A Step Back In Time

Our family has recently been going through some old photographs with the aim of sorting them out and also scanning many onto the computer. Some of the photos are really old and faded and quite fragile and while we are trying to preserve the originals we thought it would be a good idea to save them onto the computer and also make disc-copies for other members of the family. A short while ago Stephanie Ann did a great post on her blog (World Turn'd Upside Down) about how to preserve old photographs and this has been very helpful.
Anyway, I thought it would be fun to share a few of the photos here. :)

This photograph of my Great-Grandpa William's home in New Zealand was taken more than 100 years ago.

Grandpa William was born in Dunedin on N.Z.'s South Island in 1880. From what we've been told of him, he had a very adventurous nature.

Around the age of 18 years old he voluntarily enlisted in the army and was sent to South Africa as part of the New Zealand contingent to fight for the British in the Anglo-Boer War.

When his war service was over he returned to New Zealand but he had fallen in love with Africa and as soon as he was able he came back to South Africa and here he spent the rest of his life. He helped to construct most of the main dams in South Africa, working mainly as a rigger, so he was usually among the first to arrive at the site where the dam was to be built and amongst the last to leave when it was completed.



An African Rock Python



He was also a hunter and went on many expeditions and safaris. He was an excellent tracker and could "read sign" very well, so much so that he helped the police at times to solve crimes. He was an amature naturalist and artist and had many interests and hobbies.

He remained a bachelor until he met and fell in love with my Great-Grandmother, Frances. He was 18 years older than her. They had a happy marriage and two children were born to them, a girl and a boy. The boy being my Grandpa Edwin (Eddie), my mom's dad. :)

Gr- Granny Frances and Grandpa Eddie as a baby

Photo of Gr-Granny Francis' mother, Great-Great Granny Susan Clara. :)

One of Grandpa William's hobbies was butterfly-collecting and in the photo above he (right) and Grandpa Eddie are looking at some of the collections.

Sadly Jessica and I never got to meet either Grandpa's William or Eddie as they had both passed on by the time we were born. We feel we do know them though through the stories and letters and photographs, of course, that have been passed down to us from our Gran and Mom and other family members. :)