Thursday, June 11, 2009

Wedding Belles - My Great-Grandparents' 60th Anniversary




This post was composed for the 14th Edition of Smile For The Camera ~ A Carnival of Images

I can remember the 60th wedding anniversary party that was held for my great-grandparents, John Ralph Austin and Therese Rose McGinnes, as if it were yesterday. I just wish I had more photos of that warm day on May 30, 1975.

Grandma and Grandpa - as I called them - were married in Manhattan, New York on May 30, 1915. I have no pictures of that day but I do know that they spent 60 wonderful years together before John Ralph Austin passed away the next spring, on April 20, 1976 at Grahamsville, New York.

The photo above was taken in the dining room of the old farmhouse at Grahamsville with its wonderful 1940s wallpaper. I remember everything about that room: the smell, the banjo clock on the wall next to Grandpa's pipe stand, the china cabinet in the corner and the old mahogany buffet. I especially remember the dining table! In the photo, the cake is actually sitting on the dining table which was folded up and sitting against the wall. With all the leaves and flip-up sides, the table could accommodate Grandma and Grandpa and all 12 grandchildren at once!

In looking back at my database, I don't have very many grandparents or ancestors who actually made it to their 50th anniversary. What I've found is:

Gustave Henneberg and Magdalena ________, my 2nd great grandparents, were married about 1885 in Germany and remained married for close to 52 years until Lena died on February 10, 1937 in Queens, New York.

Jacob L. DeGroodt and Georgianna Simpson, my 2nd great grandparents, were married on June 5, 1882 and remained married for 50 years until Jacob died on January 9, 1933.

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