The Melander Brothers, Silas Peter and Lewis M. Melander, started the photo business in 1869 at 88 N. Clark Street, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. Silas Peter Melander is my Great Grandfather. Lewis was the older brother by about 5 years. The business was burned to the ground in the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. The Brothers built a new business in 1880 (reference the Swedish American Newspaper, 27 April 1923, that told of Silas Peter Melander retiring from the photography business). Lewis M. Melander died in 1900 in Palmyra, Wisconsin, and Silas carried on with the business until his retirement. Signed: Bill Melander, Grandson of Silas Peter Melander