Felt, Louis Wilbur
BORN: 3 August 1847, Bergsjo, Gävleborg, Sweden
DIED: 8 December 1941, Chicago, Cook, Illinois
ACTIVE:
149 Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, 1874–1882
147 & 149 Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, c1882
215 Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, 1885–1909*
215 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, 1909–c1929
Shoemaker, Felt Bros. (1867–1873), Real Estate Agent
There were two men named Louis W. Felt, born in Sweden, listed with the occupation of Photographer that were enumerated in the 1880 census in Chicago. Each had a separate family. The men's ages were only seven years apart, so they were not father and son. Only one [if in fact two separate men] appeared to remain active in Chicago after that date.
Louis Felt disappears from the Chicago Business Directories after 1907. Chicago officially split streets into East and West in September 1909, although Felt used "East Chicago Avenue" at least as early as 1882. He was listed as an active photographer as late as the 1920 census, and according to his obituary, he retired about 1929. In addition to photography, he was a real estate agent, specializing in Paw Paw Lake (MI) resort properties.
IL0022A – "Selma, Adolph & Albert Erickson," Cabinet Card,
Louis W. Felt, 147 & 149 Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL, c1882
IL0022B – Photographer Back Stamp, L. W. Felt,
147 & 149 Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL, c1882
The Chicago Tribune, Sunday, May 28, 1876, p. 8
The Chicago Tribune, Sunday, October 22, 1882, p. 15
The Chicago Sunday Tribune, Sunday, April 8, 1894, p. 18
The Chicago Tribune, Sunday, February 10, 1901, p. 23
The Chicago Tribune, Saturday, October 26, 1901, p. 18
The Chicago Sunday Tribune, Sunday, June 18, 1905, p. VIII-3
Chicago Daily Tribune, Tuesday,
December 9, 1941, p. 29
Chicago Daily Tribune, Wednesday, December 10, 1941, p. 22