Friday, April 17, 2015

Seeing the resemblance in grandmothers

This is one of my favorite old family photos, showing my grandmother Amalia "Mollie" Koleber in about 1905. She's pictured with her father George and mother Catherine Elisabeth "Katie" Dietz Koleber, her oldest brother George Jr. and brother Daniel. This family had just immigrated to America through Ellis Island the previous year from Kratzke, Saratov, Russia. 
I absolutely LOVE this picture of my grandmother Amalia Koleber. I've written about it before in this post. I've been studying it to determine a resemblance that Mollie might have had with her mother Katie. 
This is my great-grandmother Katie Koleber, above, on her farm near Wakeeney, Trego, Kansas about 1924. As I look at her face, I see my grandmother's face when my grandmother was in her teens, as shown in the photo above (she's on the left).

This family photo may have been taken about 1926. It shows George and Katie Koleber (seated) with all their family, except Daniel, who had died in 1916 at the age of 18. From left to right standing are Albert, Victor, Henry, George Jr, Fred, and Emil.  
This is my grandmother Mollie (Koleber) Margheim about 1978, at age 76. And pictured below is HER grandmother, my great, great grandmother Maria Elisabeth Maier Dietz (1851-1929). I do see the resemblance that my grandma bore to her grandma. I noticed that my great, great grandma Mary Dietz is holding a handkerchief in her left hand (below). Notice in the photo at the top of this post that my grandma Mollie is holding a handkerchief in her little left hand. 

It's interesting to me to note that Mary Elisabeth Maier Dietz, above, died 5 Sept 1929 and her daughter Catherine Elisabeth "Katie" Dietz Koleber died 18 Nov 1929. My grandmother Mollie Koleber Margheim gave birth to twins, her 3rd and 4th children on 18 Oct 1929. So Grandma Mollie lost her grandma, gave birth to twins 6 weeks later, then lost her mother one month after the births of her daughter Laverna and son, Leonard Margheim. What an emotional time that must have been for my dear Grandma Mollie.

No comments: