Have you ever cleaned out a closet or filing cabinet to find family photos that were ‘stangers’ the first time you viewed the photos? As I am writing this, I am taking photo albums and boxes of photos out of a filing cabinet in hopes of getting it out of my closet. While I’m finding a lot of pictures from acquaintances of my grandmother that I likely won’t keep, I ran across two photos of my grandmother and some of her sister’s family. In both pictures, there is an ‘Aunt’.
When I first viewed these photos, I had no clue as to the identity of the ‘Aunt” in each photo. Thanks to my family history research, I can now identify these ladies.
THe photo below includes my dad, Eugene; his brother, L.R.; my grandad, Leon; my grandmother, Winnie, my great aunt Alma’s husband, Bud holding their daughter Sue; and my second cousins, Ronald and Bill (sons of Alma). Almost hidden in the center of the photo is Aunt Dora. This is Dora Currey Marts. Dora, was my grandmother’s aunt on her dad’s side of the tree.
The second photo also involves my grandmother (Winnie) and her sister (Alma). Unfortunately, I don’t think all of the people in the photo are identified. My grandmother is in the dark dress holding her son, L. R. Alma is standing in the back next to my grandmother. ALma’s husband, Bud, is on the left side of my grandmother and mostly hidden. Aunt Joe is likely the women in the dark flowered dress, while Alma’s son Bill would be in the arms of the unknown woman. To date, I have not found a biological relationship between Winnie, Alma and Aunt Joe. ‘Aunt Joe’ is likely Josephine DeShazer.
After the death of their mother in 1913, Winnie and Alma were seperated. Winnie and her older sisters spent time in a children’s home while the younger children were placed with families. The ‘baby’ of the family, Alma, is found in the 1920 census living with N. S. DeSchzer and his wife Josephine.
These photos now have a ‘home’ on FamilySearch. And my trek thru my filing cabinet continues.