I have to say that I find the photo prompt for Sepia Saturday truly horrific, and hard to believe that it is a genuine photograph, despite being assured that it is. To me it looks like Halloween come early! The little girl looks as though she takes after her father or grandfather in appearance, but perhaps she is just pulling a face at being there. Unless of course she is dead, which would be even more horrific!
My photograph below of my great grandfather Daniel Morrison, his wife Mary Bridget (nee Macnamara) and their youngest daughter Eileen. Eileen was born in 1900 so this must have been taken in about 1902/3, when Daniel would have been 50 and his wife a couple of years younger.
Mary Bridget does look rather grim, but by this point she had given birth to fourteen children, so you could hardly blame her for being a bit careworn, and look at her tiny waist! She was just 17 and Daniel was 19 when they were married in 1873. They emigrated from Cork Ireland to the Marlborough region in the north of the South Island of NZ in 1875 with their first child Minnie, aged 6 months. I've blogged previously about their lives, including memories passed down by Eileen, her daughter Valerie and my mother Jean, which you can read here at http://turnerstreettopics.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/horse-and-holidays.html?m=1
To finish on a light note, the lady in her shawl with the 'Frankenstein' look-alike reminded me of this little Old Mother Hubbard doll I made for my granddaughter last year, and I also thought of this happy farm family that I made for a great nephew. The patterns used come from Knitted Nursery Rhymes by Sarah Keen. I always take photos before I send them away.
That's all from me this week, but to see other Sepians' responses to this week's image, click and go to http://sepiasaturday.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/sepia-saturday-300-10-october-2015.html
17 comments:
Fourteen children! As you say, she has every right not feel like smiling. On the other hand, that’s a delightful daughter she has produced at a matronly age.
I see you like knitting toys too, and they are very well finished. I’ve done a few (you can see them on my ‘other blog’. I just finished a Halloween witch and her cat.
The knitted dolls are beautiful. Mary Bridget does look in great shape even after all the kids and yes, a bit grim. Your great grandfather was a very handsome man.
Your trio is so much less creepy than the prompt photo. I really hope 1 or more of that photo are dead. Imagine if they were all alive but 100 years later everybody assumes they're dead?
You met the prompt yet everything is opposite the prompt: a good-looking family photo that anyone would be proud to own. And your knitted creations (multiples of threes) are cheerful and delightful. No one would ever count them as creepy.
Your photo is a lot more attractive than the prompt photo.
I wish I'd had your sense to take photos of the things I made in the past, starting with a Raggedy Ann doll. The knitted dolls and anmals are beautiful.
I like that the child's hand is being held still by an adult hand in both the theme photo and your matching photo.
Nice photo of your great grandparents and Great Aunt Eileen. But 14 children? Oof. The knitted dolls & toys are really cute. Good job!
I don't care how cute the last one is...fourteen children is enough to make me gasp!
Nice post, Jo. By the way, your handmade dolls appear to have more life in them than the sitters in the prompt!
Oh, my - 14 children! You do wonder how on earth wives and mothers coped in the past looking after such large families without our benefits of medicine and labour saving devices in the house.. My great grandmother had 10 pregnancies in 20 years, with the children continuing to live at home until well into the late 20's - and it only looked a small terraced house. Love your knitted dolls!.
A fine choice for the theme, and thanks for sharing examples of your craft skills too.
I, too, have a great-grandmother who gave birth to children well into her 40s. She had 15 and also had a tiny waist. It's hard for me to imagine being a mom to little ones when 44, 46, 48. It's equally hard to imagine having a mom who is so "old."
Your photograph is very dear. Your g-grandmother looks like a non-nonsense person (though, of course, photographs don't tell the whole story about a person's personality, especially photos from this time period). They look dressed for a special occasion. I love the white collar on little Eileen's dress.
You are an expert knitter!
My great great grandfather had at least 13 kids, my grandfather was from a family of 13 kids, and my father was from a family of 10. It goes on and on as to how many I am related to because of that one branch. Your photo is such a wonderful black and white portrait.
I'm so impressed with those glorious dolls! I'm betting little Eileen would have had a huge smile if she saw such wonderful toys.
Thanks Tattered and Lost, what a sweet thought. Eileen died in 1983 when she would have been about 81, but sadly I never got to meet her or any of my grandfather's other siblings because my parents, my brother and I left NZ in 1956, and when we went back on family holidays we only caught up with a few close relatives like grandparents and aunts and uncles.
Thanks for keeping it light,
given the prompt picture on SS.
:)
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