Your mother was beautiful.

Sweet photo of the two of them. It's a treasure, very meaningful.

Every time I see a picture of your mother I say to myself how much you look like her! So this time I am telling you lol. Such lovely ladies. They both have on beautiful clothes and jewelry.

Wow--how elegant! That picture is a treasure, Texas_Gem. She's beautiful, and so is her fabulous harp. It's wonderful that you still have it.

Thank you for the kind comments, everyone. My dad was an avid amateur photographer, and my mom was his favorite subject. I have many cherished photos of her. She died less than a month after her 38th birthday, when I was 9. She was cleaning a rug on her hands and knees in November, windows closed, and breathed the fumes from a product that is no long sold because it's dangerous. Here's another one I found this week.

I wish I had some family pictures. No wonder I don't know who my ancestors are. I don't even know who I am.

My great grandmother, Arminta Ratliff

Arminta was born in Pike Co. KY ca 1845. Her father moved the family to
Texas Co., MO in about 1855 just before the Civil War broke out. The family was torn apart during the war; Her father divorced her step mother, or the divorce was in process, when the war hit Missouri. He was a conscript in a Company favoring the Confederates. He was captured, sent to the infamous prison at Alton, IL, and died there 3 months later of dysentery.

Arminta and a brother was left holding the farm during the war; She was 16, He was 14. Another very young brother, Carroll, was in their care. Carroll had a twin sister who was placed in the care of an older married sister. She soon died. Following the war (1867), the family farm was auctioned off for taxes by a Sheriff's sale on the court house steps. The price was $200. The man who bought the property paid $100 at the time of the sale, and then produced the remaining $100 later. The family farm and possessions were now gone and the children dispersed. Arminta married a Murphy in Iron Co. MO and Carroll became s successful wheat farmer in Oklahoma.

Arminta's grandparents are buried in a cemetery in Pike Co., KY with members of the feuding Hatfields and McCoys.

I can only guess when this portrait was made. My estimate is about 1870 near her wedding date. My copy is the only known print. It is a print on Photo paper, but there are some curious features about this image. It appears that considerable hand work was done. The hair and blouse seems hand drawn. What I suspect is that an original print was made of the face and considerable retouching done with charcoal and soft pencil. A second photo was taken with a copy camera. If this is true, then the photo could not have been made before prints were available. At the time of the Civil War, both wet plate and dry plate processes were available. Matthew Brady shot the Civil War with wet plates because this was the equipment he had at the time and was familiar with it.

Thanks for sharing, Jemdandy. I hope the latter part of Arminta's life was easier than the beginning. I'm constantly impressed with how our ancestors survived hardships that would probably overwhelm many of our current generation--and I'm not exempting myself.