Saturday, December 17, 2011

A Victorian Christmas

I am going to take a bit of a detour on this blog….and do another genealogy post…..this is the only photo of have of anyone in my family in this time era at Christmas and I really wanted to share it!  ( Thank you Joan)

I have no photos of my parents as children at Christmas, in fact I have no baby photos of my Mom at all….my grandparents were too poor to have any real photos of any of their children as babies.  It makes me sad as the maternal grandparents were very well off….but such is life.

My Dad’s dad was a barber…enough said about their income….but I do own a few of him as a baby, just not at the holidays.

This is a photo of Severin “Socky” Westlund at Christmas in 1915.  This was taken at my great grandparents house.  ( we think)  They were Zachrias and Mary Severson.  Socky is just 7 years old…. I wish I could see more of these!  Even the ceiling is wallpapered…I would love to have been able to see what the whole house was like.  My grandmother tore this house down when her father passed.  Her and my grandfather built a new home on the land.

Socky 1915

I just love the walls and that photo on the wall….wonder where that ended up?  His toys are behind him and he looks way too serious for a boy of 7.  I love the popcorn strings on the tree too….I wish we could get a better look! :)

Socky 1915 - Copy

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to still have these great vintage toys?  Look at that barn….and the wagon and horses, they sure look like they are iron. And what 7 year old wouldn’t have loved a drum?

I remember Socky very well and with a lot of  love, he was a wonderful, kind, soft spoken man with a great sense of humor! And he loved talking about the history of our family.  I just wish I had been interested in the family genealogy before he passed….again, if you have family members that you can talk to…do it!!!!!  You only get that chance  for those wonderful stories and tidbits while they are with us…

Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight…as Santa would say…:)

10 comments:

Nan said...

Wonderful old photo there I see why you love it. Yes those old toys wouldn't we love to still have them! You know I don't have any photos of my parents as babies either. They were both born in the late 1800's and both came from families of 9 so not a lot of photos were taken they were too busy trying to make it in Northern CA. Nan

LANA said...

I love that picture, and yes, he does look somewhat serious, doesn't he? Our family histories are fascinating!

Sarah said...

What a wonderful picture, oh how I wish I could get inside and look around! :-)

Shirley Hatfield said...

I am so glad I was able to sit with my grandparents and hear their stories. You are so right! We need hear them and remember them and share them with our children. We are each only a couple of generations away from being forgotten. If our ancestors could speak to us, I know they would say "Please don't forget me." Remembering and honoring are labors of love.

My Vintage Mending said...

We have a Socky in our family too. Just a great old name even if it was a nick name. I have these same pictures from my grandmother. Sadly no one wanted them after her death and I couldn't leave them in the box they were in. Just in need of rescue. This is the most amazing picture...thanks for sharing...Merry Christmas...Renee

Esther Joy said...

I enjoyed your old time Christmas photos! My family didn't have many photos either, but my husband's family has quite a few old photos. His aunt told me an old photographer paid the family room and board by taking photos!

vivian said...

love the pic. I dont have any old pics of my dad as a kid I have one of my mom as a kid. Julie campbell has the most incredible pics of her ancestors.. do you visit her?
I hope you and your family have a very merry christmas Sandy!
I'm off to take another batch of cookies out of the oven... these ones to go to work today for a cookie exchange!
have a great day!
xoxo
vivian

Cheryl said...

What a fabulous photo! If you go to a site called "Picture trail"... you can upload your photo to the site and they have a magnifier that you can roll over & around the photo so you can magnifier areas. It would be neat to get a closer look at everything :-)

Garter Mademoiselle said...

I LOVE the photo! I have pictures of my grandparents and great grand parents, but none at all at Christmas time, and I would sooo love to see how their trees looked back then, what toys the children got and how they might have decorated the house. It makes me realize that Christmas family photos should be taken each and every year, for all the children to follow in years to come! My mother was very much into geneology and traced our family back to the 1600's, so I am a real lover of old family photos. Thanks for sharing such a true TREASURE with us! Merry Christmas!! ~Debby

Unknown said...

Sandy I came across this post while doing some family research, Socky is my great uncle!! Please reach out if you get this! Jen.Lapoint@gmail.com

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