Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Photo Number 415

Emma Norell Dorset Antiques
This is a cabinet card, from the antique shop in Dorset, Minnesota.  The Photographer was Petefish in Scott City, Kans.
I will assume that this is Emma Norell.
Emma Norell Dorset Antiques                                                           Emma Norell    Mothers sister
I had some time on my hands..so I tried to locate some info on the Photographer without any luck. Then I did a search for Emma Norell.  I found her obituary.




Emma Cecelia NORELL, daughter of Peter and Christina ERIKSON NORELL, was born near Millville, Minn., March 2, 1878. She was baptized in the Lutheran faith in infancy.
She lived with her parents near Millville until 1881 when the family moved to Springfield [Dakota Territory], where they lived four years. In 1885 the family moved to Arapahoe, Nebr., remaining there only two years. In 1887 they moved to Gove County, Kansas. They made their home 17 miles north and one-half mile east of Healy.
Here Miss NORELL spent 56 years of her life. During this time she cared for her mother until she passed away in 1920. After the death of her mother for 22 years she cared for her eldest brother, Erik until he died in 1942.
Miss NORELL left the home place in 1943 and spent three years in Quinter [government used land for World War II aerial target practice range]. In 1946 she decided to come to Scott City. Since that time she made her home at 702 Glenn Street.
About a year ago her health began to decline. On July 12, 1954 she entered Good Shepherd rest home in Scott City, where she remained until the day of her death. She died Wednesday of last week, on her 77th birthday [March 2, 1955].
She leaves to mourn her departure one sister, Mrs. Christine JOHNSON of Gove and several nieces, nephews, and other relatives and friends.
[Note: Emma NORELL was the last person buried in the Swedish Lutheran Cemetery in 1955.]


There was an email address of a relative..I sent a message..I will wait a few days..before I send off a snail mail inquiry.

Usually the quest for information is much harder than this..what are the chances that she remained unmarried..and in Kansas where she lived most of her life.

From the info in her Obituary..I will date her photograph sometime between 1887 and 1907..she would have been 19 to 29 years old.  The formal background is not carried through into the photo with the twig/log bench and the animal fur or grassy mat on the floor.
 
Thanks for stopping by, do come again:) 

Update:
Here is an excerpt from Emma's Mothers Obit..it includes all the names of her (Christinas) children.


To this union were born four boys and four girls, the husband and two sons [Olof John and Sven Arnold] having preceded the mother to their resting place. Three daughters - Mrs. P.A. [Christina] JOHNSON, Mrs. P.J. [Magdalena] PETERSON, and Miss Emma NORELL - and one son Eric, besides grandchildren and friends, were present at the funeral services. One daughter, Mrs. [Aaron][Anna] PETERSON, lives at Stockholm, Wisc. One son, Peter, in Barton County, Kan.


So Emma had three sisters..Christina, Magdalena and Anna.


Update : Jan 05, 2011
Iggy located a blog that featured an obituary of a relative..and from that was able to make contact with one of Emmas Great nieces in Kansas..The photo will be on it's way home in the morning to Darlene:) 


This photo went Full Circle 20 on February 03, 2011

12 comments:

  1. I wonder what the "Mother - Sister" notation on the photograph means. I found the obituary you quoted and noticed that there was one for her mother and for brother Eric beneath it.

    "With his parents he (Eric) came to the United States in 1870 and settled first in Minnesota, then in Nebraska. In 1885 Eric moved to the farm in Gove county. His father died in 1895 and since the death of their mother in 1920 Eric and his sister Emma have lived on the farm."

    I found a "school" of Petefish's living in Scott City at the time - but no indication as to which was "the" photographer.

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  2. I love it when you have time on your hands and go searching for background. Great post.

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  3. When I look at the information, it looks as if it says Mothers Sister, which I assume is referring to Christine as "Mother," or did she have other sisters? Christine Johnson is the only one listed in the obituary, so could we assume this photo once belonged to one of Christine's children? Anyone's guess, I suppose. ;-) ~Abra

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  4. I love a little history behind the picture. It makes it so much more personal and interesting.

    thanx for teh effort.

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  5. Emma had three sisters..yes the notation is Mothers Sister. I will put up the list of Emmas brothers and sisters:) Connie

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  6. I also read it as "Mother's Sister" so to me this would say the photo was once in the hands of one of Emma's sister's children.

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  7. Ah, thanks! My eyes were bleary this morning. "Mother's sister" makes a lot of sense - I think her niece (and her daughter) will be thrilled to see this photo.

    :)

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  8. What a lovely story, thanks Connie.

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  9. Wow, I think what you do is so fascinating!

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  10. Like the previous commenter, the word that comes to my mind is "fascinating!"

    In a few years when my children are older, I hope to have time to dig into my own family history and to gather photographs.

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  11. Fascinating that you were able to locate this info. I'll be checking in for updates.

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  12. I'd love to see a bigger version of this amazing photograph - detail of her head and shoulders would be great. Her left arm and hand also look extraordinary, though thats probably just the dress.
    -Howard
    http://postcardsthenandnow.blogspot.com/

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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