Whitcomb, James Hosley

Born at Hancock, NH; deaf from scarlet fever at age 2 or 3. Entered the American Asylum for the Deaf in 1822, learning shoemaking and leaving school in 1827. Though he made his living as a shoemaker, apparently he did silhouettes on the side, often traveling as an itinerant artist. Silhouette works are in the New Hampshire Historical Society and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Married Sarah Ann Enos, also deaf, on Dec. 18, 1839.