A Little Family History

Long ago the Harwood family held a reunion in the hills of Allegheny county in southern NY state. My grandma was a little girl during this one in 1913, just eight years old. According to those who worked hard to identify them, she is the little girl in front, dressed in white, and holding the hat of her great grandpa George Harwood (but I actually think she is the next little girl in white and the one holding the hat is her sister Nellie). Margaret Bixby and George Harwood (see here) appear to be the patriarchal couple. Margaret is the one in front wearing the necklace and George is beside her (with Grandma, or Aunt Nellie... on his lap). In the center of the photo is a man with three children on his lap. That is my great grandpa, Joseph Shafer and three of his children, Albert, Helen, and Harriet (I'm guessing). Great Grandma, Tillie, is seated toward the front, in a dark colored dress, with baby Margaret on her lap. (Please click on the photograph to see a larger version.)

Everyone in these over 100 year old pictures has passed on now and identifying the family members is becoming more difficult with every passing year. Thankfully, the second old photo (below) gave me some clues.

This is Shafer's Nine (says so on the back of the photo), which I have in my possesion, and my parents helped me identify who was who, which wasn't too difficult once we realized the photo said "Shafer's Nine." (Baby- Joseph, born in 1915, held by Maude, Florence (my grandma), Nellie, and Leo. In the front- Albert, Helen, Harriet, and Margaret, who was the baby in the previous photograph.)

Thank you to Fay Hoyt, Jeff Salisbury, and Wayne Scott, all very distant cousins, who have helped bring some of the loose and straggling members of this vast family back together in old family photos and genealogies.