Today I would like to show you some photos of some of my family. This is the wedding photo of my maternal great grandparents, Elijah and sally Ayers. Unfortunately, I never go to know them as they both died before I was born. The story I love best about Elijah was that one day he needed some grease to grease his wagon wheels and didn't have any money to buy it. So he took a pound of butter to the store to trade. The storekeeper didn't need any butter and refused to trade. So Elijah took the butter home and greased the wagon wheels with it!
This is a photo taken before Elijah and Sally were married. Apparently Elijah and his buddies went to West Virginia looking for work. Instead they found some "moonshine". a traveling photographer took this picture of them and mailed the photo to my great grandfather. He is the one in the middle.
This photo is of Elijahs parents. My great-great grandparents. Both are holding their Bibles and John has a civil war medal pinned on him.The served in the Confederate Army. He was taken as a prisoner of war during the civil war and was held in a camp in New York for months. Even though I never knew these people it brings me great comfort to have their photos in my home. There is just something about being surrounded by family, even if only in pictures, that makes me feel less stressed on days when I feel like climbing the walls! I always think of the hardships they endured and my problems seem less important.
Have a wonderful and blessed day!
Linda
18 comments:
Wow you have some serious U.S. history in your genes! How fabulous to have those photos and the history to go with them...
http://happywonderer.wordpress.com/
Thank you for sharing. You know I love old photos. And with history, even better.
Mari-Nanci
How wonderful that you have those pictures. That cracked me up about the butter. I am sure that will be something you will always treasure.
HI Linda,
Do you have these lovely pictures displayed in a promenant room? I think they are adorable. I now wish that my great-grand parents had passed down pictures to share. They were too poor though, I am assuming.
Best wishes, Karen
Thanks for sharing the photos and history with us. That was very interesting to read.
Those are great - I love old photos as well. Your imagination can just take you back to those times.
Blessings on you and your weekend!
LanaG!
http://airmiles.wordpress.com/
Very cool!
I so love seeing old vintage pictures like that, especially when it's of family members! You are so lucky to have a photo of your great great grandparents and great grandparents...wonderful!!! xox
I just love old photos. It is even better when it is family and you know stories of their lives.
Wonderful pictures and I enjoyed hearing the stories.....resourceful they were.....thanks for coming by my place.....Betty
Really, really cool, my mother always says "They didn't take pictures of horse theives." as an explaination of why there aren't any old photographs of my family. LOL.
Those are some great old photographs. I love the butter story!
What wonderful treasures!
Barbara H. @ Stray Thoughts
I love your old family photos and the stories behind them. Thanks for sharing.
This was a great show and tell, Linda! Your family photos are wonderful and what special stories...I love the one about the butter!
Kelli
I'm from West Virginia and the Moonshine story doesn't surprise me! hehe
I love old photos too, even if I don't know the family member in them personally, it helps me feel connected to my roots a little more.
As an historian and genalogist, I LOVED this post! We have a ton of cool history in our family and I think if everone did their genealogy, they'd find that they do too! :-)
Vanessa
What wonderful photos and what a great heritage you have!
~ Christina
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