WONDERFUL WORLD OF PHOTOS - Horst Family Mystery Solved, Part II

In the last post I explained how I had been able to confirm a photo as that of my 3x-great-grandfather Martin Horst (1830-1878), by using Photoshop and a photo of his portrait created before his death. The discovery was made after trying to figure out who the "4 Horst Men" were in an old Horst family photograph. After I had confirmed who was the Horst father, it was time to try the same Photoshop procedure to confirm the brothers' true identities.

Here's the original photograph (left) taken in Mobile, Alabama, where the Horst family resided. The picture is of the four Horst brothers: Charles (1856-1912), my 2x-great-grandfather; Edward (1858-1901); Henry (1861-1922); and Martin (1868-1928). I don't know if there's a date on the photograph (it's in the possession of a descendant of Henry Horst) but I'm thinking it might have been taken somewhere around 1884.  

Here's why: Henry had enlisted in the Naval Academy in 1879. If the photograph was taken before then Martin, the youngest brother, would have just been 11-years-old when it was taken and he's obviously older than that in the photo. Martin was out of the Academy by 1884 but sometime between 1883-1884 Charles and his young family had moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. [We know this because my great-grandmother Pearl Horst Flemming was born there in November 1884.] In 1884 Martin, the youngest brother, would be 16 years old, an age which seems much more likely of this young man. Maybe they had the photo taken before Charles left Mobile for Cincinnati, possibly as a gift for their mother.

In the "4 Horst Men" photograph I have determined the brothers are as follows: front row, left to right: Charles, age 28; Henry, age 23; back row, left to right, Edward, age 26; Martin, age 16.

I used a photograph taken of Charles at his saloon/bar in Birmingham probably around 1910. It is the only one I have where he is facing the same way as the young man in the early photograph. The two men are not holding themselves in exactly the same way, but it's close enough. There is an approximately 26-year age difference between the two photographs. Here are the results of my experiment, showing that Charles is the brother seated on the left.

Charles Horst c.1884-1910 [click to enlarge]

I used the Naval Academy photograph I have of Henry, taken in 1882, to compare with the brothers' photo. The two are posed similarly in both pictures. Here is the result of my experiment with the two photos proving why I found Henry to be the young man seated on the right.

Henry Horst 1882-c. 1884 [click to enlarge]

To investigate the young man standing on the left, I found the one photograph that I have that was labeled as Edward Horst, standing at his bar, the Palace Royale, in Birmingham, taken at the turn of the century. Edward died in 1901 at age 42, so it was obviously taken prior to 1901. In the photo at the bar, Edward is standing very similarly to how the brother in question is standing, twenty years earlier. Here are the two pictures' comparison.

Edward Horst ca. 1884-1901 [click to enlarge]

I have no other pictures of youngest brother Martin. He would have been about 15-16 years old  when the original photograph was taken. He died in 1928, leaving a wife and no children. [And apparently no photographs.] Another family mystery has now been solved using history, photography and the miracle of Photoshop.

Martin Horst ca. 1884

WONDERFUL WORLD OF PHOTOS - Horst Family Mystery Solved, Part I

Four Horst Brothers, Mobile, Alabama (ca. 1883)

Several years ago, a member of the Horst family in Mobile, Alabama, shared of picture of what was described as "4 Horst Brothers". He asked me if I could identify them. Since then I have come back to the picture many times, with no clear answer. Here is that picture (right).

These were the sons of Martin Horst (1830-1878) and Apollonia Weinschenk Horst (1829-1908), my 3x-great-grandparents. Martin and Apollonia had eight children together, six living to adulthood. [Apollonia had four children with her first husband Tobias Berg (1819-1953); only two daughters survived infancy.] Their sons were Charles (1856-1912), my 2x-great-grandfather; Edward (1858-1901); Henry (1861-1922); and Martin (1868-1928). Two sons - William (1863-1864) and Fredrick (1867-1867) - both died before their second birthday. It was a descendant of Henry who shared this picture with me.

So this really shouldn't be too hard - there were four young men in the photo and there are four brothers. I had some pictures of a few of them as much older men, so maybe it would be easy. But there was another photograph that added to the confusion.

"Martin Horst, Mayor of Mobile" (c. 1871-72)

This photograph at left [Courtesy of The University of South Alabama Archives (Eric Overby Collection)] is labeled "Martin Horst, Mayor of Mobile". But to me, it looked almost exactly like the picture of the young man in the back on the left in the "4 Brothers" photograph, just older. So I reasoned, maybe this photo from the Archives wasn't Martin Horst the father, maybe it was mislabeled and was actually Martin Horst the son. And that's the way I tentatively left it for several years - neither proclaiming it as fact nor being able to prove anything else.

Then recently I tried once again to confirm the identities of the "4 Brothers". There was just no way to make the brother on the back left, whom I thought was Martin (the son), seven years younger than the brother on the back right. So I tried something else, and it solved one mystery.

Martin Horst Family Portrait (c. 1877)

I reconsidered that the above photograph from the Archives was actually labeled correctly. My problem was that it didn't look anything like the only confirmed picture I had of Martin Horst, a black-and-white photo of his portrait that my father had gotten years ago.

You can see, they don't resemble each other at all. I remembered my father telling me that Martin had aged dramatically after coming down with Bright's Disease, a kidney condition that ultimately caused his death at age 48. [NOTE: Check out an earlier post "Sunday's Obituary - Martin Horst" for more information about the disease and his death.] Could these two be the same person, this official "Mayor of Mobile" photograph in the University of South Alabama Archives from 1871-1872, and this family portrait completed within 6 short years? It would be hard to believe, if true.

I had one other photo (left) that I knew was Martin Horst, I just didn't know which Martin Horst it was. So I used a technique that I have seen on all those crime analysis shows I've watched throughout the years.


I decided to try to compare the facial features of the known portrait (above) with one of the photographs of "Martin Horst". I used Photoshop to do the overlays, lining up the bodies so that they're the same size. Amazingly he held himself almost the same way in both pictures. And here's what I got.

They're a perfect match! Click on the photo to see an enlargement. You can see that the ears are exactly the same, as is the nose and the shape of the head. His eyes are the exact same shape and width apart, and even the small circles under his eyes are the same. When the transition from mustache to beard takes place you can see his bottom lip is also exactly the same. It was really quite amazing to discover.

So if this second photograph was actually Martin Horst, the father, then the photograph in the University Archives is labeled correctly, too. It also means that one of Martin's sons looks strikingly similar to him. But which one is it? To find out the answer to that mystery be sure to check out Horst Family Mystery Solved, Part II, coming soon.

WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY'S PHOTOS - Happy 130th Birthday, Grandmother Pearl Horst Flemming!

Today is a special day - 130 years ago today, on November 19, 1884, my great-grandmother Pearl Alphonsine Horst Flemming was born. She was the middle of five children, and the oldest daughter, born to Charles Frederick Horst (1856-1912) and Felicite Odalie Fortier (1857-1920). Her father was born in Mobile, Alabama, and her mother in New Orleans, Louisiana, but about 1883 they moved, along with their two sons Charles Frederick Horst, Jr. (1880-1864) and Edward Martin Horst (1882-1812) to Cincinnati, Ohio, because of Charles, Sr.'s health. It was here that Pearl was born, most likely in the home of Charles' paternal aunt, Elizabeth Horst Ginter (1827-1877) at 30 Rittenhouse. Her father worked in a saloon, as he had in Mobile. It was also in Cincinnati that her younger brother Omer Leo Horst (1887-1945) was born.

(clockwise from top left) Charles, Edward, Pearl
and Omer in Cincinnati, Ohio (ca. 1892)

The family lived in Cincinnati until the early 1890's when they moved and settled permanently in Birmingham, Alabama. Charles went into business with his brother Edward P. Horst (1858-1901) who was owner and saloon keeper of the Palace Royal Saloon, serving as the "Mixologist" at the bar. It was in Birmingham that Pearl and her brothers went to public school at the Powell School on 6th Avenue North and 24th Street. In 1896 her younger sister Odalie Marie Horst, later Wittges, (1896-1990) was born.

On April 18, 1906, Pearl married Harry Clinton Flemming (1878-1955), who had moved with his family to Birmingham from his birthplace of Rome, Georgia. They were married at St. Paul's Cathedral; Harry was 28 and Pearl was 21. Harry bought their first and only home that year, in Birmingham's new Southside neighborhood at 1402 N. 17th Street. Harry was an Engineer on the Great Alabama Southern Railroad, taking him out of town every other night. Because of this Pearl was too afraid to live in the house for the first year as she felt it was "too far out" from the city, so she continued living with her parents, who lived at 2430 4th Avenue North.

Pearl (standing) with (l to r) daughter Susie, Harry,
and son Harry, Jr. - Birmingham, Alabama (1914)

Pearl and Harry had eight children: Pearl Alphonsine, born 1907; Susan Elizabeth, born 1909; Odalie Felice, born 1911; Harry Clinton, Jr., born 1913; Charles Frederick, born 1916; John Edward, born 1918; Margaret Mary, born 1920; and Ann Marie, born 1923.

Lots of stories have been told about Pearl through the years - of her dedication to the Catholic Church and the Cathedral where she and her family attended; of her big holiday gatherings of family every year for holiday dinners that she prepared; of her marriage and the love of her husband. There are other stories I have heard, most from my grandmother Susie, who "never let the truth get in the way of a good story." So I won't repeat them. But her life and accomplishments prove that she was quite a remarkable woman.

She raised eight children, all to adulthood. She remained married to her husband for 49 years, until his death. She received the proEcclesia et Pontifica medal from Pope Pius XXIII the year before her death for her work within the Catholic Church. She sent two sons off to war during WWII. She was the grandmother of twenty-five. At the time of her death she was also the great-grandmother of thirteen, with many more to come. She died on September 25, 1961, less than one month before I was born.


49th Wedding Anniversary Party - with Children (1955)

Today marks 130 years since baby Pearl Alphonsine was born in a tenement row in Cincinnati, Ohio, beginning a lifetime of 76 happy, productive years on Earth, serving her husband, her children, the less fortunate in our community and God. So, Happy Birthday, Grandmother Pearl!

WEDNESDAY'S WORLD OF PHOTOS - 1985 O'Donnell Family Reunion, Birmingham, AL

Susie O'Donnell and 18/20 Grandchildren

Recently while scanning family photos from one of my mother's photo albums I came across all the pictures that my younger sister took of the last O'Donnell Family Reunion, held in the summer of 1985 in Birmingham, Alabama. That year Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev were world leaders. New Coke was introduced to the world, as was the first Nintendo console in America and DNA in its first criminal case. It was also the year "We Are the World" and Live Aid took place to raise funds for the Famine in Ethiopia, as well as the beginning of the fall of Communism throughout the world. In other words, it was a long, long time ago.

l to r - Loretta Crawford, Barbara Nelson, Charles
O'Donnell, Susie O'Donnell, Mary Slade

I remember attending the Saturday evening dinner held at my aunt's home and hanging out with my sisters and cousins and new baby niece that night but not much else. O'Donnell families came from around the country including California, Virginia, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi. Unfortunately I honestly don't remember even meeting one new relative at the event.


Susie O'Donnell and Children

At the family reunion were descendants of Patrick O'Donnell (1823-1911), who came to America from Ireland, and his wife Bridget Kennedy (1838-1893), also an immigrant from Ireland. They had seven children, 6 daughters and 1 son. Those at the 1985 Reunion were descendants of two of their children - Mary Ann "Mollie" O'Donnell Casey Kenealy (1859-1936) and John Martin O'Donnell (1865-1937). John is my great-grandfather.


Family of Ed and Mamie O'Donnell

My grandmother Susie Flemming O'Donnell (1909-1999) was there. Her husband, my grandfather, John Huber O'Donnell (1905-1964), was the oldest child of John O'Donnell. Huber, as he was called, had 2 younger brothers and a younger sister. Brother Charles Patrick O'Donnell (1906-1987) came from Atlanta with a large number of his family. Youngest brother Edward Joseph Kennedy O'Donnell (1908-1989), called Ed, lived with his wife Mary Elizabeth "Mamie" Watters (1908-1996) in Los Angeles, California, and they didn't make the trip, but many of their children, their spouses and grandchildren did come. Also in attendance was youngest sister Barbara Lena O'Donnell Nelson (1909-1996), who travelled from her home in Biloxi, Mississippi, and members of her family.


Charles O'Donnell (seated) and Family



Barbara Nelson (seated) and Family
 

Also in attendance at the reunion were descendants of Patrick & Bridget's second child Mollie. Mollie had married twice. In attendance were the grandchildren of Mollie and her first husband Thomas "Pat" Casey (1841-1896), the children of their oldest daughter Frances Loretta Casey Slade (1879-1960), known as Lottie. Both daughters of Lottie and husband Charles Albert Slade (1867-1917) were in attendance - Mary Slade (1904-1990) and Loretta Slade Crawford (1906-1986). Loretta brought several of her own family members along with her to the reunion. Mary & Loretta both lived in Birmingham.




[Click on pictures to enlarge]

I would love to know exactly who the individuals are in each of these families for posterity's sake. If you can name them from your family I really would love to hear from you - everyone who knows can write me. Better to have too many than not any. Please don't write them on the comments below. But if can help me name them from your family please, please, please contact me on Facebook or email me! (I said please.) And if you're interested in where you can find all the pictures of the reunion let me know.




















HOLIDAY SPECIAL - Two Kids and a Flag (c. 1918)

Happy Independence Day, 2014!

Grider and Charles Horst (c. 1918)
Birmingham, Alabama

I love this picture of two of my grandmother's cousins holding an American flag, with all 48 stars proudly displayed. The children are the only children of Charles Frederick Horst (1880-1964) and Eliza Loy Dilworth (1885-1960). On the left is their daughter Frances Grider Flemming (1908-1995); on the right is her brother Charles Frederick Horst, Jr. (1911-1984). Charles, Sr. is the older brother of my great-grandmother Pearl Horst Flemming (1884-1961), making Grider and Charles my first cousins, twice removed.

The picture was taken in the front yard of their home in the Highland Park neighborhood of Birmingham, Alabama. It may have been taken to celebrate the Fourth of July. Another possibility is that the picture was taken in November 1918, in celebration of the end of World War I. If it were 1918 then Grider would be almost 10 and Charles would have just turned 7, the day before the war ended. The clothing is typical of the times, especially Charles' sailor suit. Grider, wearing knickerbockers (short pants with a cuff at the knee), was ahead of her time - girls were only beginning to try out typical boys' clothing in the 1910's.

The picture is such a moment of patriotism in a time long gone, almost a century ago. Have you taken pictures of your family and/or children that your descendants will be able to look at a hundred years from now and see how you celebrated your own patriotism?

WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY'S PHOTOS - 1993 Flemming Family Reunion

Descendants of Charles and Elizabeth Flemming
Oak Mountain State Park, Birmingham, Alabama - June 1993

On the last weekend of June in 1993, family from all over the country gathered together for the first reunion in over a decade of the descendants of Charles Clinton Flemming (1854-1932) and Elizabeth Agnes McCaffrey (1858-1922).  Over 200 family members, five generations, came to Birmingham, Alabama - from 4-month old twins (my niece and nephew) to my 97-year-old great-great-great-aunt. They came from at least 10 states, from all over the country - from as far away as Illinois, Colorado and California. One family even flew in from the Philippines.

Charlie and Lizzie Flemming, my great-great-grandparents, had eleven children. Of the eleven, only four children had children of their own. Their children, Charlie & Lizzie's grandchildren, totaled twenty-one. When the 1993 Flemming Family Reunion was held there were twelve grandchildren still living, ages 69 to 83 years old. Of those twelve grandchildren, 11 attended the reunion. Everyone else were great grandchildren & their spouses, great-great-grandchildren & their spouses, and great-great-great-grandchildren.

When the next Flemming Family Reunion is held - next Summer? - there will be a completely new generation of descendants of Charlie & Lizzie Flemming. Will you be there?

WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY'S PHOTOS - The Alabama Great Southern Railroad "Old Timer's Club" Convention 1951

This photo was taken in the front yard of my great-grandfather's house on Southside in downtown Birmingham, Alabama, in May 1951. The men in the picture are 'members' of "The Old Timers Club", a group of retired railroad men who once worked together on the Alabama Great Southern Railroad. Standing at the far right is my great-grandfather, Harry C. Flemming (1878-1955).

Harry worked on the AGS railroad for his entire career, serving as trainmaster, master mechanic and assistant superintendent. For the majority of his career he was the Engineer on the steam engine #6690. Every morning he would take control of the train from the Birmingham depot to the depot at Meridian, Mississippi. He stayed here and the train continued on to New Orleans with a different engineer. The next day the train would come back from New Orleans, stop in Meridian where Harry would board and take control of the locomotive back to Birmingham. This was his routine six days a week, for 42 years, until he retired in 1941.

3rd Annual Convention of the Old Timers Club
This letter was mailed out to 14 of the 16 members of the Club, from the club's Secretary. It is dated April 14, 1951. A note below the secretary's name is meant for Harry - who they lovingly referred to as Monahan.

[CLICK TO ENLARGE]

TO: Reid, Frazer, Madison, Sheets, Waldrop, Roberts, King, Riley, McCarty, Featherstone, Butler, Hussey, McAlister, Stowe.

NOTICE: The 3rd Annual Convention of the Old Timers Club will take place on Thursday, May 10, 1951.

PLACE: Monahan's Castle, 1402 South 17th Street, Birmingham, Alabama.

TIME: 11:30 A.M., to 2:00 P.M., or later.

SPONSOR: Mrs. H. C. Flemming (my great-grandmother)

You are expected; fine food and plenty of it; choice of drinks, good fellowship and lots of fun.

Kindly state on the enclosed postal card if we can depend on your presence and mail it promptly. Mrs. Flemming must know for how many to provide.
That is important!

CLICK TO ENLARGE and see the Luncheon served

Drop your worries and belly aches for one day and join together for an old time railroader's good fellowship.

J. C. de Holl, Secretary

to Monahan, who can't write (never could)

WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY'S PHOTOS - Flemming Family Reunion, early 80's

Last week my 1st cousin (once removed) George Flemming sent me some great photos that he had taken over 30 years ago at a family reunion of the descendants of Harry Flemming (1878-1955) & Pearl Horst Flemming (1884-1961), my great-grandparents. [That's right, I said THIRTY years ago.] The event was held at the lakeside cabin of Jack and Georgia Flemming, near Birmingham, Alabama.

Click on each picture to enlarge it to see everybody's 80's hair styles and those long-haired male family members. If you right-click on the pictures you can download it to your computer. I hope you'll enjoy this little trip down memory lane....

 The children of Harry & Pearl Flemming with Aunt Dolly

 [BOTTOM L-R: Margaret Flemming Selman (b. 1920), Odalie "Dolly" Horst Wittges (1896-1990), Susie Flemming O'Donnell (1909-1999); MIDDLE L-R: Pearl Flemming Barriger (1907-1986), Odalie "O'D" Flemming Daly (1911-1994), Ann Flemming Pilkerton (1923-2012); BACK: Jack Flemming (1918-2008). Aunt Dolly, 86 years old, the youngest sister of their mother Pearl, had travelled from her home in Colorado. O'D's family - her children and grandchildren - traveled from their homes in Louisiana to attend the family reunion.]

The children and in-laws of Harry & Pearl Flemming

[BOTTOM L-R: Susie F. O'Donnell, Frank Selman (1920-2012), Margaret F. Selman; MIDDLE L-R: Pearl F. Barriger, O'D F. Daly, Jack's wife Georgia Rice Flemming (1918-2005), Ann F. Pilkerton; BACK L-R: Aubrey Pilkerton (1925-1999), Jack Flemming]

The grandchildren of Harry & Pearl and their spouses

Think you can name them all? If so, please tell me! I can identify 21 out of 37 (I think).

The great-grandchildren of Harry & Pearl (and a few spouses)

 Most of these great-grandchildren now have children of their own. One or two are even grandfathers! The youngest baby would be 30 years old now, and the oldest would be in his mid-50's (you know who you are!)  How many of these young people can you name? I can identify 13 out of 32. I'd love to get someone from each of the Flemming children's families to email me with a list and diagram of who's who. FYI - I'm on the back row,2nd from right (brown hair, lots of eye makeup).

WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY'S PHOTO - Four Little Babies (1869)

Quadruplets born to George & Mary Frisz
Washington, Indiana - 1869

Let me warn you up front - this is not your not your typical "wonderful" family photograph. Not by our current standards anyway. But for a time in the 1800's, taking such a picture was done to keep the memory of loved ones. This is the only such picture anywhere in my extended family so it is unique for that reason. These are the only quads that I know of in my family. And this photograph was taken over 150 years ago, but can be shared with you through the internet, so that you might remember these little family members, too. First, let me tell you about the family behind the photograph.

George Frisz (1829-1909) is my great-great-great-uncle. He is the brother of my great-great-great-grandmother Barbara Frisse Brunett (1822-1893). [See below for where the Frisse/Brunett connection is in the tree.] Their parents, my 4x-great-grandparents, were Joseph Frise (1796-1864) and Marguerite Lang (1802-1868), Barbara, George, their 7 other siblings and their parents were all born in Seingbouse, Moselle, France and immigrated to America, arriving in the port of New Orleans, Louisiana, on July 20, 1846. They travelled up the Mississippi River to Indiana and settled in St. Anne's Village (now North Vernon) in Jennings County.

On October 9, 1858, George married Mary Brentner at St. Anne's Catholic Church. Mary, an immigrant from Bavaria, was born August 15, 1842,  At the time of their wedding he was 29, she was 16. It wasn't until ten years later that they started their family. Daughter Mary Ursula was born March 6, 1868. In the 1870 Census, the young family was living in Washington, Morgan County, Indiana. George is listed as an "Ale Merchant" with real estate valued at $14,000 and his personal estate valued at $8,000. In 1880, George listed himself in the Census as a "Saloonist".  At this time they were living in Martinsville, Indiana.

Framed and Labelled Photograph

In 1869, Mary gave birth to quadruplets - three girls and a boy. They were named Borgia, Johnnie, Lena, and Maggie. They didn't survive; if they had been born alive and survived for any time is unknown. But they were obviously loved. Because in 1869, with photography still in its infancy, they had a picture taken of their four babies. They were dressed in white gowns, laid down next to each other and photographed. It is known as post-mortem photography [see below]. The photo has since been passed down through the Frisz family. [NOTE: 'Frisz is pronounced "freese" and rhymes with grease.]

Quadruplet births are rare, even with the recent increase in the number of multiple births since IVF treatments began. Since 1989, there have been an average of 102 sets of quadruplets born in the United States each year. In the U.S., between 1915 and 1948, 114 sets of quads were born; just 27 sets were born between 1947 and 1958. In the 19th century, few babies born as quads survived the neonatal period. No higher order multiple sets survived in total past the neonatal period until 1847. The first recorded set of quadruplets surviving to adulthood was in Switzerland in 1880. So the birth of four babies, even though they didn't survive, must have been a real story in the city of Martinsville, Indiana.

George and Mary would have five more children: Elizabeth Agnes, born February 21, 1871; John Maurice, born January 21, 1873; twins Joseph Henry and  Katie, born March 26, 1875; and Antoinette Rose, born January 27, 1878. Mary Frisz died on April 9, 1882, at the age of 39. George soon married Mary Oftering, a 30-year-old German immigrant. It was common at the time for widowed fathers with young children to marry a young woman who would be helpful in raising his children.

George died on January 16, 1909, at the age of 80. The only further record I have on Mary is the 1920 U.S. Census. Here she was the housekeeper for the parish priest in Indianapolis, Indiana. On May 30, 1941, Mary died; she was 89 years old. She and George are buried side-by-side at the St. Francis Cemetery in Teutopolis, Illinois.

Post-Mortem Photography

[taken from Wikipedia]

"Post-mortem photography (also known as memorial portraiture or memento mori) is the practice of photographing the recently deceased. Memento mori is a Latin phrase translated as "Remember your mortality", "Remember you must die" or "Remember you will die. It refers to a genre of artworks that vary widely but which all share the same purpose: to remind people of their mortality, an artistic theme dating back to antiquity.

The invention of the daguerreotype in 1839 made portraiture much more commonplace, as many of those who were unable to afford the commission of a painted portrait could afford to sit for a photography session. This cheaper and quicker method also provided the middle class with a means for memorializing dead loved ones.

These photographs served less as a reminder of mortality than as a keepsake to remember the deceased. This was especially common with infants and young children; Victorian era childhood mortality rates were extremely high, and a post-mortem photograph might have been the only image of the child the family ever had. The later invention of the carte de visite, which allowed multiple prints to be made from a single negative, meant that copies of the image could be mailed to relatives.

The practice eventually peaked in popularity around the end of the 19th century and died out as "snapshot" photography became more commonplace, although a few examples of formal memorial portraits were still being produced well into the 20th century.

The earliest post-mortem photographs are usually close-ups of the face or shots of the full body and rarely include the coffin. The subject is usually depicted so as to seem in a deep sleep, or else arranged to appear more lifelike. Children were often shown in repose on a couch or in a crib, sometimes posed with a favorite toy or other plaything. It was not uncommon to photograph very young children with a family member, most frequently the mother. Adults were more commonly posed in chairs. Flowers were also a common prop in post-mortem photography of all types.

The effect of life was sometimes enhanced by either propping the subject's eyes open or painting pupils onto the photographic print, and many early images (especially tintypes and ambrotypes) have a rosy tint added to the cheeks of the corpse.

Later examples show less effort at a lifelike appearance, and often show the subject in a coffin. Some very late examples show the deceased in a coffin with a large group of funeral attendees; this type of photograph was especially popular in Europe and less common in the United States.

Post-mortem photography is still practiced in some areas of the world, such as Eastern Europe. Photographs, especially depicting persons who were considered to be very holy lying in their coffins are still circulated among faithful Eastern Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Christians.

A variation of the memorial portrait involves photographing the family with a shrine (usually including a living portrait) dedicated to the deceased.

As the common practice of post-mortem photography in North America and Western Europe has largely ceased, the portrayal of such images has become increasingly seen as vulgar, sensationalistic and taboo. This is in marked contrast to the beauty and sensitivity perceived in the older tradition, indicating a cultural shift that may reflect wider social discomfort with death."
 

What's the Relationship?  Barbara Frisse married John Michel Baptiste Brunett (1816-1863) from France soon after arriving in the country. They had 10 children, including my great-great-grandmother Barbara Brunett (1852-1896). Barbara married Phillip Huber (1847-1901), an immigrant from Germany, in 1871. Together they had 7 children, including my great-grandmother Mary Bertha Huber (1873-1913). Mayme, as she was called, married John Martin O'Donnell (1865-1937) in 1904. Together they had four children, including the oldest John Huber O'Donnell (1905-1965), my grandfather. In 1929, he married my grandmother Susan Elizabeth Flemming (1909-1999). They would have eight children, including my mother.

WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY'S PHOTO - Sitting on Train Tracks, ca 1921-22

Sitting on Train Tracks
Birmingham, Alabama
ca. 1921-1922

I love this photograph - just a simple picture of four young girls, laughing and being silly and enjoying a long day together. One is smiling with such spirit her whole body smiles, throwing her head back with pure joy. Another sits quietly, taking it all in, enjoying the lollipop she brought with her on the girls' adventure on Birmingham's Southside neighborhood.

It could almost be set when I was a young girl, spending all day outside with my friends or my sisters. But I never set out through endless fields with no homes in sight, or crawled up an embankment to rest on railroad tracks. The lollipop looks familiar; playing outside wearing dresses does not.

What makes the photograph even more special is knowing that my grandmother, Susie Elizabeth Flemming O'Donnell (1909-1999) is the young girl laughing in the center of the picture. She looks to me to be about 12-13 years old, but I'm not sure. Next to her is one of her best friends, Adelaide Atkins, looking at Susie laughing, no doubt at something silly that one of the other girls just said.

Standing behind Susie is Agnes Marie O'Brien (1908-1979); to her left (our right) sits her youngest sister Helen (1911-1988). Marie, as the older sister was called, and Helen are the children of Edward Joseph O'Brien (1867-1922) and Agnes Gertrude McCaffrey (1879-1919). The sisters' mother Agnes was the youngest surviving child of thirteen children, and the youngest sister of my great-great-grandmother Charlotte Agnes "Lizzie" McCaffrey Flemming (1858-1922). This makes Susie a "first cousin-once removed" of Helen and Marie. [Susie's mother Pearl Alphonsine Horst (1864-1861) was Marie and Helen's first-cousin.]

The photograph seems to have been taken around 1921-22. Two short years prior to this picture being taken Helen and Marie had lost their mother to uterine cancer - she was just 40 years old. When she died her husband was left to care for their six children, ranging in age from eight to eighteen years old. Only three years later their father Edward also died; he was 55-years-old.

So it seems that Marie and Helen were probably visiting their mother's niece, Susie, who was the perfect age for them to play with. After the death of their father, around the time the photo was snapped, the girls and their older siblings moved to Elizabethton, Tennessee (for the exact reason I don't know). Susie, Marie and Adelaide would each marry within the next decade and have children; Helen would remain unmarried, living to be seventy-seven.

But leaving home, having husbands and children, was all for another day, another time. This day was for laughing and dreaming, sitting on train tracks until the sound of a whistle blew. It was for enjoying a lollipop and talking with good friends. It was a day to escape. And lucky for us, someone had a camera nearby to capture it all, so that we could enjoy the day, too.

[NOTE: This post has been corrected from its original form after it was pointed out to me that I had two of the girls incorrectly identified - Adelaide is on the far left and Susie is laughing in the middle. Thanks to Adelaide's granddaughter for letting me know!]

WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY'S PHOTOS - Easter Sunday 1915

Grider and Charles Horst III on Easter Sunday
ca. 1915    Birmingham, Alabama

This photo was taken about 1915 in front of the Horst's family home in Birmingham, Alabama. These are the children of Charles Frederick Horst, Jr. (1880-1964) and his wife Eliza Loy Dilworth (1883-1960). Frances Grider (born December 23, 1908) and her younger brother Charles Frederick III (born November 10, 1911) are dressed in their Easter finery, in typical clothing for the time. In 1915 Easter Sunday was on April 4th.

Close-up of Photograph
(note the bunny in the basket on the left)

When I first saw the photograph I was surprised by the Easter baskets next to the children, as well as the large Bunny in Grider's basket. I would have thought that baskets were more of a recent addition to our Easter traditions in our country, so I did a little research. I found out from various websites that it was common for Catholics who had been fasting during Lent, leading up to Easter, to bring their Easter meals in baskets on that Sunday to church for the food to be blessed by the parish priest. Germans coming to America are given credit for bringing that tradition with them as they arrived in our country in the 18th century.

Grider and Charles were the only children of Charles & Eliza. [They were highlighted in a post of a photo on July 6, 2011]. Grider never married, living to the age of 86. Charles III married Kathryn Olsofski (1917-1999); he died in 1984. The couple had no children. So there were no more descendants of Charles Horst, Jr., and my father got several of their family pictures after Grider died in 1995.

It's All Relative:  Charles Horst, Jr., was the oldest child of Charles Frederick Horst (1856-1912) and Odalie Felice Fortier (1857-1920), my great-great-grandparents, and the older brother of my great-grandmother Pearl Alphonsine Horst Flemming (1884-1961). He was also the oldest grandchild of Martin Horst (1830-1878) and Apollonia Weinschenk (1929-1908); Martin and Apollonia are my great-great-great-grandparents. Grider and Charles are my 1st cousins, twice removed.

WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY'S PHOTO - Fortier Sisters Relaxing on the Porch (ca.1919)



Jeanette, Odalie & Luciana
On the Front Porch Swing

This is a photograph of my great-great-grandmother Odalie Fortier Horst (1857-1920), seated in the middle, and her two younger sisters - Jeanette Fortier Byrnes (1868-1941) on the left and Lucianna "Lucy" Fortier Boulo (1861-1942) on the right. It most likely was taken around 1915-1920, and most probably in Mobile where Lucy and Jeanette lived with their families. Odalie was living in Birmingham the town where she and her husband and children had settled down before the turn of the century. At the time this photograph was taken all three women were widowers - Lucy in 1909, Odalie in 1912 and Jeannette in 1915.

Odalie, Lucy and Jeanette were the last surviving children, of eleven, born to Jacques Omer Fortier (1813-1867) and Augustine Melanie Laperle DeGruy (1822-1872) in New Orleans, Louisiana. After their widowed mother died in 1872, the five youngest children moved to Mobile, Alabama to live with their aunt. All three girls met their future husbands while living in Mobile.

What were these women talking about, moments before the photographer snapped this picture? Were they discussing their children - Odalie had four of five children, Lucy had three of four children and Jeanette had one child? Were they talking about World War I in Europe? Maybe they were discussing the recent death of their only brother Gaston James Fortier, who died in 1917? Or maybe they were just sitting on the front porch swing, getting cooled off from the steaming hot inside of their home. We will never know what was being said but the moment was captured forever for us to enjoy!

WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY'S PHOTOS - The 1848 Cincinnati Riverfront Panorama (restored)

The Original Display of the 1848 Cincinnati Panorama
Cincinnati Public Library

 [from "1848 Daguerreotypes Bring Middle America's Past to Life"; Julie Rehmeyer; Wired magazine; August 2010]

"In 1848, Charles Fontayne and William Porter produced one of the most famous photographs in the history of the medium — a panorama spanning some 2 miles of Cincinnati waterfront. They did it with eight 6.5- by 8.5-inch daguerreotype plates, a then-new technology that in skilled hands displays mind-blowing resolution.

Detail of Restored Panorama

Fontayne and Porter were definitely skilled, but no one knew just how amazing their images were until three years ago, when conservators at George Eastman House in Rochester, New York, began restoration work on the deteriorating plates. Magnifying glasses didn’t exhaust their detail; neither did an ultrasharp macro lens. Finally, the conservators deployed a stereo microscope. What they saw astonished them: The details — down to window curtains and wheel spokes — remained crisp even at 30X magnification. The panorama could be blown up to 170 by 20 feet without losing clarity; a digicam would have to record 140,000 megapixels per shot to match that. Under the microscope, the plates revealed a vanished world, the earliest known record of an urbanizing America.

Detail of Restored Panorama

But the conservators also found trouble. At that magnification, dust motes smaller than red blood cells became image-obscuring blobs. Corrosion from a few molecules of water obscured a face peeking out a window. Even polishing marks from the original preparation of the plates became a mass of dark streaks.

Trying to restore the plates themselves might have damaged the images, and the conservators didn’t want to risk ruining the finest American daguerreotypes in existence. So they put them in a case filled with inert argon gas to arrest the deterioration and went digital, turning to computer vision specialists at the University of Rochester. To them, the images were just noisy data, which they knew how to scrub.

Now Fontayne and Porter’s daguerreotypes are stabilized and its details restored — 21st-century technology rescued an image from the 19th.

As a historical record, the Fontayne-Porter daguerreotype is unparalleled. It contains the first photographic images of steamboats, a railroad station, and one of the country’s earliest astronomical observatories. It may also be one of the earliest pictures to show free blacks, who were building a community in Cincinnati, just across the line from Kentucky slave country. A ditch running from the corner of a building down to the river — eroded by effluent from an outhouse — presages the cholera epidemic that hit the city the following year.

Even artifacts of daguerreotype preparation yielded new knowledge. The silver surface of an unexposed daguerreotype is tricky to polish to a mirror finish — even the finest cloths or brushes leave tracks that are clearly visible at high magnification. But the art historians didn’t want those marks removed; they wanted to be able to enhance them. It turns out that the streaks act as signatures. Each daguerreotypist had a distinct method of polishing — sweeping tiny suspended brushes across the plate or hand-polishing (as Fontayne and Porter did) with carefully chosen cloths. The resulting patterns vary, but in a small region they all look like very fine, roughly parallel dark lines. So Messing, Ardis, Tang, and their collaborators designed an algorithm to detect these unique patterns and bleach out the rest of the image.

After all the restoration, historians now know the exact hour and minute when the image was captured. Back in 1947, steamboat enthusiast Frederick Way and Cincinnati Public Library director Carl Vitz undertook an extensive historical investigation of the daguerreotype, using steamboat records to identify the only date on which all of those vessels were in Cincinnati: September 24, 1848. And by analyzing the angles of shadows, they figured the shots must have been taken just before 2 pm. A clock tower showed the time, but however much the researchers strained to read the 1-millimeter-diameter clock face with a magnifying glass, they couldn’t make it out.

After the images emerged from Eastman House’s microscope scanner, the team cheered when they saw the clock tower: It read 1:55."

Detail of Restored Panorama

Check This Out!

The Cincinnati Public Library has a website dedicated to viewing this amazing restoration - http://1848.cincinnatilibrary.org.

You are able to see each of the eight restored plates online, then zoom into the image to see first hand its clarity and its details. It will ASTOUND YOU! Many of the buildings and areas are also described for their historical significance.

And to think it is very possible, even probable that my Horst ancestors - Johann Eckhard Horst (1802-1852), my 4th great-grandfather, and Martin Horst (1830-1878), my 3rd great-grandfather - were living in the city on the day that this photograph was taken. What an opportunity to see exactly what the city looked like over 160 years ago!?!

WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY'S PHOTO - Thanksgiving at the Flemming Home 1942

Thanksgiving 1942

Every Thanksgiving the family of Harry Clinton Flemming (1878-1955) and Pearl Alphonsine Horst (1884-1961) would gather at their home on Birmingham's southside to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner together. Harry, my great-grandfather, would have had a turkey tied up to a stake in his backyard for a few days, and Pearl would cook the feast for all to enjoy. Along with the turkey the meal included oyster dressing, rice and gravy (for those non-dressing-eaters), ambrosia and mince pie for dessert.

The Women of the Family
Front (L-R) - "Grandmother", Susie, Frederica Flemming;
Back - Margaret, Pearl, ODee, Ann

Harry and Pearl had eight children, all born in their home in Birmingham. Their children were Pearl Alphonsine, born March 11, 1907; Susan Elizabeth "Susie", my grandmother, born August 23, 1909; Odalie Felice "ODee", born June 22 1911; Harry Clinton, Jr., born September 25, 1913; Charles Frederick, born January 6, 1916; John Edward "Jack", born April 8, 1918; Margaret Mary, born October 11, 1920; and Ann Marie, born December 23, 1923.

The Men of the Family
Front (L-R) Bill Barriger, Charles;
Back - Frank Selman, "Granddaddy, Jack, Huber O'Donnell,
Harry , George Daly

In 1926 oldest child Pearl got married, and by the following Thanksgiving Pearl and her new husband brought their baby, Pearl Elizabeth "Betty" Barriger (1927-2006), the first grandchild of Harry and Pearl, to the family's gathering. As the years passed the number of grandchildren grew and soon numbered thirty-two - 16 boys and 16 girls, born between 1927 and 1962. Two of Harry and Pearl's sons, Jack and Charles, enlisted and served overseas during World War II. All eight children married and almost all of the children and their families settled in Birmingham - all except daughter ODee. She moved with her husband to Metarie, Louisiana. She came home to visit, along with her children, as often as she could, especially during the holidays.

"Granddaddy" Harry would always be requested to show the grandchildren the turkey tied up in the backyard as Thanksgiving day approached, still alive and awaiting his fate. Of course this was something the grandchildren were intrigued with when they were young.  Eventually Pearl bought her turkey already dead and plucked clean from the grocery store, no doubt making dinner preparation easier once the number of family members continued to increase.

Grandchildren: (left to right) Front - Billy D., Harriet O'D.;
Second Row - Buddy D., Harry F. III, Barbara O'D., Dolly D., Jackie D.. (in arms);
Back Row - Mary Sue O'D., Huber O'D., Dot B., Betty B.

When it was time to eat all the adults present, as many as eighteen when everyone was home, ate at the big table in the family dining room. In the living room a table would be set up for the children to eat their meals. After dinner, the children played in the front yard while the grownups talked inside. Then they would often gather the entire family together and take a picture to remember the day.
Harry died in May of 1955, shortly after celebrating his and Pearl's 49th wedding anniversary. Pearl continued living in their home and celebrating the holidays with her family. Daughter Margaret, her husband and their five young children continued to live with Pearl until her death in September 1961, just a month before I was born. At the time, along with her eight children and thirty-two grandchildren, Pearl was survived by thirteen great-grandchildren, two more on the way (including me). Eventually the number of great-grandchildren of Harry and Pearl would total 64 in all. Thanksgiving continues to be celebrated at the home of Harry and Pearl by their descendants.

I hope Thanksgiving 2011 is a happy one for you and your family, as you enjoy dinner together and make new memories! And don't forget to take that family picture together, one that your descendants will be able to look back on 60 years later, and treasure, too!