My Aunt Stella, Uncle Frank and Dad (in the little sailor suit). Taken in about 1926, in Georgetown, British Guiana in South America. My father and his siblings were orphans. His parents were also from Georgetown as far as I know. I have heard that my paternal relatives came from the Madeira Islands, a former Portuguese territory. The current President of Madeira's last name is "Mendonça" which was the original spelling of my last name, so it's possible we are distantly related. My dad changed the 'ç' to a 'z' when he came to the USA at 19.
My mum and I were at a 40th wedding anniversary for my cousin last weekend. Another cousin showed up with a huge framed photo of my maternal grandfather and grandmother I'd never seen before. It must have been taken around 1910. My mother now being the matriarch of the family, cue HUGE family discussion about past generations :0) I'm trying to get her to write stuff on the back of photos because when she's gone, all that history of knowing who's who in family pictures mostly goes with her.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean. There is virtually no history on my materal family prior to about 1900, and zero on my dad's side. He never wanted me to pursue it. Maybe I should now that he's gone.
ReplyDeleteWe never know what secrets we may find. I always encourage people to document that history, as the source may not always be around.
ReplyDeleteOne of my relatives ceased a family tree research but not sure why. My mother told me it was because a less than savoury character may have shown up in the woodpile (Dad's side). . . We do have a family tree traced back to 15th century Scotland on my Mother's side of the family.
Family history is important. Here's a link to blogposts about keeping track:
http://dghudson.blogspot.ca/p/the-past.html
I like these photos, they spark our wonder at past times.
Many years ago after they both retired, my parents took it upon themselves to do our families' genealogy... they produced books of info, photos and maps. One side goes back to 1555 Ireland and England (on both sides). What a fantastic read - I shall ever be grateful for their sleuthing that took many years, and much traveling to acquire.
ReplyDeleteSome of the distant relatives on my great grandfather's side have been identified; I know I have a bunch of them in Ontario, Canada, but my great grandmother's side has been a dead end.
ReplyDeleteWhat a treasure old photos like that are. I love learning family history, and I don't mean just mind.
ReplyDeleteTina @ Life is Good
I absolutely love this photo and their little outfits. They are so cute!!
ReplyDeleteKathy
http:/gigglingtruckerswife.blogspot.com
Beautiful old photo! Thanks for sharing it and a little of your heritage with us.
ReplyDeleteLove the old photo. They have a charm about them not found in today's portrait photos, they seemed so serious back then.
ReplyDeleteLove the photo :) When I started scrapbooking I was given a ton of old photos, I really must find out who some of the people are before it's too late!
ReplyDeleteSuzanne @ Suzannes Tribe
When I traced a branch of my paternal side to Canada, and they put me in touch with the remaining family in Germany, I received in the post not only a family tree dating in parts back to 1560, but a photo of my great-grandparents with my grandfather and all his siblings. I also got an old picture of the family home complete with wagon wheels outside (ggf was a wheelwright) and a photo of the house now!!!
ReplyDeleteI love my family.
Aw, I heart this pic, soooooooooo much!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI thought Madeira still belonged to the 'guese - you learn something new, yo!
My aunt tells me the airport on the island is situated in such a way as to strike terror into the hearts of those not expecting a little landing strip between mountains and the ocean. ::shudders:: (At least, I think she said that about Madeira.) :-)
Some Dark Romantic
such a lovely short post about your Dad. I am glad that you know a little bit about your origin :)
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