This week's #family history challenge--What's Your Favorite Discovery--from Amy Johnson Crow's #52Ancestors52Weeks sparked a vivid memory. In mid-January 2009 I discovered first hand what our nation's capital is like in winter. Washington, D.C.'s humid air wraps your body in a vise; a cold breeze off the river increases its grip. I walked briskly from the … Continue reading Grandma Serena Had A Cat
1890s
The One I Know: Florence McClure Titus
The Minor Family Album closes out with portraits of nine children, all taken between 1887-1894. I can identify, with confidence, only one face. Framed by short bangs and soft, baby curls, the chubby toddler's brown eyes flatly state that she will hold this position but a moment longer. This is Flossie, christened Florence McClure in 1889 … Continue reading The One I Know: Florence McClure Titus
The Indelible Effect of a Vintage Imprint
The Minor Family Album closes with nine children's portraits, all of them, but one, local Green County kids photographed by Carmichaels (Pennsylvania) portrait expert, Thomas W. Rogers. The exception is found in page twenty-three's head shot of a young girl, taken by Iowan Silas T. Wiggins of Cedar Rapids, in the early eighteen nineties. To … Continue reading The Indelible Effect of a Vintage Imprint
Standing There: The Equipment Used to Capture Ancestors’ Smiles
In my last post I shared the final images found within the covers of the Minor Family Album. All of the photographs are portraits of children, taken by professional photographers between the years of 1888 and 1894. I am not an advanced student of photography's history, and therefore, cannot pull all of the evidence present … Continue reading Standing There: The Equipment Used to Capture Ancestors’ Smiles
The Final Pages
The final pages of the Minor Family Album hold photographs of children, none are identified, one looks familiar. Together they present a plate of youthful Victorian fashion from the closing decades of the 19th century. Separately they tell stories, even as the personalities remain cloaked in anonymity. I hope you will return to this space … Continue reading The Final Pages
Shoots, Roots, and Leaves 