Friday, December 08, 2006

Great Great Grandmother

Great Great Grandmother

I have been trying my hand at scanning and trying to improve upon old photos. I'm just getting started and have a lot to learn. Maybe as I learn more, I'll get back to this one and do a better job. It's hard to know just how much to fiddle around with these old treasures. This particular photo of my Great Great Grandmother (maternal) is the oldest photo that we have. I don't know when it was taken, but I surmise that she was born between 1820 - 1840, so it would probably have been taken in the early 1900s. It's printed on very thick material and is in pretty good condition considering. Just think: in a few months she will be somebody's Great Great Great Great Grandmother.


She is from the branch of the family that has been in Canada for much longer than the rest. Three of my four grandparents were first generation immigrants from England, but my maternal grandmother's clan has been here longer. They may even have come here from the USA as United Empire Loyalists at the time of the War of Independence, but I'm not sure. Her married name was Drew, and we think she was born as a Harvey. It seems that her family lived in Williamstown near Cornwall and the St Lawrence River, across from New York State.

12 comments:

Gina said...

Are those quilts arranged behind her?

Ginnie said...

What a wonderful picture, AC. It makes me want to curl up inside the frame and have a long talk with her ! I'll bet she would have some tales to tell.
I wonder what the story is with all those great quilts, (spreads?) behind her and underfoot...maybe just draped as a background, but I want to know if they're hand-made, etc. Do you have any of them?

Anonymous said...

You did a great job on the photo.
My husband's aunt just wrote a book on her family's history, which goes back to the Mayflower, and it's full of the old photos. They are facinating and show how much times have changed in a fairly short time.

Debra said...

Oh wow... What a cool photo! Thanks so much for sharing her and her story... Blessings, Debra

Anonymous said...

Fascinating! What an interesting face on that old woman!:)


Peace,

~Chani

Cathy said...

So touching - so intriguing. Really, wouldn't time travel be marvelous. I'm wondering what she's holding in her lap. The Bible, perhaps?

Anonymous said...

That is a wonderful photo. You did a great job editing it. Quite amazing actually. I would love to scan and save our old family photos, maybe Santa will bring me a scanner for Christmas.

Kila said...

Great photo, thanks for sharing. Wish we could have a conversation with her!

Granny said...

Much of my family is from that same general area and many settled in Ontario somewhere or another. Wouldn't it be funny if we were 6th cousins, 3 times removed? I don't remember any Drews or Harveys but that doesn't mean they were there.

Leann said...

I just love old black and white pic,s.they show so much more detail I think.what is she holding?it looks like another pic but on my cumputer its black.my greart great grandmother and grandfather on both sides came over from england and from germany.its so neat to find out where your roots are.Iam hinz 57 so their is so much in me its hard to put it all down.so when someone tells a joke about race I get dumped on all the time.your cat loves to be near you to when your working.I think they are there to relacks us.have a good day,and share some more pic,s with us I love your pic,s.

Anonymous said...

I LOVE these old photos. My mom has a few left of her relatives. I love to study them and wonder at the stories that lay behind their unsmiling eyes.

Anonymous said...

What a great picture! Renovating old prints is something I think of getting into... one day...