William and Anna were my great great grandparents. Unfortunately, all I know about William so far is that he was born in 1861. Anna was born in 1868 and was, from what I've discovered, the great great great granddaughter of Simon Wehr, who came from Heidelberg, Germany to the colonies in November 1740. (After a comment left for my post last week, I've discovered the addictive joys of genealogical research. Thanks Meri!!)
Here's the Shaffers with their family:
From left to right, Grandmother Caroline Wehr, daughter Nora, Anna, son William Luther, William and son John Samuel (my grandfather).
Nora and John Samuel as children:
And although it's a rather poor quality photo, here's Grandma Anna with John Samuel's sons, my father John Felmy and my uncle William Franklin:
Sadly, I have no interesting anecdotes, no fun stories, but I love the photos and wanted to share them. I did not have the pleasure of ever meeting anyone here except for my father and uncle, but my search for information about them continues.
For more Sepia Saturday pics and stories, click -->HERE!
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You are having the same struggle that I have. I can't go back far enough to get birthdates on a lot of my people. I find it frustrating as I need to spend far more time that I have to do this properly. I didn't even take time to say how wonderful my grandmother was, it just seemed I had to get all of her history down. You have great photos and your blog is fancy looking too.
ReplyDeleteWonderful, interesting photos. I love your grandfather's hairdo!
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry to have sucked you into the black hole of genealogy -- it's hard to escape! I have subscriptions to Ancestry.com and Genealogy.com, so if there's something you want me to look up, just holler!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I saved files showing the census page for Anna Wehr in 1870 and 1880 and William and "Hannah" in 1900. Let me know if you want me to email them to you.
ReplyDeleteNo stories? No anecdotes? No problem! These are fantastic photographs and most enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteThat top photo is priceless. There's a real hint of devilment about both of them!
I agree with Poetikat. They are fantastic photos and they most certainly have a sparkle in their eyes.
ReplyDeleteEvery picture tells a story, and these are no exception.
ReplyDeleteI love the picture of Nora and Samuel with their carefully arranged hair. And don't you know she was proud of that ruffled pinafore!
ReplyDeleteLarry~ I've only been at this a week and each day brings new surprises and new frustrations. Two branches of my tree have been carefully researched and documented. The others just ... disappear. It's nice to know I'm not alone in this.
ReplyDeleteBarbara~ It's a hoot, isn't it? I wonder if it's "Brylcreemed."
Meri~ Yes, it's all your fault! Thank you so much for your offer. I actually took out the free trial membership on Ancestry.com but haven't had a lot of time to investigate yet. I'd love the census pages ... pattykakes64 at gmail dot com. Thank you, thank you!
Kat & Christine~ Y'know, I hadn't noticed the devilment until you mentioned it, but they certainly don't look serious like a lot of old portraits. Hmmm ... must run in the family. Maybe that's where my father got it!
Martin~ Of course, you're right. It's just my own wish that I knew more about them.
Vicki~ They were all dolled up, weren't they? I think poor Grandpa's afraid to move!
ReplyDeleteThe photos are wonderful. Of course they are interesting - surely the story of people who left the comfort of their own homes, countries and societies in search of a new life must be one of the most fascinating stories of all.
ReplyDeleteEven though you haven't yet discovered their personal stories you are lucky to have these photos of them. They are attractive intelligent looking people....probably pretty prosperous as well...the buggy with 2 horses, the large house and the quality of the photos would seem to indicate that.
ReplyDelete