After Great Aunt Mae's funeral yesterday I went with my parents, Uncle Justin, Aunt Barbara, and cousin Justin Jr. to start the process of packing up Mae's condo at Southgate.
Over the past few years, as I became more interested in researching the family history, I would visit Mae and ask the same question - "Are you sure you don't have any family photos?" Every visit would end the same with her gesturing to some framed photographs on her TV or she would point to the small photo albums near her chair. Most of the photos in the albums were from the last few decades and sent to her from the various great nephews and nieces. All very interesting, but not what I was hoping to find. I was looking for the elusive images of Mae's aunts and uncles or perhaps her grandparents. Or even just images of her parents and her siblings when she was younger. She would always say that she used to have more pictures, but now had only what was on display in her living room.
Monday afternoon, when I went to Mae's condo, I did not hold out much hope for finding additional family photos. I could not have been more wrong. It did not take long for photos to start emerging from all corners of Mae's home. Images stashed in desk and bureau drawers. More photos hiding among stacks of papers. Then the real find when I explored her storage cage at Southgate. Under the box containing Great Aunt Lou's carefully package wedding dress was a cardboard box filled with Deedy family pictures. Enough material to fill two suitcases. I am calling this collection of material "Mae's Suitcase Archive".
I am now in the process of sorting through the treasure trove of images. I will be scanning, cataloging, and (hopefully) identifying all of the people and associated stories contained in the images. The originals will then be forwarded/dispersed among those in the family who should have them. I will work on putting all of the "Mae's Suitcase Archive" images that I capture digitally on CDs and send everyone who wants one copies - but this will take me some time.
Here is an example of one of the images found and after conferring with my Father, here is what it means from a family history standpoint:
My Uncle Jack married his wife Mary (Noonan) Deedy in Ireland. Both were from Worcester, but Uncle Jack was in Ireland studying at Trinity College in Dublin. Neither Jack nor Mary's family could travel to Ireland to attend, instead Jack's uncle, Patrick J. Deady represented the family. He was Jack's grandfather's younger brother. Baptised in Firies, Ireland in 1884, he never emigrated to America like his brothers and sister - Edward, Alexander, William, Morris, and Nora did. Instead he settled in Cork with his wife Joanna. At the time of this photo Patrick would have been either 69 or 70 years old.
Over the past few years, as I became more interested in researching the family history, I would visit Mae and ask the same question - "Are you sure you don't have any family photos?" Every visit would end the same with her gesturing to some framed photographs on her TV or she would point to the small photo albums near her chair. Most of the photos in the albums were from the last few decades and sent to her from the various great nephews and nieces. All very interesting, but not what I was hoping to find. I was looking for the elusive images of Mae's aunts and uncles or perhaps her grandparents. Or even just images of her parents and her siblings when she was younger. She would always say that she used to have more pictures, but now had only what was on display in her living room.
Monday afternoon, when I went to Mae's condo, I did not hold out much hope for finding additional family photos. I could not have been more wrong. It did not take long for photos to start emerging from all corners of Mae's home. Images stashed in desk and bureau drawers. More photos hiding among stacks of papers. Then the real find when I explored her storage cage at Southgate. Under the box containing Great Aunt Lou's carefully package wedding dress was a cardboard box filled with Deedy family pictures. Enough material to fill two suitcases. I am calling this collection of material "Mae's Suitcase Archive".
I am now in the process of sorting through the treasure trove of images. I will be scanning, cataloging, and (hopefully) identifying all of the people and associated stories contained in the images. The originals will then be forwarded/dispersed among those in the family who should have them. I will work on putting all of the "Mae's Suitcase Archive" images that I capture digitally on CDs and send everyone who wants one copies - but this will take me some time.
Here is an example of one of the images found and after conferring with my Father, here is what it means from a family history standpoint:
My Uncle Jack married his wife Mary (Noonan) Deedy in Ireland. Both were from Worcester, but Uncle Jack was in Ireland studying at Trinity College in Dublin. Neither Jack nor Mary's family could travel to Ireland to attend, instead Jack's uncle, Patrick J. Deady represented the family. He was Jack's grandfather's younger brother. Baptised in Firies, Ireland in 1884, he never emigrated to America like his brothers and sister - Edward, Alexander, William, Morris, and Nora did. Instead he settled in Cork with his wife Joanna. At the time of this photo Patrick would have been either 69 or 70 years old.
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