Treasure Trove
You will never believe what happened. On Wednesday after I had finished transcribing Catherine's diary I was going through a box of documents my mother had Cassie bring to me a couple of weeks ago containing pictures, newspaper clippings, letters, etc that my Grandmother Mary Jane Ellsworth has been holding onto all of these years. It is an absolute treasure trove! My sister Chelsea deserves a HUGE round of applause due to the work she did with Grandma Ellsworth about six years ago when she sat down and numbered each photo and then recorded GG describing each photo (for example, "Here in picture P1 we have my father John Hawker Newlon on the boardwalk at Atlantic City..."). This project must have taken hours upon hours and I am so grateful that she did it because it is going to make the task of creating GG's written history so much easier. Way to go Chels!
As I'm going through the treasure trove, I'm not really looking for anything in particular, just giddy with excitement as I sift through gorgeous antique photos of my great-grandmother in her 1915 wedding gown and handle a remarkable golden pocket watch. Burke is checking the news, but can hardly make it through 3 sentences before I squeal with delight and thrust another picture under his nose for him to admire with me.
And then suddenly...I strike gold. There, looking back at me, is the woman I've been obsessing about for the past several months. Catherine Berry right before me after two months of laboring over her carefully penned words. I don't know what I expected or even who I had been picturing in my mind, but looking at her dark, wavy hair, a strong, almost masculine face, and piercing eyes, I can see her fire and passion behind that serious 19th century pose. Burke sits up and really pays attention this time as I gasp, "It's her!"
To find her picture after working so hard to preserve her memory was a tremendous reward for me. I love having a mental picture of her now and it encourages me to press forward and pursue the rest of her story. I'm a firm believer that the Lord sends us these tender mercies to encourage us and uplift us.
(The treasure trove)
And then suddenly...I strike gold. There, looking back at me, is the woman I've been obsessing about for the past several months. Catherine Berry right before me after two months of laboring over her carefully penned words. I don't know what I expected or even who I had been picturing in my mind, but looking at her dark, wavy hair, a strong, almost masculine face, and piercing eyes, I can see her fire and passion behind that serious 19th century pose. Burke sits up and really pays attention this time as I gasp, "It's her!"
Catherine Berry about 1867 (age 43)
To find her picture after working so hard to preserve her memory was a tremendous reward for me. I love having a mental picture of her now and it encourages me to press forward and pursue the rest of her story. I'm a firm believer that the Lord sends us these tender mercies to encourage us and uplift us.
(A much better picture my sister Cassie took of Catherine's Civil War Dress representing her sons who fought for the Union and 2nd husband who fought for the South)
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