Four Generations

On the back of the photo is written, "The Four Generations, 1948" So, here we go...from the left: There's Julia on the end; she's 75 years old here. Next to her is her daughter-in-law, Catharine Murray Walsh (our Bom-Bom) who is holding Bill Morgan, Jr. who was born in February of '48, so he's just a few months old here. Next to Catharine we have Julia's two daughters, Ethel, holding two-year-old Kathleen Morgan, and Marion. On the far right, keeping a wary eye on her company on the couch, is Kitty Walsh Morgan, mother of the two children.

And here's a lovely little detail...our matriarch, Julia, is holding little Bill's hand. So sweet.

Quick! Get the Chicken!

...and the fancy plant, of course. Here we have Julia with Marion and Joseph, finding a moment worthy of a photograph. They're in their back yard with a shelf of plants behind them; proud of their horticulture, we see. But in all the photos I have, I haven't seen a chicken coop or anything for pets. I wonder, did the chicken wander into the yard? Was is a prize? Or just dinner?

The Walsh Family

These are the oldest photos we have. The first picture - I have no idea who the two women on the left are. The woman standing on the right, in profile, is Julia Walsh, the mother of Edward Walsh who was Catharine's (Kitty) dad.

Now, if you look closely at this top picture (click on it so you can get a better look), you'll see two girls in the background; they're Julia's daughters. (It wasn't until I scanned the photo that I saw them!) The girl with the big bow on her head in the doorway is Marion (and today, in fact, St. Patricks Day, is the one-hundred and seventh anniversary of the day of her birth. She used to send birthday cards and she always signed her name in green ink.) The other girl, poking her head out from behind the first woman, is Ethel. She became a nurse and never married.

The second photo, as I said - I'm clueless as to the identity of the first two women. I have a feeling they are related in some way - mother and sister of Julia maybe, but I have absolutely no proof. We know the two girls and Julia, of course. The boys, it's a bit sketchy. Since I know that Ethel was born in 1897 and Marion in 1901, I would guess them to be around 13 and 9 respectively, dating the photo at about 1910. Okay, so follow me here...Great-grandpa Edward was born in 1900, so I think he's the older boy sitting down. They had two other brothers, Joseph and Francis, born in '03 and '06. So the smaller boy has to be Francis, about four years old and who knows where Joseph is?

And by the way, according to the 1910 census reports, at this point they're living in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania before they moved to Camden, New Jersey.

Morgan and Walsh Trees

Here's a couple of trees for reference. Each begins with our grand-parents and goes back as far as I have been able to go. I've hit a few brick walls with some of the women because I haven't found their maiden names.

As you can see, the Morgans go back pretty far. I've found out where Joshua Morgan is buried outside of Philadelphia and plan to go there this summer. Joshua was in the Civil War - 110th Pennsylvania Infantry - and was wounded at the 2nd battle of Bull Run.

Eddie's Got a Gun

This is by far one of my favorites. The man on the right is great-grandpa Eddie Walsh. WWI - location unknown. I can just hear how it went one boring afternoon:

"Hey, you stand over there in front of the tent and put your arms up like you're my prisoner and I'll just stand here and point my gun at you. Really, go ahead - it'll be fun!"

Oh, Eddie.

More About Louretta

Here's an earlier shot of Louretta. Her story is mysterious and heartbreaking. She was born in January of 1900, to Rena Paul and Louis Dufresne. The 1900 census shows Louretta living with her parents and Rena's family. Rena Paul was only 15 years old; Louis was 20. Story goes that Louis died a couple of years later - don't know how (I'm still digging at that story but no luck yet) and Louis' parents took Louretta away from Rena. So Louretta was raised by her paternal grandparents and didn't re-connect with her mother until she was an adult. And I understand that they were very close after that.

Incidentally, here's somthing interesting about Rena's mother, Ida (b.1862): Her maiden name was Fox and I have been able to trace as far back as her grandfather, Joseph B. Fox, born in 1805 in Camden, New Jersey. Woo-hoo - we belong to the founding fathers of Camden!

John and Louretta

Here are Pop-Pop's (or "Bill" from the Feb. post) parents, John Lawler Morgan Jr. and Louretta Dufresne Morgan. I don't know where this picture was taken, but it's a lovely backdrop. I'm guessing it was taken sometime in the forties, maybe.

I adore this picture. There is something so calm and content in their faces. And the way they are holding each other shows a genuine, warm affection that is just beautiful.