September 26

THE HUMOR OF IT
BY DONNA POINTKOUSKI
A Monthly - Weekend With Shades -

I’m fortunate enough to have photos of six of my eight great-grandparents. But I’m not fortunate enough to have tons of photos of greats and great-greats at various stages of their lives. I admire those who do possess large collections of family treasures. Okay, so maybe it’s more like envy and not admiration. When it comes to great photos of your ancestors, I’m definitely one of the “have nots” instead of the “haves”. But I have tried to remedy this – why should so few family historians have all the fun?

My desire to find more old family photos has become an obsession. My family has been no help in feeding my addiction. I have tracked down cousins by the dozens and popped the magic question: “Do you have any photos of our great-grandparents?” But no one has delivered the goods so far. A few of them torture me with hints that photos exist, buried in someone’s basement or attic. So I keep asking, like one of those pop-up windows on the computer that asks “Are you sure?”

My persistence has not yet paid off. In fact, I think one of my cousins has me on their personal “Do Not Call” list and invested in Caller ID to safeguard their inalienable right to a pleasant Sunday afternoon. I think another cousin may have moved and left no forwarding address – hmm, I hope it wasn’t my nagging. Another cousin-once-removed called my mother to have her make me stop asking.

So what is a desperate ancestor-photo hunter to do? Like any addict, I sought out a “fix” and now I haunt “unclaimed photo” web sites instead of hounding my relatives. These web sites, such as Dead Fred, post old photographs. Some have names or other identifiers, some do not. I haven’t yet found anyone I know, but I take a look at these “shades of the departed” once in a while.
One day I began researching a specific type of photo in my tiny collection – the CDV, or carte de visite. These are small photographs, 2⅛ × 3½ inches, which are mounted on a thick card that usually bears the photographer’s name or studio address. They became popular in both Europe and the United States beginning around 1860. I have three of these CDVs, all from Bavaria from the 1890’s. As I researched the various photographic studios, I found a photo-auction site in Germany that specializes in these old photos. Some of these photos were even taken at the same studio as my great-grandmother’s photo!

What if I was actually looking at photographs of my relatives? That thought occurred to me, as well as the equally beguiling thought – would I know if I was looking at a relative? Would I somehow recognize them without ever actually having seen their faces?

I am still musing over the philosophical and genealogical ramifications of that. But then I had a much lighter thought (as if that would surprise my regular readers) – what if I could just pick out my ancestors based on these photos? After all, I don’t really know that the photos of my great-grandparents are actually my great-grandparents – I never met them! So why can’t I find some nice photos and make them my own?

Let’s see, I don’t have any photos of my Piontkowski great-grandparents, so let’s start with them. Let’s see if I can find any Polish CDVs. My great-grandfather died when my father was six, but my father remembers a man with a mustache. Here’s one!

Oh, heavens no! He’s far too stern-looking (and too old). I’d prefer a younger man to represent my great-grandfather, and perhaps his wife, Rose, as well. Something more like this!

This would be perfect if it weren’t for the wrong country’s Army (Latvia instead of Poland). And the photo was taken in 1924, by which time my great-grandparents were in their 60s. But, there aren’t too many Polish CDVs for sale, so beggars can’t be choosers. Maybe I’d have better luck looking for German relatives. Here’s a rather nice-looking man that would make any descendent proud to bear his genes (who said your ancestors had to be dour instead of hot?):

Now a handsome man like that needs a family, so let’s find one.

She actually looks like my great-grandmother! Is she a relative? Well, I’ll never know. With an active imagination I can say she is, but it’s not quite the same. Photographs, to me, really give me a sense of knowing the person. So finding photos of my ancestors would bring them just a little bit closer. You do have to be careful what you ask for though. If the woman shown below is actually a leaf on my family tree, it would sure explain some things.

Here’s one that shows something quite rare in old photos – smiles! Well, on second thought, a smile may not be as rare that the outlandish and suggestive outfit in the above photo.

I spent hours looking at these old photographs and wondering about who these people were. It is a shame that these photos are left abandoned or lost – each would be special to their descendants. If I had the time and the talent, I’d try to figure out who all of these unclaimed people are.

Then again, if they were passed on to their families, chances are they’d be in a box someone’s attic, or sitting right next to the box of photos of my ancestors in my cousin’s basement.
Oh well, maybe someone that is related to these people will find the photos and take them home. And if they don’t hurry up and find them, I might just have to start adopting some ancestors! How much for the grandfather on the right? He’s look lovely next to that photo of Grandma!