Photos Without Families

The gentlest photographs are often those of first-time mothers with their beautiful babies. In them, you can almost feel the awe of wonder, the vulnerability, and the immense love. One such photograph shows little Elisabeth Homann at five months old, sitting safely in the embrace of her mother. The image was dedicated to someone on June 19, 1892, in Hannover, Germany.

This lovely schoolgirl with the steady gaze and composed posture was Annie Bridget Britt of Boston. Annie was born on January 4, 1862, the first child of Patrick Britt, a trunk maker, and Elizabeth - also recorded as Bessy or Lizzy - née Sullivan. Both of her parents were immigrants from Ireland.

What I love about this blog - besides all the beautiful old images - is the history I get to learn and explore while uncovering the stories of the people in these photographs. This particular photo led me down both familiar and unfamiliar historical paths, and I can consider myself a little richer in knowledge after writing this post.

This is such a sad, heartbreaking story, but I believe we owe it to baby Kurt to share it with the world. The photo is labelled “Kurt Karsunke,” and the note in German simply says:

A beautiful woman in white, elegantly holding a fan, gazes dreamily away from the camera - as if lost in thought. This was Eugenie Forster, captured in a moment of quiet introspection. She dedicated this photograph to a good friend in September 1896, in Sigmaringen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

Two children, carefully posed, looking straight into the camera that feels almost timeless. Their photograph had surfaced in Germany, which made me wonder - did Harry and Bessie Ronne have German roots? As I began tracing their story, a different path emerged. Their father, John Ronne, was not German but Danish, born in 1849 on the island of Bornholm.