Some Things Just Need to Be Blogged

Somewhere around three years ago Bill and I bought an antique portrait at an estate sale.  We loved the oval tiger maple frame with convex glass.  It's hard to find a frame like this with the original glass still intact.  The portrait was torn at the top but it was the frame we were sure someone would want.  It went into our booth and was still in our booth when we closed it.  I hung onto the picture for the last two years.  I couldn't bring myself to Goodwill it.  I've been staring at it trying to figure out what to do.  Last week I decided I'd try to sell it on Facebook Marketplace.  There were no nibbles.  I kept looking at the frame thinking it was a darn shame to get rid of it.  Yesterday I removed the listing on Facebook.  I'd decided we'd use it ourselves.

We have no wedding pictures of us in our house.  I've been meaning to frame one, I just didn't have the time or the right frame.  Funny how quarantine cleaning works... You have time and you find the right frame.  I grabbed a picture, added a warm sepia tone to it and then ordered a 16x20 poster from Walgreens for next day pick up.  The picture was ready in an hour so I grabbed it last night.  End of story right?  Nope.

While I knew Bill wouldn't be able to do the project last night I wanted to see how the picture would work in the frame.  So I took out the original portrait to have a look see.  That's when I found the writing on the back.  I now knew the woman I was looking at.  I couldn't just toss this piece of history that one of her family members had sold.  I needed to record it.  I've been big into genealogy the last couple of years.  I know how amazing it is to find an ancestor that has a portrait that another distant relative has uploaded into the internet.  So for her kin, I sat down and looked for her.

Sallie Boyd was born June 11, 1868, in Upson, Georgia.  She married William Oscar Kelly on November 5, 1888.  She had nine children - John (1889), James (1891), Emmet (1894), Mozell Coulter (1897), Bessie (1898), Jeanette Pate (1901), Robert (1903), Connie Goff (1907) and Hattie Marlow (1908).  Hattie, the youngest, lived until May 21, 1992.  I can only assume that whoever wrote this information on the back of the picture wanted to insure the family would know who the portrait was of, since the last living child of Sallie's had just died two days before (inscription is May 23, 1992).  With research completed, I uploaded a photo of the portrait into her files.  Hopefully a family member will find it in the future and be glad to have access.

In the meantime, Bill's project is done.  I just have to hang it tonight.  I'm glad I kept the frame.  The whole piece is simply beautiful.  Sallie, your photo is out there in perpetuity for your ancestors to find, and your frame will be lovingly hung in our home for years to come.