The Unknowns

How can I ever thank my Geisens for having family photos taken?  And how can I ever tell them how much it means to me, 120+ years laters, that these photos have survived?  Many photos that are housed in the Geisen family photo album (a gorgeous green velvet album--sounds tacky, but it's not) have the subject's name written on them.  Or I know who they are (Aunt Mayme had a distinctive look) because I distinctly remember them.

I saw the beautiful face of my Aunt Edna, my Grandma Elsie's older sister.  A sister Grandma never knew.  Edna died at 4 years of age from heat stroke, and Grandma was born the next year.

Edna Geisen (1887)

Edna in between her 2 older sisters--Aunt Dada (Charlotte) on the left and Aunt Mayme on the right (photo probably taken around 1889)

I've been to Edna's grave.  She's buried in the Geisen family plot at Mother of God cemetery in Covington.  She's with her mommy and daddy.  And as I've stood at her grave, looking at her name, I've thought of the unbelievable sorrow that her parents (my great grandparents), siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. went through during her illness, death, and the years after.

How can I express how much I love having a photo of her?  Of knowing what she looked like?  For whatever reason, I "feel" that I have a responsibility to these peeps of mine.  A responsibility to let others know who they were.  To not allow them to be forgotten.  I know it's not logical.  But it has become a sometimes overwhelming feeling.  I feel a responsibility to these family members to make sure that they live on.

That responsibility leads me to the fascination/obsession I have with my Geisen/Pistner family "Unknown" photos.  Many in the photo album have no identification.  Who are these people who my Geisens loved so much that they included them in the family album?  I'm trying to narrow some of it down.  Does a certain photo look like another photo of a "known" person?  We have a photo of Lizzie Geisen (my great grandfather's sister).  Does this other photo look like her?  As soon as I saw it, I thought to myself, "That's Lizzie." But maybe I'm mistaken.  They're obviously related, but is it the same person?  I don't know.  Will I ever know?  Perhaps not.  But I'll do my damndest to figure this out.

The "known" photo of Lizzie (Elizabeth) Geisen

Is this an earlier photo of Lizzie?

And who is this family? Where were they when this photo was taken?  The "matriarch" was wearing black.  Was she in mourning?  The men look like Geisens (like my great grandfather, but I don't think he's either one of them).

The men in this photo look like Geisen men.

Is this woman the same woman in the photo above it (center--in between the 2 guys)?

These are many of my "Unknowns."  But what is "known" about them is that they were loved by my family.  They were all so precious to my Geisens and Pistners that they were included in the album.  And that makes them very precious to me.