Saturday, October 16, 2010

Photo Number 343

Mrs Wall Bennett
This is Mrs. Wall Bennett.  Her name is Mary A. and she was born in 1855 in Canada, England. In the 1900 Census she is living in Cuba Village, Allegany, New York. 
She is married and we will meet her husband Wall tomorrow.  I am not sure how she is related to or how she knows Aunt Fan or the Hannants, or if she ever did.  That may remain a mystery.
This is a CdV with gold around the edges and with slightly rounded corners..probably from around 1885..she would have been thirty years old then. I wondered what the story was behind the two matching bracelets, one on each arm and I marvel at how a half smile is managed wearing those corsets..
Thanks for stopping by, do come again:) 

Update: Today I heard from Ruth a great granddaughter of Edna Mae ( Edna Mae was a sister to Fan and Ida). She was aware of the Ben Franklin connection. Her mother who would be a granddaughter of Edna Maes is 89 years old..she may be able to shed some light on these photographs.  When I am done with this series of eleven photos..I will mail them to Ruth.  We had a lovely visit about her family, she also has some photos that are written on with a fountain pen..it may have been the same persons handwriting. 
 The only Minnesota connection that she could think of was Curtis Hannant ( Fan, Ida and Edna Maes older brother who lived at Thief River Falls Minnesota.  :) 


Update December 12, 2010 
This photo is part of Full Circle 15  

7 comments:

  1. I'm stumped. I am beginning to think they might have been neighbors or good family friends somwhere in the Barnes/Hannant family migration westward. Can we assume she was Sioux City, IA sometime with 1870-1905-ish to get her picture taken? :)

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  2. These photographs may have been sent to relatives or friends in the Sioux City area..I think that a visit is unlikely..but it is possible:)

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  3. Oh! Excellent! 11 pictures going full circle!

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  4. Well done on your research - I wish I could claim her - it's such a lovely photo :-) Jo

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  5. The prop she's leaning on is strange looking, but of course of its time. I wonder if any still exist and what color it was. It looks like a broom head or dreadlocks. Interesting shot.

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  6. It is funny how those photos do move. My recent post of Great Grandfather was a surprise for me, as I guess one son got to take the photo with him when he left Illinois. A three year old wouldn't remember their dad but I guess clinging to his photo as he grew up made sense.

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  7. Connie, Connie, Connie, the corset was the most comfortable garment a woman could wear - because it had to be - the corset bore the weight of the dresses. We can smile these days in our undergarments, why shouldn't these ladies? I tease but it is true. A corset only seems uncomfortable to modern women because we don't have to wear them. Having worn them in my reenacting, I can tell you that they are very comfortable when worn with the corresponding clothing. A corset with jeans and a tee shirt would not be. Also, a woman would have only known a corset, so she was very used to it. :-) Another common misconception is that a corset was laced very tightly - it wasn't. It was laced to a comfortable point and then left alone. A tight corset would be as comfortable as a tight bra.

    Norkio

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Hi, Thanks for the comments, your input on these old photos is appreciated! English only please! All comments will be moderated! Connie