This is my wall of ancestors. One of many. Each of the photos you see is of an ancestor - either mine or my husband's.We intersperse them with antique paintings or prints, or wall clocks for a display that, as you can see, almost fills every inch of space!
They didn't come to us in frames (except one or two). I buy antique frames which my husband repairs if he needs to, then we have the original photos enlarged to fit. We choose a mat from the local framing shop and have it put together. Then I write on the back the details of the person, or family group, in the photo. It's our way of cherishing our ancestors, preserving family photographs, and ensuring that information on them carries on to the next generation who will welcome the photos into their protection.
Here are a few closeups of some of our ancestor photos on the wall. It was challenging to take photos due to glare from windows and height of some. I hope you are preserving and enjoying your family treasures.
Absolutely wonderful. Been thinking of doing the same sort of thing but have run out of wall space! I was sitting in my study last night organizing old photos and there is a narrow but tall piece of unused wall space I was wondering what to do with. Aha as a thought came to mind. I'm fortunate to have a photo or painting each of my grandfather all the way back to my 3xgrtgrandfather so my next project is to do a single line descendant chart with the names and the dates and a photo of each from my two grown boys all the way back. Framed will fit nicely into that narrow unused wall space. PS might leave an extra vacant spot at the bottom just in case we are blessed with grandchildren in the near future. Wish Wish.
ReplyDeleteStunning. I love genealogy and antiques too!
ReplyDeleteI just love it when someone gives me a spark of an idea, and you most certainly have succeeded!! I live in a senior living center and do not have much wall space. So, I have placed all of my relative photos into an album called "Family Genealogy" using the free web service of Google Photos. Much the same idea and this makes it portable on computers, smartphone, and tablets. Also, the photos can be shared with the children and others with just a click of the Google Photo's link. Many thanks for the spark!!
ReplyDeleteDavid Stuart
Stunning! In my living room, about 2 dozen vintage family photos flank a beautiful quilt my mother embroidered for me. Some are in original frames, others are framed in unusual finds. All are interspersed with old pocket watches; caricatures of one of my grandfathers, who was an athlete of regional acclaim; a 1910 census taker's badge, a tin crucifix with an obituary printed on it. I enjoy my collection so much that whenever I move, I make sure there's wall space to showcase it.
ReplyDeleteI have also made a Genealogy Wall, convenient b/c we have a cathedral ceiling and a stairwell to the basement level!
ReplyDeleteI was able to go from the peak of the ceiling with several gravestone rubbings starting with my DAR Ancestor, also buried in the same town as our summer home. The sequence of portraits traveled down by generations from my father's side and at the lower levels, to my mother's family whose photos were smaller and combined into several collages.
I regret not writing a bio of those in the pic as you did. HOWEVER, I did type and tape a pedigree chart from this Ancestor right down to my grandkids. If the grands eventually SEE their name connected to this Ancestor then there may be a better chance of preserving these framed copies of photos for future generations.
Also, I picked up old, used frames of various sizes for years before I actually acquired the copies of the original portraits to place inside them. That way, I had plenty of frames to choose from when planning out the entire wall. Hint: I pictured the Genealogy Wall as a giant Scrapbook Page, which gave me balance for placements.
from Bonnie Wilder