GRANDS & GREATS
My paternal grandmother, Harriet ‘Hattie’ Bell Smedley,
age 16
Harriet ‘Hattie’ Bell Smedley Bradley in 1952 at age
73 with the same laughing eyes she had when she was a teenager. J
My grandfather, Frank Herbert Bradley in 1902 at age
24. He and ‘Hattie’ were married in
1906.
Frank Herbert Bradley at a later age. I never really knew my Granddad Bradley. He died when I was only 6 years old and had
been ill for a while before that so I don’t really remember him though I have
photographs of me with him when I was a toddler and on my third birthday. I’ve always thought he looked rather dashing
in this picture.
My Granddad Bradley holding me when I was a toddler
surrounded by my Aunt Ruth, my Dad & Mom, Grandma Bradley, and Aunt
Frances.
My maternal grandmother, Bertha Louise Parton Whitney. I don’t know when this portrait of her was
taken, but she was known to me and my siblings as “Grandma Louise”.
My Grandma Louise loved pretty dresses. It’s hard to remember a time when she wasn’t dressed in one. J
This was another grandfather I never knew: Ira Edwin 'Jim' Whitney. He and my Grandma Louise
were divorced when I was born. I have
pictures of me with him when I was a baby, and again when I was 2 years old,
but I don’t remember him. Such a shame,
but my Mom told me things about him that meant something when I was old
enough to appreciate the knowledge.
Funny thing
about my Grandpa Ira’s name. My Grandma
Louise said he didn’t look like an “Ira”, he looked like a “Jim”, so that’s
what she called him. It even went so far
as my Uncle ‘Jim’, my mother’s younger brother, who was named after his father,
Ira Edwin. His mother (Grandma Louise) called him “Jim” too, and so did we all.
My Grampa Ira Edwin 'Jim' Whitney holding me when I was a
baby, surrounded by my Mom, Great Grandmother Johanna, and my Grandma Louise.
My maternal great grandmother, Johannah Magdalena
Hedmon Parton who came from Sweden to Salt Lake City when she was 11 years old.
She, again, is someone I never knew, but she’s in the picture above of me with
my Grandpa 'Jim'. Grandma Louise used to
tell stories about her mother, however, so I know a little bit about her and
I’m in possession of a lovely lace tablecloth she made.
Ella Chase Taylor Smedley in her later years.
Ella’s husband and my paternal great grandfather, John
Kinsey Smedley at age 27. He and Ella married when he was 38 or 39.
My paternal great great grandfather, Jeffrey Smedley,
father of John Kinsey Smedley.
My paternal great great grandmother, Lucy Chase Taylor, mother of Ella. Sadly, Lucy died when Ella was only 2 years old. Ella’s father was a doctor whose patients were gold miners ‘in the field’ around the Sacramento area where he also ran an apothecary shop. He didn’t think this a suitable place for a little girl to be growing up, so Ella was raised by her Aunt Susan, my paternal great great aunt.
Susan Taylor, wife of Goodlow H. Taylor, brother of
Frederick William Taylor, Ella’s father.
Ella with her Aunt Susan. Susan’s expression not much changed. It’s really a shame people couldn’t smile in
their portraits back then as I’m sure most of them weren’t as dour as they
look.
My paternal great great grandfather, Frederick William
Taylor, Ella’s father. Though his
daughter was being raised by his brother and sister-in-law, he made trips back
east to see his daughter when he could.
He later married again in Sacramento and had another daughter named
Eliza.
The half sisters together – Eliza standing, Ella seated. Eliza’s mother had passed away earlier, and she was still in her teens when their father, Frederick Taylor, died in a carriage accident, so Ella, then in her early 20s, went to California (aboard ship around “The Horn” rather than by train so she might bring her piano with her!), to Sacramento, to look after Eliza and that’s where she met and eventually married John Kinsey Smedley.
My paternal 3xs great grandmother, Mary Gould Chase,
mother of Lucy Chase Taylor (Ella’s mother).
My 3xs paternal great grandfather, Col. Jotham Sewall Chase, husband of Mary Gould Chase, and father of Lucy Chase Taylor.
And that’s as far back as I can go with family portraits.
:->
La Nightingail
These are fabulous portraits, and what family memories have been shared through the generations! I'd say no wonder Ira and Louise divorced, since she had in mind being married to Jim all along. It's funny that Uncle Jim has the same name switch too.
ReplyDeleteWhat's even funnier is that Ira (Jim) & Louise remarried years later. I'm sure there was more to it, but my Mom said one reason her mother divorced her father was because her father wanted to move to Florida and her mother insisted on staying in San Francisco. But when they remarried after both my Mom & her brother were married, Louise went with Ira/Jim to Florida after all. They were only remarried for a year or so, however, when he became ill and passed away at which time Louise came back to California and settled in Long Beach somewhat near two of her sisters.
DeleteEven further, I don't recall how she met him, but when I was in my early 20s, Grandma Louise became engaged to a widower who was the father of the governor of Oregon at the time. At the same time I had been dating a fellow for a couple of years with whom I thought I might have a future. That idea was squashed when his high school sweetheart returned from college back east & he dumped me to marry her - she, being the daughter of the governor of Oregon. If Grandma & the governor's father - the grandfather of my ex boyfriend's wife - had married, it would have been an interesting family circle!. As it turned out, Grandma & the governor's father did not marry thus avoiding what would have been a somewhat awkward connection. Strange the way life works sometimes. :)
DeleteWell done! You've assembled an impressive family tree. It's interesting to see how similar individual expressions can be despite the passage of time. The lack of smiles in old portraits doesn't bother me as much as the dour faces. They just look so sad! In painted portraits an artist improve a face by artfully combining little facial details that suggest a true personality. But back in the early era of photography most people had no idea what the camera saw and were totally without any notion of presenting their best face..
ReplyDeleteIt's great to be able to connect the names of one's ancestors with faces. I have old portraits of my dad's maternal grandparents, but no photos at all of his paternal grandparents, nor any of that generation on my mother's side.
ReplyDeleteInteresting story about Ella being sent away from the Sacramento gold fields. I love the photo of her with Eliza with the colorized bows. All excellent matches to the prompt.
ReplyDeletePlease read my post
ReplyDeleteGreat blog
ReplyDelete