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Time Traveling: I’ve Recreated The Old Photos Of My Ancestors Going Back 200 Years
I grew up in a spooky old house filled with old pictures. However, there was one that always stood out to me. It was of an older woman with hair parted harshly down the middle and a blank tired expression on her face. Initially, I found the old photo creepy, but as I got older, I began to see similarities between her face and mine.
Earlier this year, my Mother gave me a dress she had held on to for over twenty-five years. She was photographed in it at the age of 32, and that vintage photography piece had hung in the stairwell for as long as I could remember. I tried the dress on, and amazingly it fit pretty well! I was also 32 at the time, and as a photographer, the thought occurred to me to recreate (what was to me) a famous family picture.
I began looking through my Mom’s scrapbooks and asking questions and was able to collect the names, birth dates, and images of every mother’s mother in my family tree going back 200 years. It took a few weeks, but I started recreating each ancestor’s portrait, matching the clothes and lighting as best I could. I sewed several pieces and had to paint some of the imagery to give it an authentic appearance. When I finished, I was amazed that in each time travel picture, I saw different features of my own face in these women.
More info: Instagram | Facebook
Me (born 1981)
My great-great-great-grandmother Martha (born 1821) and me
My great-great-grandmother Jane (1858) and me
My great-grandmother Attie Mae (1898) and me
My Grandmother Mildred (1928) and me
My Mother Kathryn (1957) and me
My future daughter Trigger (born TBD)
I’m not without a sense of humor :P
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What do you think ?
Tom 9 years ago
What an awesome idea! I wish I had the photos of my ancestors. Unfortunately, I think my family only has the photos of my grandparents.
HildaFMaughan 9 years ago
To me, you look most like Attie Mae. You have your grandmother's smile. And ervryone is beautiful Thanks for the picdtures. Great idea!
LaviniaHusar 9 years ago
I think you look gorgeous in all the pictures. You got all the best features from all those ancestors :D
DonaldBeech 9 years ago
What a timeless beauty you are. And, that rare combination of wit and wisdom. Thank you.
CliffMartinez 9 years ago
I see this as a brilliant way to connect to the past; we are all just links in a chain through time. How else could she show the connection?
KatieParadowski-Sutton 9 years ago
It's amazing how you see all the similarities when side by side, that you probably wouldn't otherwise What a cool idea Thanks for sharing!
MargueriteClem 9 years ago
Fabulous and fun ! You are very fortunate to have photos of your grandmothers and mother. You have them to thank for your beauty.
YoussraIsmail 9 years ago
you look like your great grand mother... copy-paste... so does your mother. lovely idea.. give us a more realistic picture of the past style
Spoogy Days 3 years ago
This reminds me of a short story “Christopher Frame “ beautiful idea .
IrinaOlivierDeBourlas 9 years ago
Excellentissime ! j'ai adoré cela ! LOVE Je vote POUR ! Idée géniale MERCI pour ce ravissant visage issue de toutes ces femmes & MUMMY IDEM
9 years ago
You are beautiful woman :) In my oppinion best photo is with your mother and great-great-great-grandmother Martha ;) Really great idea ;)
Lilliana Hoffman 9 years ago
I think this is absolutely amazing! And in case she has a daughter one day, it'll be a beautiful legacy! Thumbs up!
Maureen Walton 9 years ago
very creative way to connect by dressing up like them...this way, Ill bet, you have linked in to them on some level. lucky you to have these
Jenn Leach 9 years ago
Very nice work. I would have liked to see it go a step further where the features of both women would have been blended in the second image.
Ronnie Audgie 9 years ago
thats amazing.. my favourite is the last one... so i wonder what the dad looks like......
Viki Banaszak 9 years ago
I love these pictures! What a great idea. Of course the last one is my favorite. LOL
GabriellaLengyel 9 years ago
Great idea and artistic work! Beautiful and amazing! I'm sure it was fun carrying out this work! Greetings
CynthiaButts 9 years ago
You have your mother's long face & thick hair. You have Mildred's smile & eyes. You have Attie's eyebrows & coloring. Earlier, harder to see
Beverly Lewis 9 years ago
This is a great idea, very well done, & very interesting. You are very beautiful and there is resemblance, even if small, in all the photos
My_Coffee!! 9 years ago
I am envious of your facial bone structure. lol Awesome idea and great pics.
KelleyGiffen 9 years ago
You have a beautiful face, and in some instances, you look more like you belong in the older pictures than the women who are of that time.
LorindaBaker 9 years ago
Just amazing!! Great work! The same facial features really stand out in Attie Mae. All are beautiful.
Julie O'Day Whitt 9 years ago
What an awesome idea! You are a great photographer and a lovely lady. You do resemble your ancestors in many ways. Thank you for sharing!
JulieO'DayWhitt 9 years ago
What an awesome idea! You are a great photographer, and you do resemble many of your ancestors. Thanks for sharing!
CarolynMartin 9 years ago
This is fascinating! What a great idea! You really can see the similarities in your faces.
KellyNoble 9 years ago
you have grandma martha's ears, grandma attie mae's eye brows, grandma mildred's smile and your momma's features.All Beautiful women!
MargueriteClem 9 years ago
fabulous and fun ! You are very fortunate to have those amazing photos of your grandmothers . Splendid idea and work .
Emma Tanglevine 9 years ago
very cool....love the concept....you do look like mom, gramma and older women a touch...and especially love the *daughter* pic! good job!
AnishaHall 9 years ago
You look like Jane Seymour! Also, check out ancestry.com and you might come by more photos of common ancestors from extended relatives :)
ScottPlumer 9 years ago
Very cool! It would have been interesting to use the original photographic processes, too.
Jo Ann Nicholas 9 years ago
That is so awesome! You are a "twin" to your mother! Strong lines of gene's.
Angela McClelland 9 years ago
it was good but the makeup worn should match the era 1898, 1958, 1921
AngelaMcClelland 9 years ago
ti's realy good but the pics of " me" have makeup. I think to be truly original the makeup should be skippedunless it matches the era
Deena JeNiro 9 years ago
Oh, I forgot, your "future" daughter is also very beautiful! I see a slight resemblance! :-)
Deena JeNiro 9 years ago
Amazing and very creative! You have resemblance's to all your relatives in one way or another, mainly with mom and grandma. Very pretty..
DeenaJeNiro 9 years ago
Amazing!! Love all the pictures and your idea was extremely creative! You share a lot of facial features with all of your relative, pretty
Tom 9 years ago
What an awesome idea! I wish I had the photos of my ancestors. Unfortunately, I think my family only has the photos of my grandparents.
HildaFMaughan 9 years ago
To me, you look most like Attie Mae. You have your grandmother's smile. And ervryone is beautiful Thanks for the picdtures. Great idea!
LaviniaHusar 9 years ago
I think you look gorgeous in all the pictures. You got all the best features from all those ancestors :D
DonaldBeech 9 years ago
What a timeless beauty you are. And, that rare combination of wit and wisdom. Thank you.
CliffMartinez 9 years ago
I see this as a brilliant way to connect to the past; we are all just links in a chain through time. How else could she show the connection?
KatieParadowski-Sutton 9 years ago
It's amazing how you see all the similarities when side by side, that you probably wouldn't otherwise What a cool idea Thanks for sharing!
MargueriteClem 9 years ago
Fabulous and fun ! You are very fortunate to have photos of your grandmothers and mother. You have them to thank for your beauty.
YoussraIsmail 9 years ago
you look like your great grand mother... copy-paste... so does your mother. lovely idea.. give us a more realistic picture of the past style
Spoogy Days 3 years ago
This reminds me of a short story “Christopher Frame “ beautiful idea .
IrinaOlivierDeBourlas 9 years ago
Excellentissime ! j'ai adoré cela ! LOVE Je vote POUR ! Idée géniale MERCI pour ce ravissant visage issue de toutes ces femmes & MUMMY IDEM
9 years ago
You are beautiful woman :) In my oppinion best photo is with your mother and great-great-great-grandmother Martha ;) Really great idea ;)
Lilliana Hoffman 9 years ago
I think this is absolutely amazing! And in case she has a daughter one day, it'll be a beautiful legacy! Thumbs up!
Maureen Walton 9 years ago
very creative way to connect by dressing up like them...this way, Ill bet, you have linked in to them on some level. lucky you to have these
Jenn Leach 9 years ago
Very nice work. I would have liked to see it go a step further where the features of both women would have been blended in the second image.
Ronnie Audgie 9 years ago
thats amazing.. my favourite is the last one... so i wonder what the dad looks like......
Viki Banaszak 9 years ago
I love these pictures! What a great idea. Of course the last one is my favorite. LOL
GabriellaLengyel 9 years ago
Great idea and artistic work! Beautiful and amazing! I'm sure it was fun carrying out this work! Greetings
CynthiaButts 9 years ago
You have your mother's long face & thick hair. You have Mildred's smile & eyes. You have Attie's eyebrows & coloring. Earlier, harder to see
Beverly Lewis 9 years ago
This is a great idea, very well done, & very interesting. You are very beautiful and there is resemblance, even if small, in all the photos
My_Coffee!! 9 years ago
I am envious of your facial bone structure. lol Awesome idea and great pics.
KelleyGiffen 9 years ago
You have a beautiful face, and in some instances, you look more like you belong in the older pictures than the women who are of that time.
LorindaBaker 9 years ago
Just amazing!! Great work! The same facial features really stand out in Attie Mae. All are beautiful.
Julie O'Day Whitt 9 years ago
What an awesome idea! You are a great photographer and a lovely lady. You do resemble your ancestors in many ways. Thank you for sharing!
JulieO'DayWhitt 9 years ago
What an awesome idea! You are a great photographer, and you do resemble many of your ancestors. Thanks for sharing!
CarolynMartin 9 years ago
This is fascinating! What a great idea! You really can see the similarities in your faces.
KellyNoble 9 years ago
you have grandma martha's ears, grandma attie mae's eye brows, grandma mildred's smile and your momma's features.All Beautiful women!
MargueriteClem 9 years ago
fabulous and fun ! You are very fortunate to have those amazing photos of your grandmothers . Splendid idea and work .
Emma Tanglevine 9 years ago
very cool....love the concept....you do look like mom, gramma and older women a touch...and especially love the *daughter* pic! good job!
AnishaHall 9 years ago
You look like Jane Seymour! Also, check out ancestry.com and you might come by more photos of common ancestors from extended relatives :)
ScottPlumer 9 years ago
Very cool! It would have been interesting to use the original photographic processes, too.
Jo Ann Nicholas 9 years ago
That is so awesome! You are a "twin" to your mother! Strong lines of gene's.
Angela McClelland 9 years ago
it was good but the makeup worn should match the era 1898, 1958, 1921
AngelaMcClelland 9 years ago
ti's realy good but the pics of " me" have makeup. I think to be truly original the makeup should be skippedunless it matches the era
Deena JeNiro 9 years ago
Oh, I forgot, your "future" daughter is also very beautiful! I see a slight resemblance! :-)
Deena JeNiro 9 years ago
Amazing and very creative! You have resemblance's to all your relatives in one way or another, mainly with mom and grandma. Very pretty..
DeenaJeNiro 9 years ago
Amazing!! Love all the pictures and your idea was extremely creative! You share a lot of facial features with all of your relative, pretty
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