The Whitaker Boys ~ Sibling Saturday

(Top row) Frank, John, Artie (Front row) Joe, Harry, Lyman

I have heard my husband speak of a photograph of his Whitaker great-grandfather and brothers that he saw as a child; one that reminded him of the James Gang. Definitely a child's perspective. Not a whiff of a rumor of outlaw behavior in this crew of merchants, farmers and bankers. Still, his eyes lit up when he saw this photo again in Grandma Bonnel's photo album, some 50 years after first seeing it. 

The boys are the sons (there were daughters, too) of Henry L. Whitaker and Harriet Merriam. The cardboard frame is stamped "M. W. Rudolph, ATCHISON, KANSAS" and the names are handwritten on the frame. Artie (Arthur S. Whitaker or Stephen A. Whitaker), standing at the right, was the youngest brother, born in 1876. Lyman, seated in front on the right, was the eldest brother, born in 1858. I estimate the date of the photograph to be in the very late 19th or first decade of the 20th century. 

The Great-Greats: Grandma who?

Harriet (or Irene) Merriam Whitaker. 1837 - 1910

The most exciting part of seeing Grandma Bonnel's photo album last month was seeing photographs of four of my husband's great-great grandparents for the first time. The album included images of her parents and Whitaker in-laws. We now have faces for seven of his sixteen great-great grandparents.

This photograph is believed to be of Grandma Bonnel's mother-in-law. It is captioned "Irene Whitaker (Joe's mother). This caption, however, conflicts will all other known information about the wife of Henry L. Whitaker including the marriage license, grave marker and all census references. She is consistently referred to as Harriet or Harriet E. Merriam. I do not know who wrote the caption, but have to assume it was not Grandma Bonnel, who would have presumably known her mother-in-law well enough to be clear on her name. Perhaps Irene was a nickname? Or perhaps whoever wrote the captions was simply wrong. While the Bonnel family captions have been consistently accurate when compared to other sources, there are errors in at least two of the Whitaker family captions. Given that Eva Bonnel Whitaker had separated from or divorced her husband, whoever wrote the captions may have had less familiarity with the Whitaker side of the family.

The image is of a young woman in what appears to my untrained eye Civil War era clothing. 

The Great-Greats: Henry Lyman Whitaker

Henry L. Whitaker, 1838 - 1902

The most exciting part of seeing Grandma Bonnel's photo album last month was seeing photographs of four of my husband's great-great grandparents for the first time. The album included images of her parents and Whitaker in-laws. We now have faces for seven of his sixteen great-great grandparents.

This photograph is of a very young Henry Lyman Whitaker, Grandma Bonnel's father-in-law. On the back, in addition to a handwritten caption identifying him, is a fading stamp reading "A. R. TREAT, Photographer, ATCHISON, KANSAS, ____ Street". I cannot make out the street name.

I am quite taken with Grandpa Henry's curls and expressive eyes, traits I see in his descendents today.

The Great-Greats: Mary Catherine Shouse Bonnel

Mollie Bonnel (Mary Catherine Shouse), 1841-1903

The most exciting part of seeing Grandma Bonnel's photo album last month was seeing photographs of four of my husband's great-great grandparents for the first time. The album included images of her parents and Whitaker in-laws. We now have faces for seven of his sixteen great-great grandparents.

This photograph of Eva Bonnel's mother is in need of digital restoration. Sorely in need of digital restoration! Fortunately her face is clear, but the background needs to be cleaned up and the fingerprints removed. She appears to be in her late thirties or forties, which would date the image to the late 1870s or 1880s. The caption on the back of the portrait gives her name as Mollie Bonnel, which is the first time I have seen her referred to by a nickname. 

Taking Aim

From the Library of Congress

I have been on Geneablogger auto-pilot for many, many months. Years, even.

But the lovely sharing of her grandmother's photo album by my husband's aunt last month, inspired me to at least pay it forward and share the family photos she let me copy. Grandma Bonnel's photo album is slowly going public. Simple posts. Not much research involved, but it has gotten me back into devoting some time to family history. And doing some very light blog reading. I miss having the time to devote an hour, often more, to reading and examining what other Geneabloggers are producing.

Those posts I have read provoked deep, deep thoughts while editing and shooting Grandma Bonnel's photos into the world. Contemplating my navel, as my father calls it. James Tanner had me in a bit of a snit with his post Time Constraints. Frankly, I agree with most of his points. But Tanner, who seems to operate as a blogger provocateur, did prompt a defensive reaction with his call to action,

"Let's jointly craft museum quality research rather than throw-away, disposable research that will have to be redone in the future by someone else (like me)."

Whatever I am doing here, it ain't museum quality research. I don't have as much constrained time, nor am I as disciplined, as he. And I regret that. That knowledge prompts my educational wish-list (another contemplating my navel blog post). Much of which falls by the wayside when those darling living folks I am related to worm their way back into my consciousness.

An aside to ward off howls from my kin. I adore my family and am blessed to be closely connected to many of them. They are not in any way burdensome. But my brain has a limited capacity. When I am enjoying them, I am not researching, scanning or producing anything worth preserving. Beyond memories.

Saturday I read a post by one of my Hungarian researcher blogger buddies, Zen & the Art of Genealogical Maintenance. Magda took a hard look at her own work and came to three conclusions.

"1 ) Less is more
 2 ) Don't be a genealogical hoarder
 3) Keep it simple."

I'll never be a minimalist anything. But her second and third conclusions resonated with me. And reminded me of why I began blogging and why I returned. I love research. I've done some pretty good bits over the years and am proud of them. But my genealogical mission is not research.

My mission is examining, culling and then sharing the thousands of photographs, letters, documents and earlier research that I have inherited. I have made no attempt to truly research each family. I have had hundreds of families handed down to me. Others will have to do that. I am sharing the research I have been given, after validating it as best I can using online resources. I am scanning and sharing photographs and documents that do not appear to be available elsewhere. That's it. Someone else will have to take the material and turn it into genealogical art. I hope they do. I just want to get it out "there".

Ready. Aim. Fire.