Brimfield Find: Naval Officer? ID Help - San Fran

WOW! I'm most interested especially since I've been aboard Admiral Dewey's USS Olympia and stood where he stood...when he said what he said...

 

Well just for grins, I searched for him on Ancestry. That Navy Commander was Benjamin F Day, born 1841 in Ohio. Would have been 48 at the date of the picture. The pictured fellow doesn't look 48 to me.

 

Son?

 

No, can't be. His oldest child was under 10 in 1880.

 

His full name was Benjamin Franklin Day. He made it up to Rear Admiral, eventually.
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/f...Sst=37&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=53044559&df=all&

http://www.mocavo.com/The-Records-of-Living-Officers-of-the-U-S-Navy-and-Marine-Corps-3/856717/72

Too bad he might not be the person in the photo!

 

http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org/tfs/index.php/Benjamin_Franklin_Day

 

Unfortunately, that picture in the upper left corner appears to serve on every page of the site. It's just a link that goes back to the home page.

 

I saw but some interesting links.

 

That B F Day sure got around! Did you read the obit? He was in Ford's Theater when Lincoln was shot!

 

WOW!!!

 

So this was exciting research, but of no help to Scantic, I fear.

 

I love it.

 

Uniform is not correct for a US Naval Officer of any period I know of-jacket wrong, buttons wrong, sword wrong type, etc. Just take the buttons-they have an anchor, with vertical stock. All USN officer unif. buttons since 1851 have featured an eagle perched on a horizontal anchor. Suspect fraternal uniform, or maybe some other navy, naval militia, maritime, but not USN. Pic below: left-old ones, right, newer.

 

I KNEW there was something ringing up back there in the dusty files of my brain with that name... Clarence Day! 'Life with Father' the movie!

 

Royal Navy?

 

Well count me as one who is very happy to see your post, Spring. I got mislead by a "similarity" of a belt in a less-than-closeup picture of Dewey and didn't check on button details.

 

I think you are right, possibly Royal Navy. The buttons look very similar to Royal Navy.

 

These are supposed to be British Royal Navy officers ca. 1880's. Note sleeve rank insignia detail-many buttons and no stars. I hate to keep coming up with what it isn't, but that's all I can do at the moment.