The Aultman Studio was a fixture in Trinidad, Colorado, for more than 100 years. It was started by Oliver E. Aultman in 1890, and he was later joined by his brother, Otis. After Oliver Aultman’s death in 1954, his son Glen ran the studio until his own death in 2000. The Aultmans produced very artistic portraits in a town of just over 5,000 residents. I will post more information about the Aultmans at a later date.
For Black History Month, I have selected one portrait from Aultman’s original negatives held by History Colorado.
William W. Cobb (b. c. 1874-1949), sometimes spelled Cobbs, served as a Buffalo Soldier in the 24th Infantry Regiment, Company F, stationed in New Mexico.
History Colorado uncovered the following information during the course of cataloging this. photograph: The 24th was commanded by Colonel Zenas R. Bliss (1835-1900) to keep peace in the southwest after the American Indian Wars. Cobb served with the 24th from 1891 until he was discharged in 1896. During the Pullman Strike of 1894, the 24th was one of the regiments sent to Trinidad to help subdue striking railroad workers. This brief stay in Trinidad would have given Cobb the chance to have his portrait taken by the Aultman Studio.
Cobb was born around 1874 in North Carolina. After his military service, he lived in Vincennes, Indiana, where he worked as a janitor at City Hall and later at the First National Bank. In 1901, he married a woman named Hattie, and they had a daughter, Ethel. In 1920, the couple divorced.
Shortly after his divorce, Cobb moved to Washington, D.C. In September 1928, he married Ruth L. Prather. Cobb died at the National Soldiers’ Home in Washington, D.C. He is buried with a military headstone at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.
See more about the Aultman Studio .
Thank you to History Colorado staff Jori Johnson and Aaron Marcus.
