A Favorite Photo
The assignment for week two said "Favorite Photo", and although I have lots of family photos that I treasure for their subjects, for their age, or for their scarcity, one photo immediately popped into my head. A photo that has always represented the treasured relationship between grandparent and grandchild for me.
The woman in the photo is my great-great grandmother, Florence Minnie (Lawson) Zahnd. The child in the photo is my own grandmother, Loyce. Based on my grandmother's apparent age, I'm guessing the photo was taken about 1928 or 1929. The affection between these two is easily seen, and it reminds me a lot of my relationship with my Grandma (Loyce) Rogers. Perhaps that is the reason that learning more about Minnie has always interested me. For a long time, though, her life was a bit of a puzzle.
My grandmother's has few memories of her. Apparently when one of Minnie's sons, Walter, lost his first wife in 1928, he brought his house full of children to live with Minnie and with his sister Irma, who lived across the road from Minnie. Grandma (Loyce) said it seemed like there were always lots of kids around, which probably explained both why visits with the busy Minnie were less frequent than they might have otherwise been, and also why the young Loyce spent her time playing with the children instead of spending more time with her Grandma. She said one thing she remembered about her was a pie safe that Minnie owned, and how it always had a custard pie in it, because they were a favorite and made frequently. Loyce's younger sister, Peggy, often called their Grandma Minnie "little Grandma", because her build was slimmer and shorter than their other grandmother. This was probably contributed to by the fact that she dealt with what we would now call osteoporosis, which left her back hunched, and made her appear even shorter.
Minnie was born on November 10, 1870 ... information that was readily found on her headstone at the Stoney Point Church of Christ cemetery.
Johannes, or John as he was known to most, and Minnie had 8 children during the course of their 40 year marriage, and their family started quickly. Their oldest child, a daughter they named Florence Eula, was born the end of 1892, the same year that they were married. Names have always been an interesting thing to me ... I wonder if they named their daughter after the little town of Florence, where they lived, or something else?
The birth of Florence was followed by the birth of three sons: John Arthur in 1894, Walter Oscar in 1897, and Lawrence Eugene in 1899. Sometime during this time frame, there was another child born that did not live. We would know nothing about this nameless little one, except for a listing on the 1900 Federal Census that shows that Minnie was the mother of 5 children, only four of which were living. The mostly likely time frame for its birth would seem to be between John's birth in 1894 and Walter's birth in 1897, but we may never know for sure. The little family was living on a rented farm in the Saint Florian area of Lauderdale County, Alabama, near the town of Florence.
In 1902, a daughter, Irma Louise was born. Approximately 9 months later, the Wright brothers made their historical flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. I imagine the papers were buzzing with news of this "miraculous" flight, and I find myself wondering if Minnie and John were as impressed by the feat as the rest of the world. Another daughter, Ida Mae, was born in 1905. Time was passing quickly, and by the time the 1910 Federal Census rolled around, the family had gone from renting a farm to owning one.
1912 was an eventful year. Their nineteen year old daughter, Florence, married in February of 1912, two months before the sinking of the "unsinkable" Titanic in April. In July of that same year, their last daughter Mildred Wylodine was born.
By 1920, the family seems to have at least partly left farming. John was working as a merchant in a general store, and his 25-year old son John Arthur, though married and working as an auto mechanic, was living with his wife in his parents' home. 20-year old Lawrence was still listed as farming on the "home farm", but though the property was listed as owned, it was also listed as mortgaged. Perhaps the family members had taken on other jobs to try and help support the family financially.
Life went on, and John died in 1932. Minnie lived an additional 18 years, passing away in 1950. I still knew nothing about her early life, and sometimes seemed destined not to learn anything more. I had requested a copy of her death certificate in hopes of learning the names of her parents, only to be told that it couldn't be found. (Perhaps a difference in the way the spelling was recorded.) A clue finally surfaced when I located her obituary.
It spoke of her as a lifelong resident of Lauderdale County, and a faithful member of the Church of Christ. She had died at the home of her daughter after an illness of about two weeks. Among the survivors listed, however, were some of her siblings. Two brothers, Emory Lawson and Luther Lawson of Florence, and a sister, Mrs. Emma Kelley of Birmingham. Armed with a few of her siblings' names, I searched the census again. Finally, things began to open up, particularly when I found her brother Luther listed in the same household with his mother Unity. Unity was a unique enough name that tracking down additional information was made a little easier. Minnie's father, Ivey Lawson, also had a unique name. What luck.
Turns out that her father's name was Ivey Martin VanBuren Lawson (shown above), who was born in Georgia in 1830. His first wife, Minnie's mother, was named Mary Billingsley, and they married in 1855. Mary died in 1881, when Minnie was just 10 years old. After her death, her father remarried to Unity Blackburn, who was the mother of Luther, Emory and Emma, mentioned in Minnie's obituary.
Minnie is an ongoing puzzle for me, and I'd love to learn more about her. I'm hoping to find more pictures of her, and fill in with more stories of her life. With the added names of her family, I can now also learn more about where she came from, and the things that made her who she was. It's what genealogy is all about.
The woman in the photo is my great-great grandmother, Florence Minnie (Lawson) Zahnd. The child in the photo is my own grandmother, Loyce. Based on my grandmother's apparent age, I'm guessing the photo was taken about 1928 or 1929. The affection between these two is easily seen, and it reminds me a lot of my relationship with my Grandma (Loyce) Rogers. Perhaps that is the reason that learning more about Minnie has always interested me. For a long time, though, her life was a bit of a puzzle.
My grandmother's has few memories of her. Apparently when one of Minnie's sons, Walter, lost his first wife in 1928, he brought his house full of children to live with Minnie and with his sister Irma, who lived across the road from Minnie. Grandma (Loyce) said it seemed like there were always lots of kids around, which probably explained both why visits with the busy Minnie were less frequent than they might have otherwise been, and also why the young Loyce spent her time playing with the children instead of spending more time with her Grandma. She said one thing she remembered about her was a pie safe that Minnie owned, and how it always had a custard pie in it, because they were a favorite and made frequently. Loyce's younger sister, Peggy, often called their Grandma Minnie "little Grandma", because her build was slimmer and shorter than their other grandmother. This was probably contributed to by the fact that she dealt with what we would now call osteoporosis, which left her back hunched, and made her appear even shorter.
Minnie was born on November 10, 1870 ... information that was readily found on her headstone at the Stoney Point Church of Christ cemetery.
But who was this lady? This Grandma of my Grandma who appeared to exude affection? She had married my great-great Grandfather, Johannes Zahnd, on February 10, 1892 when she was 21 years old. They were married in the home of her father, but her father's name was not mentioned in the marriage record. All I could find of her in the beginning made it seem as if her life began from nothing the day she married Johannes (John) Zahnd.
Johannes, or John as he was known to most, and Minnie had 8 children during the course of their 40 year marriage, and their family started quickly. Their oldest child, a daughter they named Florence Eula, was born the end of 1892, the same year that they were married. Names have always been an interesting thing to me ... I wonder if they named their daughter after the little town of Florence, where they lived, or something else?
The birth of Florence was followed by the birth of three sons: John Arthur in 1894, Walter Oscar in 1897, and Lawrence Eugene in 1899. Sometime during this time frame, there was another child born that did not live. We would know nothing about this nameless little one, except for a listing on the 1900 Federal Census that shows that Minnie was the mother of 5 children, only four of which were living. The mostly likely time frame for its birth would seem to be between John's birth in 1894 and Walter's birth in 1897, but we may never know for sure. The little family was living on a rented farm in the Saint Florian area of Lauderdale County, Alabama, near the town of Florence.
In 1902, a daughter, Irma Louise was born. Approximately 9 months later, the Wright brothers made their historical flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. I imagine the papers were buzzing with news of this "miraculous" flight, and I find myself wondering if Minnie and John were as impressed by the feat as the rest of the world. Another daughter, Ida Mae, was born in 1905. Time was passing quickly, and by the time the 1910 Federal Census rolled around, the family had gone from renting a farm to owning one.
1912 was an eventful year. Their nineteen year old daughter, Florence, married in February of 1912, two months before the sinking of the "unsinkable" Titanic in April. In July of that same year, their last daughter Mildred Wylodine was born.
By 1920, the family seems to have at least partly left farming. John was working as a merchant in a general store, and his 25-year old son John Arthur, though married and working as an auto mechanic, was living with his wife in his parents' home. 20-year old Lawrence was still listed as farming on the "home farm", but though the property was listed as owned, it was also listed as mortgaged. Perhaps the family members had taken on other jobs to try and help support the family financially.
Life went on, and John died in 1932. Minnie lived an additional 18 years, passing away in 1950. I still knew nothing about her early life, and sometimes seemed destined not to learn anything more. I had requested a copy of her death certificate in hopes of learning the names of her parents, only to be told that it couldn't be found. (Perhaps a difference in the way the spelling was recorded.) A clue finally surfaced when I located her obituary.
It spoke of her as a lifelong resident of Lauderdale County, and a faithful member of the Church of Christ. She had died at the home of her daughter after an illness of about two weeks. Among the survivors listed, however, were some of her siblings. Two brothers, Emory Lawson and Luther Lawson of Florence, and a sister, Mrs. Emma Kelley of Birmingham. Armed with a few of her siblings' names, I searched the census again. Finally, things began to open up, particularly when I found her brother Luther listed in the same household with his mother Unity. Unity was a unique enough name that tracking down additional information was made a little easier. Minnie's father, Ivey Lawson, also had a unique name. What luck.
Turns out that her father's name was Ivey Martin VanBuren Lawson (shown above), who was born in Georgia in 1830. His first wife, Minnie's mother, was named Mary Billingsley, and they married in 1855. Mary died in 1881, when Minnie was just 10 years old. After her death, her father remarried to Unity Blackburn, who was the mother of Luther, Emory and Emma, mentioned in Minnie's obituary.
Minnie is an ongoing puzzle for me, and I'd love to learn more about her. I'm hoping to find more pictures of her, and fill in with more stories of her life. With the added names of her family, I can now also learn more about where she came from, and the things that made her who she was. It's what genealogy is all about.
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