Now what have I here?

I have so many boxes of things in this house I never know what I’ll run across.  I have no idea why I even opened this box today as it is mostly filled with things I’ve printed as I’ve researched but this little gem caught my eye.



I have zero memory of this book – where, when, or even how it came into this house but here it is.  Hmmmm, let’s open it and see what I learn.



Look at that – a little photo album.  Of course I immediately surmised it belonged to my pack rat grandmother, Loraine Gunzendorfer, but I wanted to be sure.  So, the first thing I did was scan the photos and start to enlarge them on my screen so I could figure out what I have.



I’m pretty sure that little cutie is my grandmother!  Her dad was an amateur photographer so it would make sense that he would fill a little album with photos of his adorable daughter. 

So I decided to dig a little deeper and then I came across this.



Wait just a minute – that house looks familiar!  Could it be the home of my 2nd great grandparents, Fannie (Goldstein) and Ferdinand Gunzendorfer?  Let’s compare the home I know to be theirs with their four sons in front.



Check!  The boys are (L to R) Jacob, Adolph, Gustave, and Abe (my great grandfather) Gunzendorfer.  So now I can be sure that this photo album belongs to a Gunzendorfer!

And a few more of the photos.



I’m pretty sure the woman on the left is my greant grandmother, Bertha “Birdie” Schwartz Gunzendorfer.  No idea who the others might be, though.

This could be my grandmother on the left with her father, Abraham Guzendorfer, and her cousin, Mervyn Gunzendorfer.  Loraine and Mervyn were born within months of each other and these kids look to be about the same age.  I’m fairly certain I have Loraine and Abe identified correctly but not sure if that really is Mervyn.



Here’s the Gunzendorfer family in 1896 when the kids were just babies.

Back Row (L to R):  Abe, Gustave, his wife Minnie Dautermann, Adolph, Jacob.
Seated:  Birdie, Ferdinand, Fannie, Jacob’s wife Edith Inez Steinberger.
Loraine on Birdie’s lap, Mervyn on his mother’s lap, and Mervyn’s sister Irene on the ground. 



And another one with what I think to be Jacob Gunzendorfer.  Again, I would guess the kids to be Loraine, Mervyn, and maybe Irene?



Now I’m pretty sure this is Loraine but who could this girl be with her?  Gustave and Adolph had no children and Irene was the oldest of the cousins so this is a mystery to me. 



Based on the other photos, this could be Mervyn, Loraine, and, and, and…..  Now I don’t think that could be Irene because it’s clear that this girl is younger than Loraine and Mervyn.  So now I don’t know who it is.



Look how cute Loraine is as she is holding her dress and rockin’ those boots!  And after so many years of hearing that I look like her, I can really see that now - this could be me as a young child.



There are so many cute photos in here I can’t stop!  I don’t even want to guess who these kids are (Loraine on the left?) but their outfits and hats are so cute I can’t stand it.  And they are holding hands – so sweet.  Would these outfits be for some sort of ceremony or special occasion?



Looks like there were animals to tend to.





But there was time to play, too.  Cute swing but it doesn’t look like it’s far enough off the ground to provide much of a thrill ride.



It’s so fun to see my ancestors doing every day things and capturing those moments for me to see more than 100 years later.  And once again, I’m thankful my grandmother was a packrat!