#4 Tin Memories

One of my favorite things about marriage is that you gain a whole new set of family members; a group of people who love you simply because you are "family."   For us women, we adopt new last names and in essence new identities; new histories of people who came before us.  New ancestors who attempted to leave a mark on this world, in hopes that one day we would remember them for the things they achieved in their lifetime.

To me, photographs are the physical representation of this sentiment.  A moment, captured in time as proof of something memorable to an individual.  A goofy face or one that's been dolled up, every one of these pictures leaves a stamp of the past in the palm of your hand.

When my husband's grandmother past away last Monday, family from all over the country gathered to honor her.  It was amazing to be in a room full of people I had never met before, mourning the loss of our grandmother, sister, mother, cousin... together.  As we went home, we opened the boxes and boxes of pictures where I was introduced, in print, to the very faces that wept with me that morning.  I learned about poverty of great grandparents and office christmas party's long gone.  Wedding pictures of lovers finally together and smiling babies all wrapped in fancy blankets.

But in this heap of memories, I found something I had never seen before. (My NEW for blog #4) Two tin photos from the mid 1800s emerged with members of a family I was now a part of.  Two women who wanted to leave a photographic memory of themselves for the future generations to remember.... that future generation, I realized, was me.

My.. as I like to call them... tin-great grandmothers

So, to you two wonderful women who were pioneers of your time, even if I don't know your name, thank you for providing me with a forever curiosity of who you tin-great-grandmothers were.  I am excited to research you and what great things you intended to pass down.

Look for the continuation of this adventure next week when I tell you where my passions led me.