I last wrote about Brothers in my tree and I don't want to stop without acknowledging the sisters in my tree.
The oldest photo I have of a sister is my great grandmother, Bertha Schwartz, and her older brother, Joseph. Two younger brothers, Milton and Colman, followed but for a time it was just Joseph and Bertha.
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| Rebecca (Steen), Joseph, Bertha, Louis Schwartz c. 1876 |
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| Wilt and Loraine (Gunzendorfer) Levy 1980 |
I remember my mom's grandmother so well. She was so sweet and always seemed happy to see us. However, I never, EVER thought about her being a sister and until I started this quest, I really knew nothing about her family. But along the way I have learned quite a bit about her (her grandfather was one of my favorite ancestors, Emery Waller). And through this journey I've also "met" some cousins who have been so kind as to share some photos with me.
Thank you, Kris, for this beautiful photo of our great grandmothers, Lilly (McAboy) Langworthy and Mabel (McAboy) Fitzgerald!
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| Lilly Gay (McAboy) Langworthy - 1867-1949 Mabel Viola (McAboy) Fitzgerald - 1883-1996 |
Mabel's daughter and my grandmother, Clara Maxine (Fitzgerald) Martin Hunter, was a sister but why didn't I know much about this? I remember her brother, Stanley, and even met him a few times. I might remember hearing about a sister but did I ever meet her? Are there any pictures of them two of them together? All I really know is her name, Viola Marie (Fitzgerald) Feuerstein Crawford. I've connected with some of her descendants and would really like to learn more about her. So for now, I'll just have to leave it to my imagination as to how the two sisters spent their free time.
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| Photo by simpleinsomnia |
And then came my mom, sister to no one as she was the only child of Clara (Fitzgerald) and Earle Martin. After their divorce, they both remarried and while Clara had no children, Earle did have some more children whom I never met. In fact, my mother once told me that she remembers only meeting them once. But if she HAD been a sister, I'm sure she would have been a great one. Just look at her sitting there so angelic - I can just imagine her saying "if only I were a sister".
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| Geraldine Martin, 1930 |
And that leads me to my own sister. For nearly 7 years we were the only children in the family so as you can imagine, there were quite a few photos of us together over the years. Here's a few of my favorites.
Hope we didn't catch any flies in those open mouths!
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| Sisters, 1957 |
Dad captioned this "Greatest Photo Ever Taken". I think he just might have been right.
How 'bout those bangs?
Out of all the slides my husband scanned for us after the death of my parents, this was the jewel!
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| Were we cute or WHAT? |
As the years have gone by, we don't get to see each other too often but one of my favorite memories was the family trip to Kauai before Mom died. What a gift to have spent an entire week with Mom, my siblings, and our spouses. I can't believe we didn't capture more photos but this might have just been the last time we were all together with Mom.
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| With our Mama! |
No matter the distance, there's always a special bond between sisters!
Sister bond - you got that right! That photo of Lily and Mabel reminds me so much of my grandaunts Helen and Mae, that tall, straight, firm posture. Two faces and one body-type.
ReplyDeleteMy computer died too! We ordered a new one last week. It was put on a truck this morning for delivery so hopefully this afternoon I will be back in business.
Computer issues are the WORST! Hope you're back up and running in no time.
DeleteI'm waiting for my new computer to get everything moved to it from the old. I am afraid my programs won't work, they're that old. And if they don't, I'll have to find free programs and then learn how to use those. Everything is going to take longer, I'm afraid.
ReplyDeleteHope it's not as painful as you fear.
DeleteSuch a sweet post, Debi. It's amazing how male-dominated your family tree is. Among my maternal grandparents' grandchildren, there were six girls and three boys. My mother was one of two daughters and only one son of those grandparents. My father's side was more male-heavy---his mother had three brothers, no sister. You are fortunate to have such a good relationship with your sister. It's not always the case.
ReplyDeleteIn my generation it is girls - two cousins are girls, my sister and me, and then last but not least, my brother. And he doesn't have any biological children so he's the end of the line for that name in that branch of the tree.
DeleteSame in my family---my brother, the last Cohen in my direct line, does not have children. Our daughters had hyphenated last names (Cohen-my husband's surname), but when my older daughter married, she dropped both and took her husband's name.
DeleteOf course, Cohen, like Levy, will continue to exist as suranmes even if in other people's families!