You've got pics?

[Cooley Hurd]

One of the most fun and fascinating aspects of my genealogy research has been going though old family pictures. Until I actually knew who these people were, they were just faces in photo albums.

Do you have any interesting pics to share? Here's a few of my favorites:


This is my great-grandmother, Bertha Miller (1872-1950), circa 1880.


Here's my great-grandmother Bertha again (left) holding my grandmother Ruth (1899-1968). Next to her is her mother Elsie (1838-1910); my great-grandfather Charles Hurd (1862-1920); and my grand-aunt Maude (1891-1982). This picture was taken in 1900.


This is a picture of my great-grandfather Albert (1846-1923) (mustached gent in the middle); great-grandmother Anna (1855-1949) (woman in white dress on left); grand-uncle Albert (1885-1953) (shoeless child standing); and my grandfather Ralph (1895-1964) (toddler on porch). This was taken circa 1898 in Parksley, VA.


My great-grandfather Albert is on the left (indicated by arrow) and my grandfather Ralph is the scowling teen sitting in the front. I believe this picture is circa 1910.


Here's my father, Charles D (1923-1968) in Germany - 1945 (he's the corporal on the left, closest to the camera)


Here's my mom, Lucille (1929-1999) in 1947.

Well, there's a few of them. Let's see yours!:hi:

[fudge stripe cookays]

1. Your mother is a lovely lady!

I don't have any of my numerous pix on photobucket, but I'll be sure to upload some. I have some cool ones too.

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[Cooley Hurd]

4. Thanks - she was the finest woman I've ever known...

...of course, everyone says that about their mom.;)

By all means, post some pics - I have some tintypes that I'll upload later into this thread.:thumbsup:

[fudge stripe cookays]

6. Actually, not EVERYONE says that about their mom.

You can do a search about some of what I've said about mine. And much of it ain't flattering.

I guess that's why I'm so interested in doing genealogy on my dad's side of the family!

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[Cooley Hurd]

10. I'm sorry to hear that, FSC...

I should consider myself fortunate - she was my political mentor, as well as being my mom. She was the one who inspired me to become involved in politics - first with the McGovern campaign (at age 7).

In my genealogy research, I've focused more on my dad's side of the family because it was the branch I knew little about. However, now I know much more about Dad's side than Mom's, due to the difficulty of being able to track my Irish ancestors back before their arrival in the new world - they had common Irish names, like Quinn and Donovan.

[fudge stripe cookays]

15. Thanks.

Your mom sounds like a heckuva lady! Good for her! I wish I could have grown up with some hippies for parents who would have taken me to marches and made me politically aware when I was young.

I WISH I could say that about my parents, but both were Republicans. I didn't vote for the first time until Clinton's 2nd term, when I was 30.

My mom used to call Jimmy Carter "that stupid peanut farmer" and came from a very racist family. They were from Belleville, Illinois (right near East St. Louis) and her brother is the one who taught me the N word, and because of that side of the family I grew up using it, and wetback, spic, etc.

It wasn't until I got to college that I saw how wrong it was, since I had friends from all religious, sexual, and social groups. I taught mom, through Pavlovian techniques ("I'm going to walk out of the room the next time you say the N word.") not to defame people in my presence. And eventually, it worked.

She hates Bush, and has really worked on her attitude the last 20 years. The woman who, years ago, told me she wished all the gays would just go back in the closet, was volunteering for Dean side by side in Austin with Glen Maxey (our openly gay ex city councilman) and many other folks of different social groups. I made my MOM a Democrat. Kind of the reverse of you! :-)

I wish we could have a healthy relationship, but there's too much water under the bridge for it ever to be healthy again. I just do my best to get along. But I definitely have to set boundaries.

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[sandnsea]

2. Here's one

I just found this group. Wohoo! Anyway, here's one of my mother, it's my favorite of all my old pictures. She died when I was one. I've got some lots older that I'll try to post later, mostly from my step-mom's family, who was my mom since I was 3 and also passed. Anyway, isn't this the best picture???

[Cooley Hurd]

3. That looks like a Norman Rockwell drawing

:thumbsup:
Great picture - who's the little guy with her?

[sandnsea]

5. Her brother

I don't know anything about that side of the family. After she died, my mother's family just didn't keep in touch. I have no idea why. I've tried to contact them as an adult even, and nothing. Very weird.

[Cooley Hurd]

14. That is strange... and sad...

...for them.:(

[fudge stripe cookays]

7. Your great grammy Bertha...

had some honking ears. Sure we aren't related? All my Smith men have ENORMOUS ears!

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[Cooley Hurd]

11. Bertha and her husband, Charlie both had HUGE ears...

My grandmother was lucky her ears weren't freakin' UMBRELLAS!:D

[marions ghost]

8. great pix, cooley

re. the one of your great-grandfather Albert and his family on the porch --1898, Parksley Va. I'm probably a rare person reading this who knows where Parksley Va is, as my Dad was born a few miles south and still lives near there. They always took photos on the porch in those days--I guess to get maximal light. And doncha love the little boy sort of dressed up--except for the bare feet. And the serious expressions. Was there a "no smiling" rule then? I'm guessing maybe they were farmers, like my Dad's family, since that's about all anybody did then over on the Eastern Shore. My mother was from Norfolk, 1929-2003, and has that same 40's hairdo and look as your Mom--I will see if I can find some photos from that period. Interesting. Anyway, thanks for posting. mg

[Cooley Hurd]

12. Thanks, and welcome to the group, marions ghost!

:hi:

The Parksley connection is a strange one - I believe they lived there for about 10 years - from 1890 to 1900, or so. My grandfather was born there (as per his discharge papers from the Navy). Great Grandpa Albert was a sign-maker by trade. After Parksley, they moved to Auburn, NY, where our family's been ever since.

Believe it or not, people were encouraged NOT to smile in photographs because of the long exposure times (I assume the photographers felt that, if they couldn't hold the smile long enough, that it would ruin the print). You can see that my grandfather, the toddler on the porch, didn't hold still.;) They also used a framework that would hold the subject's head steady...

[Rhiannon12866]

9. These are astounding. Yes, I have pix, but not any than I can post

I will work on it. Thanks.:-)

[Cooley Hurd]

13. Looking forward to seeing them, Rhi!

:hi:

On edit: Against my better judgement, here's a pic of me - circa 1967:

Yes, the t-shirt says "Ellen - Little Miss America." Ellen is my sister and I have no idea why I'm wearing her shirt (I'm a male), but it certainly gives a clue as to why I needed psychotherapy as an adult...:D

[Rhiannon12866]

16. I don't know when I'll be able to post pix.

When my Nana died, a few years ago, my aunt visited her daughter, my cousin, who was moving, where Nana had been storing her things, since moving out of her apartment, in her NC retirement community, and into a room, because she needed more care. My aunt asked if there was anything special I wanted and I said the pictures. I have more recent albums I organized for her, but the one I most want is one that my Dad and his sister put together for her, with really old pictures. They did this before I was born and many are quite old. They have funny captions. But my aunt never gave me this one, saying she was going to get them copied. She's the one also interested in family history, married to my father's brother. I should ask. *sigh*

And that is an adorable photo of you, sister's shirt or not! And when I was six my mother dressed me up as Miss America for Halloween, with makeup, I won a prize at my school, but I think this may be part of the reason for my therapy, as well!

Rhi:hi: