The Grey/Wagner family
I’m surprised how different people’s knowledge of their families are. Not the knowledge itself, I should say, but the amount of it. I have friends who can tell me what jobs their grandparents had—and when they had them, and even how much they were paid. They know the names of men their mothers dated before the mothers dated their fathers, and they can drive through their hometowns and say where the restaurant used to be where one of those dates happened. Then I have friends who aren’t even sure where their parents grew up or if their grandparents helped pay for college or which anniversary is coming up.
My knowledge falls somewhat to the latter end of the spectrum. I trip over my dad’s sisters’ names, can’t name all my cousins, and have to be reintroduced to people at family reunions. I imagine that’s typical in a modern family.
But most families have, as mine does, a volunteer archivist. For us that would be my aunt on my mother’s side. We’re rather indebted to her for her taking the time to digitize the photographs that were on display at my grandmother’s 80th birthday party last weekend. The vast majority of the images I had never seen. Many of the people represented I had only heard of but now have a face to place with them. So, Evy, thanks.
My great grandfather, a note to my great grandmother
My grandmother (held by her mother) and her siblings
My great grandmother outside St. John’s Orphanage, where she lived and met my great grandfather, in Washington
My great grandfather
Same
Great grandparents together
My great grandmother, on F St. in Washington
My grandmother, at National Airport in 1942, seeing her brother off to war
My great aunt Minnie
My great aunt Dolly, portrait after winning a local beauty contest
My grandfather in 1945
A postcard from my grandfather to my grandmother
My aunt, who collected these photos, and uncle in 1949
My mother in 1950
My mother (left), uncle, and aunt
My mother, having graduated from college, with my grandmother
My grandmother, 1972
