52 Ancestors 2021: Week 29: Fashion

My family tree is full of all sorts of different fashions from this era and that era. Unfortunately, I don't have a photograph of each one of my ancestors but, I'd like to share a few photographs of ancestors in different styles of clothing. 

This photograph shows my Great-Grandparents - Doc and Lorene (White) Jones and a couple of their youngin's. This photograph is from roughly the 1940's - I feel this is typical dress for that time period. The Jones' didn't have much money - they lived in a little community called Wyatt, Missouri, in Mississippi County. The house was built by my Great-Grandfather in the shape of an 'L' for my Great-Grandma, her name starting with an 'L.' 

This photograph is of my Great-Grandparents - Henry and Anna (Thompson) Sandefur. I believe this photograph is from the 1960's. I know it's pre-1970 as Poppy died that year. The dress my Nana is wearing, to me, is very reminiscent of the 50's and 60's. 

This photograph shows my 2x Grandparents - French Mefford and Emma Lillie (Turner) Mefford. It's dated circa 1945. I feel their clothing is very indicative of farmers in a farming community in the 1930's and 1940's. 

This photograph is interesting -- it shows turn of the century style for women. These are my 2x Grandparents - Bill and Icy (Bowers) White with their daughter Christine who was born in 1911. So I believe this photograph is about 1913 or so. My Great-Grandmother, Lorene was already born, but doesn't appear in the photo. Icy doesn't look pregnant at all. So it has to be 1913 or 1914 (Roughly.) To me, the 'suit style' clothing for women was just starting to come into style around that time. It especially became popular after WW1. Icy died in 1921 of tuberculosis. 

I'm unsure the date of this photograph - but it is also a photo of Icy (Bowers) White but this time with her sister. I want to say it's from the 1900's or 1910's as well. 

This photograph is my 2x Grandparents Martin and Mary Agnes (Nally) Blanford. I believe it was taken around their wedding - January 7th, 1913. I believe that might have been her wedding gown/dress. This photo has been colorized from black and white and creases/imperfections have also been fixed thanks to the group "Random Acts of Photo Restoration" on Facebook. I also used the Remini app to clear up their faces a bit. Agnes died young in 1927 -- tuberculosis. 

These are my 2x Grandparents, Charles and Carrie (Byrd) LaRue. I believe this photograph was taken in the late 1940's to very early 1950's as Carrie died in 1955. Dad LaRue was a farmer his whole life and while they didn't live dirt poor -- they certainly weren't wealthy. I feel their clothing is very typical for a 1940's farming family. 

This is my 2x Grandparents, Eugene and Ollie (Moss) Sandefur. This photograph I believe is from the 1940's as Eugene died in 1951. He was retired from the USPS. They didn't live dirt poor, but they weren't extremely wealthy either. They lived at 1421 Clay St. in Henderson, KY for the majority of their lives. 40+ years. 

This photo is of my Great-Great-Grandmother, Mary Janella (Nally) Thompson (on the left) and her twin sister, Camilla (Nally) Thompson (on the right) in 1898 when they were 16 years old. In my opinion, their dresses are very, very indicative of the styles of the 1880's and 1890's. Pre-turn of the century. They hailed from a Catholic farming family but I feel this photograph speaks volumes. I enhanced this photograph with Remini app to be able to see their features, especially their faces, more clearly. 

These are my 3x Grandparents - Phylander and Lucy (Knight) Turner. They died in the 1940's so I dare say this photograph is likely from the 1930's (even though it was dated 1915. I believe it's older than that.) Their clothing style in my opinion is very classic for the 1930's and 1940's for the 'elderly' if you will. 

My 4x Grandmother - Mary Ann (Mayhugh) Knight. She was born in 1833, and died 1923 -- so I'd say this photograph is from the 1910's, give or take. Her clothing still says 1890's or early 1900's to me (personally). She lived in a very rural, farming area of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. 

This is my 3x Grandmother - Eliza Catherine "Lidie" (Wilder) Bowers Carrier. She was born in Tennessee and eventually lived out the rest of her life in Portland, Oregon, after living in Arkansas for a long time. She died in Portland in 1938, so I believe the circa 1935 for this photo is probably correct. Lidie and her family certainly didn't have a lot of money so, her dress is very appropriate for an elderly woman in the early 1930's. 

This is my 3x Grandparents - John and Maria (Moore) Byrd. He died in 1922, so I know this photograph has to be from the 1910's. It's very turn of the century in their clothing styles, in my opinion. They were a poor Catholic farming family with many, MANY, kids. They had a lot of mouths to feed and they did very well in doing so. Their style is very simplistic but elegant, in my opinion. 

This photograph I believe is from about 1904, because the woman in this photo died in July of 1905. In fact, this could be from the spring of 1905. I believe the little boy in the photograph is Marion Ashby Sandefur who was born in 1903 and died in 1911. The woman is my 3x Grandmother - Susan Rebecca (Jarrett) Sandefur. Her half-brother was the outlaw John Jarrett who rode with the James-Younger gang. She's dressed in all black, and I've pondered if it was because she was in mourning or perhaps that was just the style she preferred to wear in her old age. 

This is my 3x Grandmother - Jane G. (Hazelwood) Moss Watkins. She died in 1928 -- so I believe this photograph is from the 1910's or early 1920's. She was a hefty woman, as you can tell. She came from a poor farming family, married into poor farmers.. Matter of fact, she and her second husband, that she's buried with, they don't even have a tombstone. They're buried in the cemetery next door to me -- Fernwood. I think her clothing is very indicative of the times and type of life she lived. 

That's all the old family photos I have that give you a good idea of clothing and styles throughout the centuries and decades and generations. I think it's safe to say most of my family came from nothing.. and some of them died with nothing. Some of them managed to make something of themselves and while they were born in poverty, they certainly didn't die there, I'm proud to say. 

I wouldn't call any of my ancestors 'fashionistas' by any means. I do believe I had some beautiful ancestors, especially my Grandma Mina, my 2x Grandma Mary Agnes, and my 2x Grandma Mary Janella. I've always found their beauty to be unparalleled. I wish so much that I could have inherited some of that beauty... alas, I hit the ugly branches in the family tree, instead. At least I nailed the intellect branches and personality branches. 

As always - thanks for reading about my ancestors!