Favorite Unknown Photo

 

This sassy little child is from an album of cabinet cards I received when my grandmother passed away in 2018. The outside of the album, while heavily frayed, was in solid condition, but the pages were somewhat worn, and many of the cards were falling out.  Carefully, I removed each card, looked for any distinguishing marks, labels, etc., took a photograph, and then put it back.  Of course, not a single photo in the album had any discernible labeling.  I wasn't even entirely sure whose family I was looking at!  Finally, after a little bit of luck and a lot of sleuthing, I was able to identify 2 sisters (Pernilla and Nilla) of my great great grandfather, Ola Swanson, so my best guess is that the album contains his extended family.

The album boasts many, many delightful - but unidentified - photos, and this is just one of them.  It was taken at A.M. Rothschild's department store in Chicago, but that information has not afforded me much success in regards to identification. I'm not sure what it is about the image that draws me to it, but I think it's the expression on this young child's (boy or girl?) face. He/she is obviously pleased to stand for the photo, sailor's outfit, cap at a jaunty angle, and hands confidently on hips. Not every child is so obliging when asked to pose for a picture!  Also, photography wasn't exactly inexpensive back then, so I wonder if this was taken for a special occasion.  Why the sailor outfit?  Did some distant relative send it as a gift, and the mother was providing evidence it had been worn?

So many questions, but I suspect there is very little likelihood I will ever identify the subject of this photo, and that is upsetting.  I'm sure someone, somewhere knows this self-assured mite and would treasure the photo as even I cannot.  One day soon, I will upload all the cabinet cards to DeadFred.  And if anyone has any other suggestions, I am certainly open to them!  

Let's Start at the Very Beginning

#52Ancestors, Week 1

Sung to the tune of "Do-Re-Mi" from The Sound of Music

Researcher to family:

Let's start at the very beginning -
A very good place to start.
When you read, you begin with A-B-C.
But research begins with, "Let me see..."

Family:

"Let me see...?"

Researcher *nods*:

"Let me see."
Genealogists begin with, "Let me see..."
Let me see if I can find the... *family looks confused*

*Researcher sighs*
Ok, let's see if I can make it easier.

Birth, a vital record must
Census, a glimpse of where they lived
Marriage, maiden names are critical
Death, who did they outlive?

News, a clipping you must find
Church, a resource, it is true
Brick wall - I think I must be blind!
And that will bring us back to birth.

Now, researchers… Birth, census, marriage, death, news, church, and brick walls, and so on are only the tools we use to build a tree.

Once you have these tools at your disposal, you can find a million different relatives by mixing it up like this:

Marriage, death, brick wall, birth, census, church, news...

Family:

"Can you do that?"

"But it doesn't mean anything."

Researcher:

When you know which clerk to ring,

You can find most anything.

Family:

But it doesn't mean anything.

Researcher:

So we put it into a GEDCOM, like this:

When you export your family tree,

You may find your ancestry.

*Family sings along, although they still have no idea what the researcher is saying*:

When you export your family tree,

You may find your ancestry.

Gone Too Soon

***This post was transferred from the Finding Horace blog.***

Originally published on Finding Horace 26 Feb. 2023.

My grandfather was Matteo (Martin) Francisco Palermo.  Everyone called him Mike. At the young, young age of 38, Grandpa Martin succumbed to…something.  My grandmother claimed he died because the nurse left the window of his room open after a surgery.  My mother suspects he died from mesothelioma because he worked in the naval stockyards.  I believe his death certificate cites pneumonia. My dad doesn’t have anything to say concerning it because Grandpa Martin actually died the February before my dad was born.  Grandpa left behind 1 daughter from his first marriage, Dolores, and 2 children (my aunt, 3, and dad, unborn) from his second marriage. 

Honestly, I grew up thinking my step grandfather, Ralph, was my actual grandfather. I don’t remember when I found out about Grandpa Martin, but I do know that when I did, no one mentioned he had an additional child from a previous marriage.  I would eventually find her children through the magic of Ancestry.  By then, she was long dead, so I couldn’t ask her anything about what Grandpa Martin had been like.  The lovely photo included in this post is her with Grandpa Martin, and he certainly looks like a doting father.  

I’m not sure where I’m trying to go with this except that, at 38, he should have had the best years of his life ahead of him.  He should have been there to laugh with my grandmother over the antics of the children. Maybe they would even have added another child or two to the mix. He should have lived to see those children grow up and get married. His beautiful smile would have stolen the show at any momentous occasion. He should have lived to share his jokes with his beloved brothers and sisters-in-law in their various homes in New York.  (It is worth noting that he is buried next to my great grandparents - his in-laws; they wanted it that way.) He should have been able to spend his waning years with his beautiful wife by his side and his grandchildren at his knee.  He would eventually have 7 of them, 6 girls and one boy.

He missed out on his son and all 7 of his grandchildren. From what I have been told, we missed out, too.

Martin Palermo - Gone Too Soon

August 25, 1910 - February 9, 1949

Family Gatherings

***This post was transferred from the Finding Horace blog.***

Originally published on Finding Horace 7 Jul. 2024.

As far as I am aware, we have never had any family reunions on either side of my family.  We get together primarily for wedding and funerals (sad, but true - it is the same for many other families).  Below is a picture of the most recent family gathering on my dad's side, my cousin's wedding.  In the photo are his wife, sons, mom, sisters, and nieces and nephews, but it also includes his aunts, uncles, and cousins from both sides of his family.  Ever the genealogist, I made sure to get one that was just the first cousins, too.  😇

While there have never been any official reunions, for many years a friend of my mom's side of the family hosted an annual Glögg party.  Glögg is a type of mulled wine that originated in the Nordic countries around 3000 years ago. It eventually became associated with Christmas, but it was also a popular drink for any kind of social gathering.  Chuck and Ozzie (Arlene) Walley were friends with my grandmother, Marilyn (Swanson) Pearson.  Consequently, their parties were attended by Pearsons and Swansons alike.  These holiday parties continued well into my late teens, and I remember the annual argument about how long the drink should burn.  (Traditional glögg is set on fire in order to completely dissolve the sugar granules, but you don't want to burn off all the alcohol!)  Chuck and Ozzie threw a heck of a party, and I have many memories of the warmth and scent of them.  Maybe some of the attendees weren't blood relatives, but they were family anyway.

Cousins

***This post was transferred from the Finding Horace blog.***

Originally published on Finding Horace 22 Dec. 2023.

Believe it or not, I am quite at a loss for what to write for this post.  I considered writing about Cuzzin Heather, but I've covered her quite a few times before.  Then I got the bright idea to write about a group of cousins I have discovered through the wonder of AncestryDNA.  While I'm fairly certain they have a Pearson connection, I have no idea what it is.  Alas, I have already written about them as well.  So, since I have done my best to maintain only Pearson (or Pearson-related) stories for this year's #52Ancestors, I'm just going to write about ALL my cousins.

I was lucky to grow up with my cousins all around me.  I don't have a ton of them, but I spent my earliest years hanging out with the cousins from my dad's side.  One of my favorite memories with them is of my uncle making breakfast for all of us.  We were living in Australia at the time, and Australia is known for a spread called vegemite.  It's similar to, but not the same as, England's marmite.  For those who don't know what either of those are, they are dark, salty spreads frequently applied to toast.  My cousin, Tracy, hated vegemite.  (I imagine she still does, but she's not likely to encounter it here.)  However, she really enjoyed "well done" toast.  Uncle Alan, joker that he was, managed to slather her toast with vegemite in such a way that it just looked like burnt bread.  I don't remember if she took a bite before realizing it, or if the texture was a giveaway, but I do remember that she was MAD.  Uncle Alan just laughed.

Later on, Tracy was my babysitter.  She's 9 years older than me, so in my eyes, she knew everything.  She told me all about kissing boys.  😂  Her sister, Brandy, is closer to me in age.  She recalls that I was a spoiled child.  I can neither confirm nor deny this report, but Brandy, if you're reading this, I will concede that you are probably right.  Brandy is my source for all things Palermo and Aloisio because she seems to enjoy being the repository for all my Grandma Rose's stories.  Tracy and Brandy's brother, Michael - the middle child of the cousins on my dad's side, stayed in Australia when the girls moved back to the States.  When Tracy got married, he surprised her by coming to the wedding.  I don't think I've ever seen a happier bride.

On my mom's side (Pearsons), I have four more cousins (1st cousins, at any rate).  Adam is the closest to me in age at just a year older.  As such, we spent a lot of time together when we were just tots.  I don't remember it, but my mom likes to tell the story of how Adam punched me, and my dad pulled him aside to have a "man-to-man" chat.  Adam's sister, Bonnie, came along in 1985, but they were no longer living in the same area as my family by that time.  When I was getting ready to graduate from high school, I went out to visit them in Virginia.  We had a couple of enjoyable days together, but on the morning of my departure, Adam didn't get up to say goodbye...because, that's just what cousins do?  He and I are both married with daughters now, but I still mention this instance of rudeness to him from time to time.

My other two first cousins are significantly younger than me because my Aunt Jenny is significantly younger than my mom.  In reality, they are more like younger siblings.  I have a picture of me holding William right after he was born.  I was in high school.  I also have a picture of Christian holding my daughter not long after she was born.  I think he was probably in junior high at the time.

That's the beauty of cousins.  They are kind of like built-in friends when you're young, and if you're lucky, they're still your friends when you get older.

Friends and In-Laws

***This post was transferred from the Finding Horace blog.***

Originally published on Finding Horace 22 Oct. 2023.

When my husband and I got engaged, my mother was interested in what I can only describe as 'hanging out' with my husband's parents.  I found it odd, but my mom explained that, when she was growing up, her Pearson and Swanson grandparents regularly spent time with each other.  As unusual as I think it would seem today, my Pearson and Swanson great grandparents became fast friends after their children married, as evidenced by more than a few pictures.

My grandparents, Marilyn Swanson and Jerry Pearson, married June 12, 1954.  At the time of their marriage, my Swanson great grandparents resided at 10756 Ave. G in Chicago.  My Pearson great grandparents were literally less than a 5-minute walk away at 10743 Ave. J.  They made the walk regularly, visiting at one household or the other. I'm not 100% certain, but I believe the picture below was taken in Great Grandma Thelma/Great Grandpa Oscar Swanson's dining room.

Starting in the back left corner and moving clockwise, we have Grandma Marilyn, my Aunt Linnea, Grandpa Jerry, Great Grandma Thelma (Swanson), Great Grandpa Ben (Pearson), Don Swanson (Marilyn's brother), and Great Grandma Lena (Pearson). I imagine Great Grandpa Oscar was taking the picture.  Based on Aunt Linnea's age, I would guess this photo to be from 1957/1958.

I have countless photos of parties and fishing expeditions that include both sets of great grandparents.  Rather than the stereotypical in-laws of today's sitcoms, Thelma, Lena, Ben, and Oscar legitimately enjoyed each other's company.  

The address plate in this photo seems to say 10733. I'd have to doublecheck with my mother, but this is likely outside my Pearson great grandparents' place.  Left to right: Oscar and Thelma Swanson and Lena and Ben Pearson - in-laws and friends.

Newest Photo Discovery

***This post was transferred from the Finding Horace blog.***

Originally published on Finding Horace 25 Aug. 2023.

When my grandfather passed away in April 2022, I was the recipient of a large tote of pictures and documents.  My grandmother had passed away in January 2018, so the tote contained pictures of both her side (Swansons) and my grandfather's side (Pearsons).  Separating the sides has been something of a chore.  I'm still not finished (I probably never will be), and I'm certain to have misidentified a picture or twelve.  A frustratingly small number of pictures are labeled, but I did come across one envelope that said, "Swedish Relatives - Signe Elizabeth's family."  Signe Elizabeth was my great grandma Thelma's mother, but I had never seen a picture of her.  Alas, I didn't find one in the envelope.  However, I did find a few (labeled!) pictures of her sisters.  

Elsa (left) and Ruth - Signe's twin sister (right)

I put them back in the blessedly labeled envelope and continued digging.  Some time later, I came across a picture of a woman with a little girl.  The little girl looked oddly familiar and so did the woman, but I couldn't immediately figure out why.  

I'm sure you've already figured it out.  If you look at Ruth and then down at this photo, it looks like you're looking at a slightly older version of the same woman. And the reason the little girl looked familiar to me is because great grandma Thelma had eyebrows that gave her a slightly quizzical look in many of her pictures.  You can see that very look in the little girl.  Not one to jump to conclusions where photos are concerned, I went to one of my favorite Facebook groups: Genealogy CLUES - Dating Old Photographs.  I posted the photo and asked for their expertise in dating both the age of the photo and the age of the people in the photo.  The comments had me head over heels:

"I would say child is 3 or 4. Mother in her 30's?"

"1911-1912 ish Girl is about 3 1/2."

1911-1912 would put my great grandmother at 3-4 years old.  Her mother would have been 25-26, and she does look a bit older, but I have a theory.  In early 1911, her husband died from tuberculosis.  Tuberculosis is not a fast-moving disease, so Signe could have been caring for him for months, if not years.  She also would have been caring for her toddler at the same time.  I think she looks a little older because of that.

And so, I present to you:

Signe Elizabeth (Johnson) Robertson Erickson and her daughter

Thelma Linnea (Robertson) Swanson

Circa 1911

💕