Ada Wills Garside (February 18, 1870 – March 7, 1950) was an American photographer known for her photography in Oklahoma Territory and later Oklahoma. She photographed Native Americans, the Chilocco Indian School, and the Solar eclipse of May 28, 1900
Early life and family
Ada Wills Garside was born on February 18, 1870, to Thomas Wills and Elizabeth Morris in Brown County, Ohio. In 1875, her family moved to Iowa and she married Henry L. Garside on December 24, 1890. She moved to Villisca, Iowa in 1895, Stanberry, Missouri in 1897, and finally settled in Newkirk, Oklahoma Territory in 1899.
Photography and other work
By 1897, Garside had taken up photography and worked as a professional photographer. After moving to Oklahoma, she became one of the first photographers in the territory alongside other pioneers such as Emma Alfreda White Coleman and Annette Ross Hume. Her photography business was one of the most complete in the territory, offering a dozen photos from 25 cents to $12 and even offering Kodak camera rentals. During her career, she photographed Native Americans, the Chilocco Indian School, and the Solar eclipse of May 28, 1900.
Death
Garside died on March 7, 1950, in Newkirk, Oklahoma where she was buried.