there is nothing more american than photographs of the western usa during the 19th century. the photographic processes they used were tedious and required much time of both the photographer and the subject. all involved were serious about preserving memories. the camera, however, was not as commonplace as it is today, and represented something new and advanced. these cameras and processes created more beautiful documents than can any modern-day megapixel or software-advanced photoshop.
i found the above collection of photographs made by george edward anderson, a photographer based out of spanish fork and springville. i found many scanned negatives of my direct ancestors, as you can see below. at christmas time, anyone who is in utah should plan on a trip to the library with me to find the hard copies of these photos. then we can go to the d.i. and shop for cameras. and after that, we can maybe go to chuck-a-rama, another thing that represents the essence of america.
this picture is of my great great grandfather's family. he has a goatee. and he has a wooden leg, but you can't see it here.
this is thomas david and priscilla merriman evans. They are my great great grandparents on my mom's side.
this is my great aunt, maggie evans.
The old guy is david thomas davis, my great great grandpa. he went to wales with thomas david evans (see above) on a mission for the mormons.
This is spanish fork at a 24th of july parade.
this is a house called the peter frandsen house.
15 comments:
i spent a year scanning all those images in special collections.
i probably scanned at least one of those, if not all.
you should check out www.shorpy.com if you're into old photos these days
megan, you scanned my grandparents. weird.
stevie,
It's amazing how just those photographs can spark such a sense of pride in our ancestry. I am all in for a trip to the library. We may have to talk about chuck-a-rama though...
one thing, libby, we may be proud of is that in the back row of the first photograph there are two ladies on the left. Then a blank space, and then a man. That blank space was left for the sister that was in the loony bin. They later super-imposed her image on that spot. mom has that photograph in one of her genealogy books. yes, yes, we have a proud ancestry of slightly crazy people. in that same picture, the guy sitting on the far right is mom's grandpa.
how did you find our ancestors in the collections stevie? are they catalogued by name.
megan ruth: we owe you chuck o' rama for the scanning you did of our family.
the photos are very cool. maggie is the aunt libby was named after if i'm not mistaken. and do we have a photo of the crazy aunt elsewhere..?
you can search by name, and by 'spanish fork.' i think maggie is the aunt libby is named after. mom has a photo of the crazy aunt super-imposed over the original image.
That IS the aunt I was named after. I've never liked the name Margaret, and now that I have finally put a name with a face, I feel bad. And, by the way, it's growing on me. Maybe I'll name a daughter Maggie... it's kind of nice.
yeah. i think maggie is a cute name. if i have a baby girl before libby i'll name it maggie.
The race is on... first one with a girl gets "Maggie."
These pictures are great, Stevie. Thanks for sharing them. I'll look forward to that trip to the library, and a lecture from Mr. Frandsen about the finer points of 19th century photography.
And good times are, indeed, possible at chuck-o-rama. Or so I am told.
chuck-o-rama is where dad gave me the birds-and-the-bees talk, complete with diagrams and (i think) photos. that place holds good memories for me....
So the race begins...
stevie- dad gave me my talk when I crawled in to bed with them one morning. Needless to say, I didn't do that again for a LONG time.
Libby is named after my dad's mom, Margaret Davis Evans. Maggie (Magaret Evans Richardson) was Grandma's first daughter, that is the picture shown here. She is Eunice and Carol's mom. Maggie is a darling name that is what Grandpa Evans wanted to name Libby.
The Peter Frandsen Home--Is that from the Mount Pleasant Area? That is where my Grandfather grew up.
dad: i think this is the same house. I'm not sure though. ron claims to recognize it as the peter l. frandsen house.
Well hello! This is a relative of yours :)
this is my great grandfather as well!
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