Daily Archives: May 18, 2013

Such a Beautiful Picture

I know I should ease up a little on Our Ancestors…

I am still unable to ascertain this is Anthony Lagasse and his first wife Delia Bertrand.

Bristol, Conn. about 1908-1909

He looks so much like his dad. He has to be Anthony.

Dennis II and Dennis II 1916Readers will understand how searching for Our Ancestors is a passion bordering on obsession.

Anthony Lagasse is in fact Antoine Lagacé born in 1863. He is the first child of Stanislas Lagacé (Dennis Lagasse II) and Henriette Alexandre.

Anthony was named after his great-grandfather Antoine Mignier dit Lagacé. 

I don’t have a picture of Henriette Alexandre to show you nor of Antoine Mignier dit Lagacé. This is the only image of Antoine Mignier dit Lagacé I can show you.

 Antoine Mignier 1797-1875

It’s the burial act of Antoine who died on February 17, 1875 in Bedford, Quebec.

I wish I could show you a picture of old Antoine and Henriette Alexandre.

I have so many pictures with unidentified women readers shared. Here are just a few.

young woman Bristol young woman Adams Mass young woman Adams Mass 1 woman Pittsfield woman New York woman Adams Mass woman Adams Mass 1 old woman Adams Mass Bennington woman Woman 9 Woman 8 Woman 6 Woman 5 Woman 4 Woman 3 Woman 1

I am sure Henriette is not one of them.  

But that’s okay. I just wanted to show them.

Now can you imagine finding my blog and starting to write about your ancestors and putting a name on one of these old cabinet cards.

The Calling

Old pictures are so addictive… and speak so much to us…
Such a wonderful story and so beautifully written

Real People Real Stories

ImageThis is Lois Astleford, my grandmother, at her first violin recital in 1908.  Her mother, Sallie Vale, wanted Lois to learn music and language as she had.  But Lois had a different calling.  She played horribly at the recital.  Her mother never again insisted she learn the violin.  Years later, Lois retold the story in vivid detail and with a faint smile.  Did she bomb the recital on purpose?

Perhaps.  Lois was a strong women overcoming hardships during her life.  Her father died when she was baby.   Her high school sweetheart was severely wounded in World War I. They never married.   She later married Cliff Wiedeman and had four boys.  Lois divorced Cliff during the Depression and raised her sons alone.  During this time she took up smoking Pall Mall cigarettes privately in bathrooms. Women were not allowed to smoke publicly or even vote at the time.  In later years, she…

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