Oh Henry!
Henry Watson, Cheshire Ohio
Again, not related as far as I know.
I do know Henry was the son of John and Philamena Watson, and had a sister Ellen. He was born in 1841, in Ohio.
My interest in his picture comes from not just the unusually ornate border, but from the cords and tassels inked in by hand. Did Henry painstakingly add this artistry? I rather doubt it, as he was shown as a farmer in the 1870 census, and still living with his family (at the age of 29.)
Perhaps the recipient of this photo had (shall we say) special feelings for him?
The likely female suspects would have been either my great-great grandmother Ellen Campbell or one of her two sisters. All three married, but none to Henry Watson.
It could be likely that Henry served alongside one of Ellen Campbell's brothers in the Civil War. If this were the case I would doubt Henry would have bothered (or dared) to add the artwork.
No, I prefer to believe a love-sick Campbell girl was just doodling.
posted by SierraBella | 5:11 PM
6 Comments:
What Pam said. I love what I've come to call "blogworld," but your place here is like a little resort vacation out of blogworld. Very special.
On a personal note, and I say this with ALL affection, when I saw your profile, I said, "Thank GOD I'm not the oldest person in blogworld!" The 20s and 30s are definitely in the majority here. I've "met" only a few 40s and 50s; but it's quality that's important, not quantity;)
pam- jude is one of my favorites too!
Sometimes when I yearn for "the good old days" I have to remind myself about the sanitation issues-ewwwww. Who'd have the energy, at the end of a long day, to bother drawing and heating water for a bath?
susie- I have only come across one older than I (so far,) and his site was inactive! The software I use for my family pedigree has a feature which allows you to see family statistics. The average lifespan of my family is now 58 years and 11 months! Believe me, I'm typing as fast as I can...
Someone actually drew in the tassles by hand? What painstaking work! Perhaps that was deemed "normal" in those. After all, this was probably a time where the subject of the photograph would have to sit for 20 minutes while the cameraman took the picture, had to throw wood in the fire, and walk uphill to school BOTH ways. You kmpw, The good ol' days.
Touche christian-
Didn't they all have to "walk uphill to school BOTH ways" in the snow?
I, too, like to make up stories about unknown people in old pictures. And it's incredible that someone drew all that in by hand.
Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting!
Hi ladybug!
Ohhhhh- but I'm not making these stories up! I'm just not that creative.
My latest posting delves into this.
Thank you for the topic idea!
And thank all those who have visited my site.
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