Mary), children (Marcella, Marguerite, Katherine, Helen, James, and Lucille,), and sister-in-law (Lydia L. Bogue). The residence is also listed as 1011 Mt. Vernon indicating the family lived above the store. Federal Census records in 1910, 1920, and 1930 corroborate this information.
Other information, including a newspaper obituary and a Find a Grave memorial, suggests Charles was born on April 28, 1853 and died on July 12, 1931. He is buried at Saint Joseph Cemetery in Lockbourne, Ohio.
A google street view image of present day 1011 Mt. Vernon in Columbus shows a building that, though altered somewhat, matches considerably to the original image of Charles Boylan’s grocery store.
Google Stree View of 1011 Mt. Vernon, Columbus, Ohio
1011 Mt Vernon, Columbus, Ohio late 1890s or early 1900s
You can explore this building from various angles using the interactive map below.
Do you like Old-Timey Store Photos? Check out my my ever growing collection!