Object ID
1993.69.54
Object Name
Photograph
Date Created
circa 1885
Medium
Photo Paper
Object Entities
Kopan, Andrew (is related to)
Pooley, Peter (is related to)
Pooley, Georgia (is related to)
Access Points
Object Description
A copy of a black-and-white photograph. On the left of the photograph man sits in a chair with his arm resting on a table. The table is covered with a cloth or doily. The man is wearing a white shirt with a dark bow tie, a dark vest and suit, and dark shoes. He has dark-colored hair and a mustache and is holding a thin walking stick. On the right of the photograph (the man's left) a woman stands with her hand on the man's shoulder. The woman is wearing a long-sleeved, high-necked dark dress with a bustle and corset. The neck of her dress has a lace collar. There is a watch and chain hanging from the breast of her dress, and her dark hair is pulled back. She is wearing bracelets on both wrists and is holding what appear to be a fan and a walking stick in her left hand. The floor is tiled and the wall behind the couple is plain. On the far left of the photo, behind the table, there is a heavy curtain hanging from the ceiling. The back of the photograph contains text identifying the couple as "Mr. and Mrs. Peter Pooley (Panagiotis Poulis)", who were "The first Greek family in Chicago". It also gives a brief biography of Peter Pooley. Below this, there is a sticker that reads "Photo Credit: The Andrew T. Kopan Collection".
Origin
This photograph was donated by Andrew T. Kopan. It is a copy of a picture of Peter Polley and his wife, Georgia, the first Greek family known to have settle in Chicago.
The following information if from the caption on the back of the photograph:
"The first Greek woman to come to Chicago is shown with her husband shortly after their arrival in 1885. Mr. and Mrs. Peter Pooley (Panagiotis Poulis), came to Chicago from Corfu, Greece. Mr. Pooley was a sea captain who visited Chicago severael times by way of the port of New Orleans and the Mississippi River. Impressed with the city, he returned to his native island where he married Georgia Bitzis and brought her to the Windy City. A well-educated and spirited woman, Mrs. Pooley organized the Greco-Slavonic Brotherhood in 1885 for religious purposes -- the first Greek voluntary association in Chicago. Mr. Pooley died in 1914 and his wife in 1945. They had six children, all born in Chicago."
Rights and Reproduction
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Citation
Photograph, circa 1885, National Hellenic Museum, https://collections.nationalhellenicmuseum.org/Detail/objects/4857. Accessed 03/19/24.