This photo, from the
collection of my grandmother, Nora (Eberhard) Ballenger, is one of those rare
candid shots we all wish we had more of. When she looked through pictures with
me many years ago, Nora identified the people in this photo as her parents,
Mary (Comfort) Eberhard and John Llewellyn Eberhard. Mary is giving her husband
a haircut outside on a bright, sunny day. It appears to be
spring or summer.
In dating this picture, I had
to ask myself, “Who would have been the photographer?” Most
pictures I have of the family show them posed and wearing their best clothes. Here, Mary and Llewellyn seem unaware that their picture is
even being taken. They are in their everyday attire for a day’s work on the
farm. Since it’s highly unlikely that a roving photographer just popped by the
farm one day to snap some pictures, the person who took this shot was probably
one of their older children. I do have a few other similarly-sized candids from
this time period, such as Harold Eberhard in a “sports car,” Harold with a milk
wagon, and Harold holding his youngest sister. Harold, the second oldest of
eighteen children, was born in 1896. He seems to have liked the camera. If he
took this picture when he was in his mid-teens to early twenties, it dates the
photo to about 1910-1920.
During this time period, the
Eberhards lived on a farm near Galena in Harlem Township, Delaware County,
Ohio. So by
using a bit of deductive reasoning, I have a place and approximate date range
for my photograph.
Isn’t it fun to get a glimpse
of an unguarded moment in the everyday life of our ancestors?
--Shelley
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What a cool, but rare glimpse into our ancestor's everyday lives! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a wonderful picture! I do wish I had more candid shots like this. Just a bit of everyday life - which is often what I really want to know about my ancestors.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic moment captured! I do wish I had more of these kinds of moments. It reminds me that I need to tale more candid photos when around my family. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI love this photo, Shelley. I love the dress/apron your ggrandmother is wearing! It looks very comfortable. I could enlarge the photo in feedly (but not in blogger b/c of Lightbox). It was interesting to see the dog there sniffing around, and then to see the bucket and your ggrandfather's hat lying on the table. Looking into the doorway it almost (almost!) looks like there's a boy's face watching, waiting. It's probably just some tools; it's not quite clear enough to tell for sure. What a treasure of a photograph!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great photo, what a treasure you have...Happy Fall, Mary
ReplyDelete