Feeling Nostalgic

I was going through my genealogy tonight, trying hard to relax, and came across this photo. Elsie Stoneback is my great-grandaunt. Mabel Stoneback is my second cousin twice removed. Mabel ended up marrying Allie Hunt who is behind her in the photo.



Elsie was born in 1884, so I'm assuming this photo is around the turn of the century. I am just taken with it because the young ladies all look so lovely, and the young men so handsome. I wonder what the story is behind the photo. Was it, perhaps, the 4th of July?

Were the girls hot? Were those high-necked collars bothering them? The gloves? Nah, that's the way it was then, they were used to it.

I wonder what happened to them all. I know Elsie married a gentleman by the name of Purvess and moved to California. I know she had two daughters, one of which died at birth -- on my birthday June 27th -- in 1927. I know her daughter married and had one son. But what was her story? I have a photo of her when she was much older standing with her brother, my great-grandpa. I still wonder.

I also have a photo of Elsie with her father, my 2nd great-grandfather. He was a pioneer, having moved to Kansas from Pennsylvania in the 1870s along with his wife and my great-grandpa.




What's his story? Was he a good man? Was he fun? Was he a hard worker? Did he miss his family back in Pennsylvania?

I always wonder. I assume he had a great spirit, what pioneer wouldn't? On the back of the second photo, my grandmother wrote, "Grandpa Stoneback and the goose that used to chase me."

I have many old photos, some I'll share here because it is a big part of who I am. I have always loved family history. I am trying to figure out how to provide copies of these photos to my siblings without breaking my bank. Two do not have computers.

For now, though, I'll just enjoy looking and wondering. I still admire those girls and their pure beauty, all dressed up in their finest with their beaus behind them. One small moment of their lives frozen in time for me to enjoy.