Compton, Alma W. (Alma Walter), 1856-1931

Alma W. Compton, Sr.

Alma W. Compton, Sr. was born in England on September 21, 1856. He and his siblings moved to Ogden, Utah in 1868, their parents joined them a year later. His opportunities for schooling were meager and he worked in a broom factory before apprenticing himself to Ogden photographer J.W. Christensen in 1882. In 1883 he rented a photo outfit and traveled through Brigham City, Cache Valley, and around Malad, Idaho. He settled in Brigham City and rented the studio of Jens C. Gasberg (Brigham City's first photographer) before building his own studio in 1884. In 1886 Compton married Jane Emeline Dalton in the Logan Temple. The couple would have four children who survived to adulthood. On January 28, 1901 the studio became the Compton's Art & Music Company and moved to the location they would use until the studio closed in 1994. He died on March 16, 1931.

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