Sepia Saturday 210 Old books, photos and memories

This week's prompt appeals to me because I am a book lover a genealogist, amateur historian, and love to share family stories here.  It symbolizes memories drawn from discoveries over the last several years, with the passing on of elderly relatives, finding those old photos or documents was the good in the grief...just wish there were someone to ask about those new to me treasures. Wistful too because there will be no more discoveries in the backs of closets of relatives who have completed their earthly journeys, all having gone on now.  Well, I might rediscover something again here among our troves of albums and photos, something perhaps forgotten that reveals itself  while I hunt for something else.

Today I'm sharing a few photos from Jerry's album that was kept by his paternal grandmother, Emma Morrison who lived in La Crosse, Wisconsin.  When Emma died in 1987 at age 91, one of the aunts thoughtfully sent the album to us in California.  When that brown manila envelope arrived in the mail it was a most welcome surprise for which we remain grateful today.   Remember these, black papers with the  corner holders for photos, tied with a cord...Jerry was born in 1937 so this album, handsome still today,  is at least that old and if Emma had it before that date we will not ever know.  It's   brown leather with gold embossing, an iconic Indian in canoe, so reflective of Wisconsin, this Midwest, historical hearkening  to the era of fur traders.  In genealogy research we have learned a lot more about Emma Walker Morrison than Jerry ever knew, she was born in 1896 in Iowa in what was "Indian Territory" to a mother, Eva Mae who would abandon her and her sisters sometime before their father, William Walker, died.  Eva Mae herself  was a fascinating colorful character for those times, a brazen woman, she married many times, chased men it seems and  traveled or roamed  a wide area, from Iowa,  Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, the entire midwest.  But that is another long tale to be told later.  


Inside of the album cover is a  careful record of Jerry and his lucky number "7" in white ink, Emma's writing, she began in August when her newest grandson was 3 months old.  Jerry was so amazed when  he received this,  things he never knew.  His mother and father separated and divorced  and his mother as I have written before would not win motherhood awards and was not really playing with a full deck.  When we told her about this gift, she was quite snippy, I suppose she wondered just what the in laws might have written about her, but the Morrison's were not into gossip.  Emma was quite the woman, volunteering over 8000  hours to the Veteran's Administration in Tomah Wisconsin, we learned in her obituary.  She was an animal lover and requested memorials be to the Humane Society when she passed on.  

Jerry was in touch with his Morrison grandparents, especially Emma.  Here is a photo page from the album, appently Emma had a cat named Tom, and she was amused to have a photo of Tom and Jerry.  The photo on  the right that shows Jerry as a baby with his parents.  Emma labeled  all photos carefully.  76 years later the album is a testament to her efforts.  

Album page

The last  two photos  are of Jerry with Emma, the first from the album, 1937 and the last in 1980 one of our trips to this area, he always went to see his grandmother Emma Morrison.  I am glad that I got to meet her. 

This is my Sepia Post.. Blogger is acting up so the photos are not labeled individually. To see what others are sharing go to the Sepia site at http://sepiasaturday.blogspot.com/2014/01/sepia-saturday-210-11-january-2014.html