off-season on a Dennis, Cape Cod beach, 1967
On Monday I finished boxes #9 and #10 of the 14 family history boxes I’m going through. #9 had taken about a month, but #10 only took an afternoon, being mostly books which were either shelved or dispatched. Above and below are two of the photo treasures I found. So many fond memories taking our Shetland Sheepdog, Skipper, to the Cape to visit my grandparents! Too few pictures!
I was able to identify my Ukrainian immigrant grandparents (William & Katherine) in the picture below, standing on either side of the porch steps. This was the funeral for their son, Jon, who came to America with his mother when he was only 5 months old. He died at age 9 of appendicitis. The little girls in front of the coffin are my aunt Lil, who was 4, and my aunt Jean, who was 6. Auntie Lil lived to be 101 years old when she died, and she often remembered her beloved big brother, who would share whatever candy he had with her. (My father was born 3 years after Jon died.) I have no idea who the other people are in the photo, but my guess is that they are members of the church they attended.
younger sisters Lillian Elizabeth and Augusta Jean standing in front of coffin
parents William & Katherine standing on either side of steps,
behind the older unidentified girls, March 1919
A picture of Jon was posted here: Augusta Jean & John Stephen.
Losing a child must be the greatest heartbreak. Modern medicine has saved us much grief by prolonging life. 💜
I cannot imagine a grief greater than losing a child. Walking through older cemeteries it can be jarring to see how many little ones lie buried there. 💙
Anti-vaxxers need to stroll through those old cemeteries, to realize that childhood mortality has been almost eliminated in the last 70 years. They have their points on administration, but I still think we need them.
Do you read Dr. Katelyn Jetelina’s newsletter, Your Local Epidemiologist? I appreciate the work she is doing trying to bridge the communication gap between vaccine skeptics and scientists, doctors, and public health professionals.
I’ll look into it, thanks!
You’re welcome!
The 1919 group photo is priceless. What a moment in time, the clothes, the generations, the reason for the gathering. Thanks for sharing it here.
You’re welcome, Ally. It was a rare moment in time, one that left a great impression on my four-year old aunt. I’m glad someone thought to preserve it.
Is there anything cuter than a Sheltie puppy?!? Skipper probably had a great life, with two little girls to love on him and regular trips to the beach. So glad you found this treasured photo, Barbara!
I’m sorry about the untimely death of your uncle. Losing a child must be about the worst thing a parent can endure. And to think how far medicine has come, enabling people to survive an appendicitis attack now.
Thank you, Debbie. My grandparents actually endured the grief of losing two other children as well, both toddlers when they died, before my father was born. So much sadness, but it was very much a part of life back then.
Skipper was a fantastic little companion and I do think he had a wonderful life. My mother got permission to take him to the sheep farm at the University of Connecticut on weekends and let him do some herding. He could sure run! We all loved him dearly. 💙
What great treasures you’ve found, looking back into the 20th century from two very different eras. Great picture from Cape Cod – my mom lives in South Yarmouth and Dennis is just around the corner.
Cape Cod is in my heart and in my blood — so many of my ancestors lived in Yarmouth, Dennis and Harwich, and stretch back to Edmund Freeman, an original settler of Sandwich who lies buried in the Saddle & Pinion grave there. I envy your mom getting to live on the Cape!!!
What a nice surprise to find the picture of you, Beverly and Skipper. I’ll bet Beverly was just as happy to see that photo as you were. You are coming along with this project, four more boxes to go, thanks to the hot weather and hunkering down inside. Both of the older pictures were in very good condition and the funeral picture, was probably also taken by a professional photographer on that sad occasion. I went over to the link and saw that post was since we have been blogging friends … that was a nice photo to remember Jon by.
Yes, Beverly was delighted to see the picture of us with Skipper when he was so tiny. 🙂
I’ve started on box #11 and it looks like it is going to be another long one to get through, lots of letters and newspaper clippings. I did find on a scrap of paper the name of the town where Tim’s 2nd-great-grandparents were married in 1840. I only had a date, but no place. Now I can look into Dix, New York and maybe find some clues because I haven’t identified his 2nd-great-grandmother’s parents after years of searching. This is the first time the town of Dix has been mentioned in all my digging.
It would be fun to get a flash from the past of good memories like that picture. Well, that is some success for you – now you can connect Tim’s past better than ever.