This photo is remarkable, for several reasons. First, it’s an 8×10 in pristine condition – from 1929. Impressive. Second, the combination of people. We have baby Nona in the center on her Mother’s lap. Behind Nona’s mother are Nona’s maternal grandparents, Joseph & Julia Ellis. Then on either side of baby Nona are the parents of her maternal grandparents. What a cool group to gather for a four generation photo!
Guess what? It gets even more interesting. When I added this photo to my ancestry tree I realized I am related to both of Nona’s sets of great-grandparents. The couple on the far right are my 2nd great-grandparents, Frederick William Ellis and Susan Kaziah Davis. That relationship was obvious and I recognized them instantly.
Then there is the couple on the far left who were strangers to me, or so I thought, until I realized they were already in my tree. This is about to get all sorts of complicated, stick with me. The couple on the far left are John Webster and Lydia Almeda Taylor. Lydia is my 1st cousin 5 times removed. Her mother is Clarissa Lake, the sister of my 4th great-grandma, Sabra Lake. But I’m also related to her father, Pleasant Green Taylor – twice. Pleasant Green is my 4th great-granduncle, son of my 5th great-grandparents William Taylor & Elizabeth Patrick. That makes Lydia my 1st cousin 5 times removed – again. But Pleasant Green is also the second husband of my 4th great-grandmother, Sarah Jane Marler. Are you dizzy? Good news, none of those extra relationships are on the same branches of my tree. Phew!
This photo comes from the thirty-sixth page of the album. Here are pages thirty-six and thirty-seven to give context for this photo:
This post is part of a series sharing this wonderful old family photo album. You can learn more about the album here.
What a gorgeous photograph! I love all the shades of black, white and gray.
And your family is beginning to sound like mine in that paragraph!!
Haha – yes, there is a lot of interconnectedness in there for sure!! And, thank you, it really is a beautiful photo. ❤️
Beautiful photograph; it is in amazing condition. I was saying to Amy recently that despite most of my ancestors living for many generations in the same small area I haven’t found any of the multiple connections. Guess I’ll have to keep looking 😀
Thank you, Su! Oh, interesting… maybe they kept good track of their cousins and avoided marrying them. 😉
Given the endless feuds on my mother’s side of the family, perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised.
Haha! Well, I think all families have their moments. 😉
That’s amazing. I love to see the pictures I think the most. And this one – I have one that looks remarkably similar to this one, but with different people of course. Thanks for sharing!
Pictures really are one of the best parts of genealogy! I love them, so much. ❤️
I wonder if they were able to do the same for Nona’s father, his parents, and grandparents? What an awesome photo!
That is a very good question, Cathy. If so, I haven’t seen it. Wouldn’t it be cool if more people did this sort of thing? ❤️
This one is like a little family tree.
Yes! So special for her descendants. It was really cool when I was able to show it to her brother in person. ❤️