In thinking about this edition of Smile for the Camera, I couldn’t pin down just one photo. I have a few favorites, and decided to show the best of the best with you. All of them are special to me because they either show an ancestor when they were young, or because it is the only photo I have of that ancestor.

This is a photo of my great-grandmother, Thelma Corrinne (Seibert) Furry (1910-2000). She was 15 at the time. The reason I like this photo is because when I first saw it, I had never seen a photo of her between the ages of 2 and 30, so it was nice to see what she looked like when she was a teenager:

I have quite a few photos of my great-grandmother Drusilla Irene (Rix) Beckman (1868-1955) when she was 75 years and older, but this is the only photo I have of her when she was young. I’m not sure of when it was taken (anyone want to take a stab?), but I’m guessing that is was about 1890:

This is a photo of the Jacob Seibert household at 1214 E. Jacob Street, Louisville, Kentucky, taken sometime between 1890 and 1910 (Again, anyone want to take a stab at the date?). I can’t identify any of the people who are in this photo but I can only assume that it is of Jacob Seibert and his wife and children, which would make it the only photo of that family. If I could only pin down the date of the photo I could probably identify the people in the photo based on the ages, but until then, I can only guess:

This is a treasured photo of four generations my grandfather’s family, taken circa 1921. This is the only photo of my g-g-grandmother Isabella (Wishart) Cummings (b. 1863), on the right, and her mother Catherine (Hodge) Wishart (b. 1838), on the left. The baby is my grandfather, Floyd Ellwood Cummings (b. 1921). The man is Edward Blythaway Cummings (1893-1953), Floyd’s dad:

I just decided to post a short excerpt from the genealogy book I am writing about one aspect of my g-g-grandmother’s life.

Though, a bit of data and two photos first.

Irene Mary (Beckman) Seibert; born 28 November 1890 in Bowling Green, Kentucky and died 12 Aug 1985 in Akron, Ohio.

Irene with her two daughters, Dorothy Dixie “Dots” Seibert (on the left) and Thelma Corrinne Seibert (on the right), circa 1913:

Irene sometime between 1935 and 1940:

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Irene Seibert was one of seven women to organize the Akron’s Progressive Women’s Club. The other founders were Mrs. Thomas Basick, Mrs. Mary Quist, Mrs. Tessie Beacham, Mrs. William Kuchinsky, Mrs. John Matuska, and Mrs. Jennie Nixon.

A photo of five of the seven founders of the Akron Progressive Women’s Club. Standing, from left to right: Mrs. John Matuska and Mrs. Thomas Basick; Seated, from left to right: Irene Seibert, Mrs. William Kuchinsky, and Mrs. Jennie Nixon:

The club’s mission was to study city government and help inform it’s members about the current political issues of their city as well as of the nation, in order to prepare the women when it came time to vote. They had representatives attend City Council meetings as well as other community meetings and report back to the women’s club. Near election time, candidates were invited to their meetings to speak about their stance on issues. Mrs. Thomas Basick was quoted as saying, “Now we don’t just vote as our husbands tell us to. We think for ourselves.” One specific issue that they tried to fight was the Selective Service Act of 1940. When it was initally under consideration, they protested it by picketing outside the office of their congressman. Irene Seibert said, “If all the women were organized as we are, there wouldn’t be any war.” Mrs. Basick added, “The world would be a better place to live in.” The club also had lecturors speak to members about health issues such as birth control and sexually transmitted diseases (termed “social diseases” at the time). The club also stressed the idea of buying in union stores and asking for union clerks. They were also active in helping strikers. They would volunteer on the picket lines and even walk with the men in the lines to encourage them.

Well, I couldn’t find some of the photos I had wanted to use, but I was still able to find enough to show 4 generations of women in my family in their swim wear.

Here is a photo of my great-grandmother, Thelma (Seibert-Osborne) Furry, and her daughter (my grandmother), Jacqueline (Osborne-Furry) Cummings, in 1940:

And a photo of me, Amanda (Stiver) Erickson, and my mom, Pamela (Cummings-Stiver) Kilgore, in 1985. This is from a vacation to our cousin’s house in Indiana:

And another one of me in 1985, age 6, at the local pool. I just had to post it because it made me laugh when I saw it. I was always posing like this. Almost every photo of me between the age of 4 and 10, where I know my photo is being taken, is of me in this same exact pose. My grandmother also actually labeled it “Bathing Beauty”:

And another one just for fun. This is my grandfather Floyd Cummings (husband to Jacqueline Osborne-Furry) in 1947 outside of the family cottage at Portage Lakes, Ohio. I’m assuming that these are swim trunks, but I wouldn’t put it past him to just strip to his skivvies in order to take a dip in the lake:

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This is my entry for the 49th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy: Swimsuit Edition!

My grandmother passed away in November of last year and since then my grandfather has been trying to clean out the house. He recently told me that I can have anything I want. Today I stopped by to rummage around in his attic.

I found some family documents, some letters, and a lot of great photos of relatives, but the most interesting find was an autograph book of my grandmother’s.

I picked it up and the first few pages were entries by friends and relatives, a nice find for me as a genealogist, but nothing too exciting for the general person… but after a few pages I came across autographs of Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hilliard!

Holy Crap!!! This is awesome! I grew up watching “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” on Nick at Night. I loved that show… mainly because of Ricky Nelson, but still.

The next few pages had even more celebrity autographs, some of them more well known than others…

Bing Crosby (singer/actor):

Bob Hope (comedian/actor):

Alan Ladd (actor):

Johnny Long (big band leader):

Bob Allen (a singer with Tommy Dorsey):

Harry James (big band leader):

John Loder (actor):

Van Johnson (actor):

Humphrey Bogart (actor):

There are two other autographs in this book too. I just can’t make out the names. Maybe some of you can and will let me know who they are:

Exciting stuff! I only went through, at most, five percent of everything in grandpa’s attic, so who knows what else is stowed away up there! I’m excited to find out.

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UPDATE:

The first “unidentified” autograph is by Paul Henreid.  I checked it against other samples online.  Thanks to Jen for letting me know.