Thursday, February 4, 2010

Thursday's Girls #5: The Women in My Family

Recently, I've started to gather family photos for a project I have in mind. Essentially, I want to have family photos, especially wedding photos, lining the walls of our stairwell going from the main floor to the upper bedrooms. For this week's Thursday Girl installment, I thought I would share some pics of the women in my maternal family tree. Certainly, women from the movies and from public history have helped shape me into the woman I am, but these women (esp. my grandmother) have had an even more significant place in shaping my identity, so here are my Thursday's Girls (and guys)! Mom, you're going to have to help remind me who some of these people in the earlier pics are! Side note: Mom and I were talking on the phone this past weekend about the amazing clothes in these photos. What we wouldn't give to know what happened to them!!!

Burdeyny Family

That Baba third from right above was my great grandmother, Marie. She lived to be 101 and outlived FOUR husbands!

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Woman in the middle was my other great grandmother (my grandmother's mother). These men are her sisters. My mother and I were talking about this photo. It was taken just before my great grandmother passed away--she was in her 40s here but she lived a tough life and was ravaged by tuberculosis, we think.

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My grandmother and one of her sisters (check out the awesomeness of their 30s blouses)

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My grandmother in the 30s again?


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Grandma in the 40s

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Grandma and all her sisters in the 40s (yep, that was one HUGE family)...those are all handmade dresses!!!!

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Grandma (second from far right) and her father (far left) and siblings


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I think this pic above is of my grandmother's father's brother and his wife?

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This couple above MUST be my great grandfather and great grandmother (my uncle and cousin both look like him).

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My grandfather's sister (my great aunt), Anne and her husband (THAT is what I should have worn on my wedding day)

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Mom, is this great aunt Kate and great uncle Carl? What I wouldn't give for that gown...

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My grandparents' wedding picture (only I accidentally cropped out part of my handsome grandfather....Sorry, Papa!) I just LOVE my grandmother's suit and hair and locket. I think she made her own suit. Where are these????? AH well, at least I have these beautiful photos (not purchased out of the "fake ancestors" box at an antique store:)) and wonderful memories and stories to savour.

Music I'm Listening To: "Button Up Your Overcoat" sung by Ruth Etting. I dedicate this to a certain naughty man-cub who seems to have had a little too much bootleg hooch on a spree last night and who didn't get home til past three ;).

10 comments:

Debi said...

Fantastic photos! I absolutely love the fashions. You have some amazing seamstresses in your family tree!

Kelley Anne said...

Thanks for posting this. Its so nice to see your inspirational family photos. I love the handmade floral dresses...and the wedding gowns!

Rachael said...

Wow they are amazing photographs. All our family wedding and just general family photographs seem to have been spilt up and lost over the years sadly.

Maggi said...

What amazing pictures! And such a beautiful family! Good luck with your project!

Ms. B @ Millie Deel said...

What wonderful pictures! I love looking at all of their clothes and hairstyles!!

Miss Go Lightly said...

Wow! These photos are fantastic doll! I was wondering what happened to you...you never visit my humble little page anymore ;) lol. j/k I know you're a busy gal. Thank you for the comments, and thank you for thinking of your fellow Smiths fan! Stay tuned, because I will post a mini tribute to them soon! Xoxo!

Unknown said...

These pictures are amazing! I especially love the wedding photos.

Stefanie Valentine said...

Wow, you are so lucky to have such wonderful photos of your family history, such great inspiration for outfits and hairstyles! x

Anonymous said...

Those are SUPER! Actually, scrolling down the page at first glance, I did think the one of your great aunt Anne was your wedding picture, done vintage style... What a treasure!

BaronessVonVintage said...

Thanks so much! They are a treasure. I've sort of volunteered to become the family archivist, so I've got most of the family albums and documents. Still not sure what to do with all of them (Maggi's own project gives me ideas!).

1930s Girls!: that's just so kind! My mother tells me all the time how with my hair the length it is now I remind her of my great aunt in that photo. I had a woman who works at the post office tell me she thought my logo for my Etsy shop was a picture of me....hehe.