In genealogy, it would be the equivalent of discarding unfavorable relatives from your family tree and replacing them with imagined ones, or pretending to be related to the British royal family when you aren't (and why would you want that, anyway?) But, my thoughts about amending trees changed when I met this girl:
I found her in an antique store. Somewhere along the line, descendants may have decided the picture wasn't worth keeping. So, there she was - abandoned. Not only is she captivating, she's much better looking than most of my early relatives and unlike them, she's actually smiling! Of course I immediately made room for her on the family tree. I didn't saw off any tree limbs, not even the one that includes the great-great uncle who allegedly died by falling into the Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone Park. Nope, we're stuck with him, but I think we can find room for this unnamed girl too. I'll just drill a hole in the trunk of the family tree and glue in a visitors' branch.
To look at more old photos from organic, free-range family trees, visit the Sepia Saturday blog.
what a fantastic post and a fantastic photo!
ReplyDeletehow wonderfully bizarre!
(and that tree reconstruction - thats worryingly bizarre I'd say)
What an extraordinary photograph. Well worth adopting and grafting on to the family tree. After all, her smile has already grown on you!
ReplyDeleteA wonderful picture! And puzzling too. A dunce cap and a bearskin -- I'd gladly graft her onto our family tree.
ReplyDeleteGreat photo! And wouldn't you love to see the before-and-after of the modified Christmas trees?
ReplyDeleteAw, that is a cute picture of an obviously sweet child! I'd adopt her too!
ReplyDeleteI'd be happy to make room for her on my family tree as well. She would be a charming addition, too bad you found her first. lol
ReplyDeleteFun, interesting, post. Cute photo. He actually fell into the geyser?
ReplyDeleteRory
http://thegreentiquessolution.blogspot.com/
Oh yes, I like your blog. I think that it would be easier to find people to add rather than share what I have. I really enjoyed everything about your stories and your new found family member photo. What a hoot.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic photo! I love her smile! I can easily see why you'd want to add her to your tree -- she's utterly charming. Have you imagined the rest of her life story yet?
ReplyDeleteAww that's nice she has a new home instead of a dusty old box.
ReplyDeleteI love this! I bring home orphans , too. But don't you agree that the renegades in the tree make the family much more entertaining? I just had a cousin sentenced for bank robbery --- now how stupid is that? And my ex had a distant relative who was the first man hanged in Chillicothe, Ohio. The world would be boring without color.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great photo which makes me wonder what in the world was happening. Always find it sad to see such photos discarded in shops, etc, end of the line, no one else to be interested, so it is good you adopted her! I also enjoyed your introduction about trees, trimming, and genealogy!
ReplyDeleteRory,
ReplyDeleteWell the story was that he fell in the geyser. We used to joke that his wife was taking his picture and kept asking him to back up a little. In any case, the story was probably embellished over the years. There are lots of bubbling mud pots and sulfur pools to fall into in Yellowstone; my guess is that's what happened to him. While it's possible he actually got to close to Old Faithful, I just assume it's an embellishment.
Meri,
you're right about the value of colorful relatives. Wouldn't be the same without 'em.
Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI'd definitely want her in my tree. Isn't it sad that we don't know the story.
ReplyDeleteHello! Thank you for stopping by my little spot-o-sphere ...Your little girl is a luv! Now I have the courage to go back to a shop in Pine Mountain, GA where I left behind a basket full of similar children's portraits...the shop owner even commented..."Instant ancestry, right there!" It was temptting because I don't have a large supply of sepias for this project...but I just love it!
ReplyDeleteYour postcards are intriguing!
A smashing post - and a smashing picture. I think I have only ever been tempted to amend my family tree once - when a distant cousin sent me a photograph of an even more distant cousin as a baby. It was the most breathtakingly and spectacularly ugly baby I had ever seen in my life. Luckily, further research showed the child to have been adopted.
ReplyDeleteEvery family tree needs more like this
ReplyDeletelittle lady!!!
Jjj
Hmmm.....I think I am scarred by an incident I experienced at 13, alone at home, locked behind the front door, with the bejeezus scared out of me as the KKK marched down main street. Yes, I think I saw this girl's father in the line up. Or, maybe all pointy hats look the same?...My grandfather was a bigamist who even had the audacity to give my dad the same name as the son he abandoned. ....!
ReplyDelete