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November 12, 2005 |
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From the Farm
FOUND by Regis Fritsch
in St Peter, Minnesota
I found this while checking out an abandoned farm here near St Peter. I discovered an old photo album which had obviously been wasting away in what was left of one of the sheds. Years of weather had taken its toll, but there, tucked towards the center was this picture in almost perfect condition.
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We collect FOUND stuff: love letters, birthday cards, kids' homework,
to-do lists, ticket stubs, poetry on napkins, telephone bills, doodles -
anything that gives a glimpse into someone
else's life. Anything goes...
I wish this wuz a painting. I want it so I could paint it. What year do you think it wuz? I say 1900.???
All I can say is "Wow"
I was suprised to see someone from St. Peter on here. Hi from a Gustie!
Wow-what a great family photo. Back in the day when kids could actually stand still long enough for the photo to be taken!
I love it - and now have a million questions - like: were these the orginal owners of that farm perhaps?
What a beautiful family.
It makes one think. For instance, the baby in the picture may now have great grandkids that are the same age as the person in the picture, hell maybe even great great grand kids.
Maybe one of the people looking at this picture is part of that family, and doesn't know it.
Ee gahd, so many thoughts running through my head about this one.
I wander if people in that time period had better lives than us. Sure, we have 'improved'. But have we really improved??? I think technology ruined this world.
I wander if people in that time period had better lives than us. Sure, we have 'improved'. But have we really improved??? I think technology ruined this world.
Sam: Ever thought that you might be a great, great, grand kid to one of those kids?
I find this sort of thing terribly sad. The people in the pictures are all gone, probably, or nearly so, but what gets me most is that no one is left behind to treasure such a beautiful item. It mattered so little to the surviving family members-or there were none-that it was just left behind to turn to dust. America is full of this stuff.
XXX: sure they had better lives...if you don't count the fact that this couple likely had 2 or 3 other kids that never survived infancy...and, of course, they had no found magazine.
Chris: that bothers me sometimes too, but we can hope that there's a copy somewhere in the hands of a descendant. If not, I suggest you frame this and hang it on your wall and pretend they're your ancestors. Just for fun.
How about offering the photograph to the Nicollet County Historical Society in St. Peter? They might be very happy to add it to their genealogy collections, especially since you know the exact location where it was found. Then the descendants of this family would have a chance of locating it.
Contact info for the Historical Society is:
Robert Sandeen, Collections Manager
Nicollet County Historical Society
1851 North Minnesota Avenue
St. Peter, MN 56082
Email: research@nchsmn.org
Phone: (507) 934-2160
Fax: (507) 934-0172
Or...Maybe Planned Parenthood could borrow it for their next billboard.Life was hard,that poor woman had to take care of four small kids on top of everything else she had to do.Hard to say whether they were country or city folks,'cause you wore your sunday best for a portrait like this.I don't know why but I get the feel that the father worked in a bank,as well the fields.It's a great find.
Love it love it love it. Old finds are the best finds.
L: what?! planned parenthood? what are you saying? and i think it's pretty clear that they were st.peter "folks."
To; 'mob in confusion' Yes,a great planned parenthood billboard-those kids are like 1,2,3 and maybe 5 years old!Now I know where st.peter got his name,
What a beautiful picture. I wish I had photos like this of my ancestors. I might just do what Elizabeith suggested: print it out, "age" it in photoshop,find an antique frame, and adopt a history. And then what Jill said: offer it to the historical society. I'll bet there was cool antique furniture in the outbuildings, too.
They had money, at least at that moment. Posed portraits were *expensive*. Based on the age of the kids, I doubt that the couple were much out of their twenties, although they look like they're pushing fifty. Life was tough.
What a beautiful find. Love the shoes on the older girl.
I think it is a great find! I agree with Jill in NC that it should be donated to the historical society. Maybe they can try and locate it's owner?
I love that this was found in what was probably its natural habitat - the old family farm. It makes me sad when I find old pictures in antique and junk stores. They were such a treasure to the people in the portrait and probably a few subsequent generations, but eventually no one knows who they are.
Do NOT give it to the Nicollet COunty Historical Society--let's just say their current administration is "suspect"--and Sandeen has no background in collection management.
This looks like something out of a Terry Gilliam cartoon. Like the mother's going to rip the arm off the kid and start beating him over the head with it. Ah, the good ol' days...
My eyes bugged way out when I saw this because I'm pretty sure it must have been taken at the same photography studio that my grandparents in Saskatchewan had their family photo taken in, circa 1923. The floor an background I'm 99 per cent certain are the same and even the poses of the family members match although there's one more kid in our photo. I feel it's quite likely that this photo was sent to Minnesota by relatives in Canada.
My family has dozens of photos almost exactly like this one, taken of my great grandparents and their children in the early 1900's. (Specifically 1906,1907 in Ohio.) They are certainly a treasure. In ours, the young girls are holding their large, white pet rabbits and the girls have HUGE white bows in their hair. They were a wealthy family... father a doctor/dentist.
that is so amazing. this picture makes me want to find the person and give it back to them.
If u trace the properties records through landtitles, u could probally find the name of the original owners of the farm bldg. Who knows they may even pay you handsomely for finding that lil bit o history contained in that photo album. I know I would!
We found our family photos like this one about 80 years after they were taken, in my grandma's old, old basement after she died. An amazing find, one any family would LOVE to have. I think that many elderly don't understand how much their family would treasure their old photos/letters/etc. They often aren't discovered until after the loved one passes away, and family is going thru their things while cleaning. I also found old quilts made by my relatives in 1904. They were signed and dated! And an elderly aunt was able to tell me who they were made for, and by whom.
Also, that big brother in the back looks like any little 1st Grade boy in 2007. Those poor women with no birth control back then. They had no choice but to have child after child.... whether they wanted to or not.
The guy looks miserable!! The times have not changes at all!
Am I the only one here who finds the baby on the right to have the cutest expression? He looks like a little fat puppy dog! :)
I found an old photo album myself a couple years ago with pictures of this older couple, Hazel and Edwin from the 50s. I treasure it to this day and admire the fact that Hazel was scrapbooking way back then.
If you want to post the exact address of the farm, I can check the old census records and see who was living there. If the number of and ages of the family members matches approximately, then you know who the photo is of.
I have some old family pics in the same style and era a lot like these from the early 1900s.