Disagree with the titling. Should be “Democrat Senator” rather than “Democratic Senator”. Interesting that the pictures of Andrew Jackson only list his brief terms in the House and Senate without mention of his Presidency. Sort of the same for Sam Houston with party affiliation but no mention of being past President of Texas Republic. Houston’s picture looks the saddest of them all, he did not want what he saw coming, the US Civil War.
FYI, these daguerreotype portraits could required very long exposure times. Frequently there were hidden body braces to keep the person from moving.
You’re correct.
The long exposure times is widely believed to be among the reasons most people did not smile in early photography.