Saturday, March 6, 2010

SEPIA SATURDAY The ghost of things to come

 
When I first saw this photo I was startled to see myself dressed in a vintage dress and holding a baby on my lap. It's actually my maternal great grandmother (Katherine White)  but she looks eerily like me. My grandmother is in the middle of the picture. On the wall in the background is a portrait of my great- great grandmother. 


Jesse Edwin and Katherine White on their wedding day and their 50th anniversary.  She doesn't look so much like me in either of these pictures.  
A poem written about their life was published in a booklet given out at the anniversary party. Here's an excerpt: 
Once Edwin took her for a ride
but she almost did skin his hide:
for river waters she did feel
when Edwin's buggy broke a wheel.

But this young Edwin, he was brave
and to his sweet, one day, he gave,
as proudly as some foreign king,
 the nicest little diamond ring.

Now Katherine dear was very shy,
she could not look him in the eye:
but with a low-toned voice she said:
"The sooner the better, if we wed".

Whoever wrote this was really stretching to make things rhyme. I'll spare you the rest and just say that they lived on a farm in Sublette, Illinois and had 12 children. 10 of them lived. 

 Jesse's ancestors, William and Susanna White came over on the Mayflower.  One of their sons, Peregrine, was born on the ship while it was anchored off of Cape Cod. His cradle still exists and is in the Pilgrim Hall Museum.


My ancestor was Peregrine's older brother, Resolved. 
William died the first winter and Susanna then married Edward Winslow who later became a governor of Plymouth.

20 comments:

  1. Great photos, and they cover such a great span of time! I thought the poem was cute, and the story of the birth and crib in the museum are fascinating.

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  2. How good to look back at ancestors and see yourself! Great photos and that museum exhibit!

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  3. Great post...the original poem is very REAL and endearing. Amazing to see one's self in ealier generations...and such an interesting link to The Mayflower! Thank you for stopping by my blog!

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  4. Wow - fascinating lineage. To think that a family heirloom is residing in a museum! And it's funny how some photos emphasize features that another person shares, while others don't. In one of my "bride" photos, I look very much like one of my cousins and no one had thought we looked alike until then.

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  5. Resolved and Peregrine are such wonderful names! And what fun that you saw yourself in that pictures!

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  6. The first photo is so interesting, as it gives us a good picture of much of the room as well as the people.

    And I agree with what Vicki said--fantastic names, especially Resolved.

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  7. OMG. Just from your small avatar pic, I can tell you look SO much like your great grandmother! Incredible.

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  8. Wow, some great stuff in your family history, indeed!

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  9. Some people change so dramatically as they age but your great grandparents are easily recognizable as the same people 50 years later.

    Remarkable.

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  10. I love the first photo, especially in that your great grandmother's pose is reflected in the wall photo. Charming! How exciting that your family can be traced back to the Mayflower, too!

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  11. I really enjoyed reading about those in the photo. The Mayflower connection is great to hear about and the photos are great too.

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  12. fabulous cradle - and the photos are great.

    they look a little more relaxed in their anniversary picture than in the wedding picture!

    and I love the top picture. oh to wander around that room and look and listen!

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  13. Another fantastic post. The resemblance is eerie. The names Peregrine and Resolved sound like characters out of a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta.

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  14. I love finding the family resemblances through out the generation. My son looks like his 4XGreat Grandfather.

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  15. Some great family history here. I particularly like the tie-up to the Mayflower and that Peregrine's cot is still a museum exhibit.

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  16. Super picture of the times. It's unusual to see a photograph taken round the table but it was nice to see a less formal one. The men obviously loved their rocking chairs even in those days. I wonder if the resemblance to your great grandmother will continue in years to come.

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  17. very nice photos - and how cool that you can trace some of your family back to the Mayflower

    I see you are in Fallbrook, we lived aboard Camp Pendleton for about 10 years and I still miss So. California
    It is a beautiful place~

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  18. Valerie, You got me wondering if I would look like my great grandmother as I age. So I figured out how old she was in the anniversary picture and she was one year younger than I am right now. I'm pretty sure I don't look that old. Maybe if I dressed in "old lady" clothes and shoes like they did in those days I would- but really- still I don't think so. She lived to be 87 so at least I'm glad I have her genes.

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  19. P.S. This little "avatar picture is about 10- 15 years old so I don't look this young anymore but not as old as my great grandmother.

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  20. Rhonda, I'd love to hear your memories of Fallbrook. What a small world!

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