Tuesday, February 19, 2008

More goodies in Mother's keepsakes




For some reason, my mom saved this crocheted thingie; is it a bib?  If so, there's no button to hold it onto a baby's neck.  My grandma crocheted; I wonder if this is something she made.

I found, among other papers, my maternal grandmother's birth certificate.  Not the original, but one made in 1952. 

I'm sure my cousin Pauline, the family genealogy person, has told me this already, but if so I had forgotten:  My grandma's parents were both born in Pennsylvania.  Hey, that puts me a little closer to jolly old England, does it not?  Am I a descendant of British ancestors?  Perhaps royalty? 

Cliff's comment, when I mentioned Pennsylvania, was, "So you're Dutch?"

Anyhow, Grandma was the second child born to her parents; her daddy was twenty-four years old when she was born, and her mother was twenty-two. 

I realize all of this means nothing to my readers.  I'm just meandering like I always do when I've been digging through Mother's keepsakes.

Here's a picture for you:


On the back of this, my mom's Aunt Ada wrote a note saying that this is her half-sister.  Wow, that would have been a lot of hair to try and keep clean back in the days of no running water.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks like a bib to me ;)  A really cute one too!  Boy that really looks good for being so old.   Loved that picture and I could not imagine how she kept that hair clean but it sure looks nice and clean.  I love older pics.  Sounds like your going down memory lane today :)  Isn't that fun!  I love going through my moms stuff too.  

Anonymous said...

yep, I think it is a bib.

Oh my, all that hair..........it is beautiful though.

Anonymous said...

Looks like a bib to me..maybe it was never finished with a button and hole. That hair is really something else! Amazingly long, and yes, would have been quite a chore to keep then.

Anonymous said...

Looks like half of a purse. Maybe the other half never got finished.  I just found my mothers birth certificate and her marriage certificate. Found out my Canadian grandfather was born in Milton North Dakota!

Anonymous said...

Whatever that is, it is pretty and took a long time to crochet. Love the picture of the lady with the long hair and I am sure it was a problem to keep clean. Helen

Anonymous said...

There was maybe a piece of ribbon to tie the bib on? I am not sure either! I have some crocheted things from my ancestors too - it's like they did that for entertainment.

xoxo

Anonymous said...

I bet it was something your grandmother did as my grandmother made the same item.  My mother always said it was a pot holder, but I didn't see how.  It was more or less something to set something hot on.  I never saw my grandmother's hands idle unless it was Sunday and she was reading her Bible.  She always had something to sew or crochet.  But on Sundays you were not allowed to do the other stuff.  'On Ya' - ma

Anonymous said...

I like that crochet thingy. The colors are pretty! And that HAIR! OMG that's way too much hair LOL! That had to be HOT in the summer.
Pam

Anonymous said...

maybe was a bib...and ribbons held it together...or a pot holder that was started and the filling didn't make it yet...but I think it would be a great thing to put in a picture frame and hang on the wall somewhere....yuppers....tht is what I would do with it...unless there is someone who would rather have it???  hugs...Ora     ps...that hair...wow....but it is my understanding women didn't wash their hair so often as we do today????

Anonymous said...

It would have been very heavy hair to carry around too, I think.

That is a bib and the strange thing is I just found TWO of that exact pattern in my mothers things.  Both in white; one trimmed in pink, the other in blue.  I know my mother crocheted them herself, but now I wonder who she intended to give them to.

Anonymous said...

I know it's hard to tell, with the picture being so old and all.. and of course the quality wasn't all that great, but I wonder if she was considered a "looker" back in the day.  She looks pretty cute to me.  And, yes, that's a LOT of hair!!

Jackie

Anonymous said...

Lots of English, Irish and Dutch in PA.  My grandparents/great grands were Irish and English...from Northern PA.  Lots of Amish too.  ;-)  Southern PA has a lot of Italians too. And Polish.  It's a popular state.  :-D

Anonymous said...

Glorious hair!  I've got a little Pennsylvania Dutch in my family.  (As well as English, Scots, Irish and German)
Lori