1796 for me. My great great great great grandmother Murphy was born in Ireland and lived until 1895. She sailed to the US in 1849 with three sons and a daughter. Her husband died a couple of years after arriving.

Great subject.

I can't lay my hands on it at the moment but I have a photo (of a photo, estimated as late 1850s, according to the owner of the original) of my Great x 3 Grandmother Brittain (née Williams) born 1811, died 1863.

She was from a relatively wealthy family (her grandfather was an officer in the Colonial army and had received a land grant) and her father was one of the first settlers in the area just a year or so before she was born. She married into an even more privileged family (similar background family background plus her father-in-law was a state legislator for a term or two) but two apparently headstrong people didn't get along well, leading to one of the first publicized divorces in Middle Tennessee. With the stigma of divorce, life was tough for a while after that and she lived with her daughter and son-in-law (my great-great grandparents) for a while but she ended up marrying the owner of the farm next door a few years later and that marriage lasted until she died.

Harrison Columbus Ray
B:11 May 1850 Jacks Creek, Yancey, North Carolina, USA

D:21 Sep 1895 Yancey County, North Carolina

My grandmothers uncle in the drivers seat, born 1858.
He died the year I was born.

https://www.thesunchronicle.co...b8-8a42e42a822a.html

Photograph? 1805



Picture? 1692

My Grandfather born 1895 in Milton, Ga.
Taken when he was 22, just after he joined the Army and on his way to France.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Butch 2340,

I have a photo of my great grandfather with his sons (my grandfather among them) taken in eastern Europe.
He was born in 1856, my grandfather was born in 1888.
My grandfather came here around 1910 and met my grandmother here; she was from the same region.

Although I have a number of Daguerreotypes of ancestors I don't know their identities or Birthdates (probably dating back to the 1790's or early 1800's).

The earliest family photo I have is of my Great Great Grandfather, Charles Hart, from Sharon, VT, taken in the 1890's. He was born 5-17-1833.

I've traced back essentially one line through my great grandmother into the middle ages. I don't have much information for other lines, so there may be an earlier photo that I don't know about yet.

James Harris was my 4th Great Grandfather, born in 1798. The photo was taken in approximately 1860, making this the first known photo of one of my ancestors as well as the earliest born ancestor for whom I have a photo.

He was born in or near Troy, NY. Around 1820 he moved upstate to the Florence, NY area where he was one of the early settlers. There he met his future wife, Roxanna Higbee (1799-1875). No marriage record is available. They lived on the Harris family dairy farm in Florence for about 60 years. They had 8 children. James died in July, 1881.

One of their children, my 3rd Great Grandfather, was Leander Harris (1838-1893). At about age 20 he jumped on the new railroad line and got off in Bellevue, Ohio. At the outbreak of the Civil War he joined the NY Engineers of Cicero, NY and was present at numerous significant battles. I have numerous photos of Leander from the war and afterwards. While these are not the earliest family photos, they are in very good condition and a real treasure.

If we include painted portraits, there are several of my Mayflower ancestors. Francis Cooke born 1583, Edward Winslow born 1595, and Josiah Winslow born 1629. Due to extensive research of Mayflower families I have reliable information going back further hundreds of years and there are various portraits but I don't yet have photos of them.

Writing the family history book turned into a 2 year project. When the burnout subsides I will be doing more research.

Earliest photo I’ve seen of an ancestor, is of my paternal Grandfather born in March 1867 in Danzig, Prussia (now Gdańsk, Poland).

He immigrated to USA at age 12 as a stowaway on a triple-masted sailing ship and became a cabin boy when discovered by other crew. He then jumped ship in New York harbor and disappeared into the mass of the great unwashed.

He obtained U.S. citizenship in 1885 (18 yoa), per the citizenship papers that I’ve seen. He then had a varied life with many experiences, twice widowed, fathering total of 6 kids. That info was passed onto me by my father’s sisters, who were known to have exaggerated history a time or two, so things more have been embellished a bit. Grandpa passed on when I was 13 months old, so I have no memory of him.

My father was born in 1919, so that made Grandpa 52 yoa when dad was sired; way to go Grandpa !!!

1876, Grandpa (paternal).

My maternal grandparents


My mother's grandmother's brother


...and as an aside my mother turned 99 yesterday.

One of my distant cousins has a deguerrotype or photo of our common ancestor (6 generations back for me), made in the early 1850s. He was born in the late 1780s / early 1790s in Nova Scotia. His parents had been loyalists to the British King and were deported after the American Revolution. Ironically, my ancestor and his older brother fought for the US in the War of 1812 and were both wounded at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in present-day Alabama. This battle broke the Creek Indian confederacy with the British in the Southeast. As part of their pensions for being wounded, they were later given land tracts in Alabama. One of the other distant cousins has the original document, supposedly signed by President James Monroe.

quote:

Originally posted by bald1:

...and as an aside my mother turned 99 yesterday.

I hope she had a fantastic birthday!

This is my Great-great-great Grandfather in his CSA uniform, First Sgt 48th Georgia Infantry. He was born in 1838 and enlisted in 1862.

my Aunt and Uncle took a trip to Ireland this past April. They sent me a picture of the headstone for who would be my 11th Great Grandfather and Grandmother from around 1660

Dr. George M. Burdette (1838-1915). My great-grandfather. He served in the Civil War and later lived in Lenoir City, TN.

quote:

Originally posted by bald1:
...and as an aside my mother turned 99 yesterday.

No offense but your Mom is absolutely stunning.

No picture, but it's an excuse to tell a funny story about an ancestor.

My first relative to arrive here from Ireland settled in Minneapolis in the 1840's, and he and I share the same name, though it's not clear if I'm named after him or just some Irish saint.

History is unclear if my namesake was kicked to death by a mule, or hanged for stealing it!

No idea on his age but he paid for a group photo of the republican presidential notification committee June of 1892. It features presidents Harrison and McKinley as well as Frederick Douglas.