Aunt Jane. by happypat

Aunt Jane.

We have had a visit today from a lady who brought this photo of Harry's Aunt Jane.
She is the lady second from right, pictured here with her step children.
Born on March 18th 1874 one of 18 children & incidentally whose mother, Harry's grandmother died aged 39 after child birth !!

We learnt today she went on to have one daughter & died by drowning in the bath.
Great composition. She looks like quite the matriarch
April 19th, 2012  
Wonderful to see these old family portrait photos.
April 19th, 2012  
Good gracious - no wonder 18 children killed her in that time span but what a tragedy leaving all those little ones and the older ones must have had to step in. Fantastic clothes - hard to believe she's only one generation ahead of Harry!
April 19th, 2012  
@judithg Harry's father was in his sixties when he was born, a second marriage so missed a generation really ! This must have been taken around the early 1900 s.
April 19th, 2012  
I love this! What a piece of social history. So interesting to see the fashion of those days.
April 19th, 2012  
Lovely photo! And what a bit of history!
It's amazing what we don't know even a little step from where we are now!
April 19th, 2012  
I love looking at these old photographs and learning about the people. it was beautifully composed.
April 19th, 2012  
Oh I am a softie when it comes to this sort of thing. Lovely photo, and such a sad story that goes with it. These are real people who lived and loved like us and not stuffy sepia images; thank you for sharing it with us.
April 19th, 2012  
Beautiful old photo...and what a story!! One of 18......
April 19th, 2012  
Gorgeous photo ... what a history this woman had. All of those children and the work involved. I don't think that we appreciate the conveniences that we have today.. these women had to do so much. Bless her heart. I'm sure that this photo meant alot to Harry.
April 19th, 2012  
Oh my goodness how do you drown in the bath? How sad BUT who is that scary looking woman beside her? Wonderful old photo.......imagine being one of 18 or worse having 18 children, how lucky we are.
April 19th, 2012  
The style of clothing looks familiar..my mother was born 1903 so have seen many pictures of the early 1900..your story here is kinda sad. but nice for you all to see this picture of Harry's relatives.
April 19th, 2012  
Wonderful finding out about one's ancestors. I love old family pics like this.
April 19th, 2012  
Lovely shot but sad about the bath! Poor thing.
April 19th, 2012  
eva
Sad, but very interesting story. Love old photos. They are such a unique way of finding out about times long gone.
April 19th, 2012  
@fannyb Well apparently her only daughter was handicapped & while her daughter was visiting one of the married step sisters Aunt Jane committed suicide! The lady who brought this photo took the daughter home & found her in the bath ...so sad !
April 19th, 2012  
@karenann Yes I think we were both pleased to see her & such a good photo but Harry is not a great one for the past...I think I was more intrigued than he was !!! I don't think men have much imagination with things like this !!!
April 19th, 2012  
I like the photograph very much and its interesting but sad for you to find out more about the people portrayed.Thanks for sharing.
April 19th, 2012  
a classic photo of its time Pat, a classic bit of family history in your narrative too
April 19th, 2012  
Fascinating to think of what it must have been like 1) wearing all those layers of clothes, 2) sitting still wearing all those layers of clothes, and 3) actually smiling wearing all those layers of clothes!
April 20th, 2012  
That is such a neat vintage photo. Everyone looks so formal
April 20th, 2012  
Wonderful old family photo.
April 20th, 2012  
I have been studying my familiy history for a while now and found out some 'very interesting' facts....like you I have some old photos which bring the lists of names to life.
I like how all the females are wearing dresses/skirts....you don't see that so much now!
April 20th, 2012  
What a lovely piece of family history
April 20th, 2012  
oh i just love these photos...thanks for sharing
April 20th, 2012  
This is fascinating, Pat. I've always liked old family pictures and have lots of them that my mother gave me over the years. Last year my cousins and I started a family group on Facebook and we all posted all the pictures we could find in old albums, trunks, boxes, drawers, attics, etc. and we ended up with more than 1500 pictures going back to the late 1800s. You can't imagine how much fun this was. It was also a bit of an eye opener for some of us in terms of the family history: lots of details came to light that we wouldn't have been aware of if these photos had stayed in those drawers and trunks. I think I might post a few in my second album.
April 20th, 2012  
what a great thing to have. i love the way they used to stand and sit so straight for photos. until the 60s really.
April 20th, 2012  
@meisen325 That sounds really interesting Monica & a good way to exchange information before it's too late!!! Your descendants will be very grateful if you collberate all your information !
April 21st, 2012  
she would've been 138....interesting family history.
April 22nd, 2012  
Old photos always make me wish they could talk and tell the stories of the people in them.
April 22nd, 2012  
Jen
Thank you for sharing a wonderful nostalgic image, and story..
April 22nd, 2012  
what a fascinating story and gorgeous pic... !
April 23rd, 2012  
Whoa, what a story! Love old photos and the stories they tell.
April 24th, 2012  
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