A Photo

This was written on 15 Nov 2007
Family History--Yankton Visit----The Photo

"This is the day The LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it". New Living Translation
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Entry September 11, 1985 ...The photo of Great Grandpa and his wife....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[My] Great Aunt [Mary] talked to us for about ten minutes while we were there, we got a chance to see pictures of our ancestors. The one that I [took] special attention to was a black and white picture of my Great Grandpa Isaac and his wife Rachael.

They were standing posting for a picture. The background was fizzy...[there was] a cow at the left of the picture. My Great Grandpa [Isaac] was wearing a hat. He looked like and elderly old man because he had a cane in his right hand.

His, [Great Grandpa's] suit was dark and [he] had a white shirt on. Also his overall appearance he was slightly bent over. [His skin was] dark complexion with high cheekbones.

My Great Grandpa's wife was called Rachael. She was also [had] dark complexion. Her appearance was somewhat over looking then [Great Grandpa] Isaac's.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Entry September 13, 1985
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
She looked like an over worked woman. There was no expression on her face. She was dressed in a long dress [which was] very decorative.

After I [looked] at that photograph for about a minute, I felt that this [photo represented a key to my family's past and showed me a piece of history...this] was my Great Grandpa. Isaac. I could only image what he looked like. I saw proof of my Great Grandparents existent by a photograph. I never thought that I could actually find a picture of any older generation.

These movements that I was in this house of my Great Aunt [Mary] were unbelievable. Everything she told us was new to us. We didn't know very much about our family's past. She filled us in on what she knew.

She told us that our Grandpa John came to Yankton...very sick. She could not recall the year, but it was around 1913 -1915. She recalled that her husband, Spencer helped [Grandpa] John settle down.

About two weeks past she receives a letter from Jennie, John's wife. [Grandpa] John had died up in Yankton, but [Grandma] Jennie couldn't come and live in Yankton. [I believe that Great Aunt Mary already knew Grandpa John had passed. It is my assumption that Grandma Jennie sent this letter in return of what her plans were.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is more of what I wrote on September 30, 1985...some is a repeat.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After I had visited my Great Aunt Mary it was time to go [start back] home. What I have learned would be treasured for a lifetime. Great Aunt Mary was a very friendly old woman. When I visited her, and her granddaughter, Mary told me that she, Great Aunt Mary was not feeling to good but she wanted to see us any way.

What I remember most about my ten minutes visit with Great Aunt [Mary] will be the feedback she gave us as we talked to her. She was a very sharp woman for her 89 years. She told us about her Irish father and her full blood American Indian mother. They, her parents seldom talked in front of her about problems. Yet she reflected on this... trying to show [us "young folks"] about her past...

This visit in Yankton is about to end...But A New Beginning In the Midst To Continue. I will stop here and fill you in on some things.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As I read over my notes, I noticed a change in how I see "people of age". Now I try not to say "old" man or "elderly" woman nor use a "disability" as a "sign of a cane" for age. I see people with "age" as people who have knowledge and who have wisdom through the years that they have lived. They also experience life on their journey.

As I look back on this visit, in this gathering there were many nationalities represented in the room. Great Aunt Mary's father was Irish, New Guinean and her mother was full blooded American Cherokee Indian... adding with Mary Jane father's bloodline.... African, Spanish, and in her mother's side...French and Sioux / Cherokee American Indian.

We were told that we have some Indian blood through all our Grandparents---Indians Crow, Blackfoot and Cherokee along with African blood and other races in us. We are at least 1/8 Nigerian African from Great Grandpa Isaac. There were at least 9+ races represented in that one visit....I though about a small tribe of God.

I have many other relatives from different nationalities. There are some Mexicans, Whites, and Indian blood relatives in my family. I am not ashame to call them a member of my family.

I would not be surprise if I come across a cousin with blond hair and blue eyes. My mother told me that she heard that her father was born with "sandy color" looking hair and his eyes were somewhat blue. Some of my siblings have hazel eyes.

What am I thankful for ? I thank God for the covenant blessings of HELP, STRENGTH and JOY that God has upon my life. God gives me strength for each day. What joy that I have in the Lord. The joy of the LORD is my strength. I am thankful that I have today.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Whatever day that you are reading this entry, Have A GREAT Day!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Day Dawning! The family history quest continues...~Susie~
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Faith is not belief without proof but trust without reservation." -- D. Elton Trueblood

Additional information about this story
Description Describing a photo
Date 1981
Location
Attached to Isaac Blakey (1847 - 1917)