One more family picture, before we move on to the negatives:
an early picture of our family of photographers.
Paul Paulson and Elina Anderson Paulson with their
children. Davenport, Iowa, circa 1895.
Paul Paulson (1850-1918) and Elina Anderson Paulson
(1855-1928). Within a year or two after the day that Paul returned from town
carrying that little coffin for poor Lillie, the family headed back up to
Davenport, Iowa. There they sat for this picture in the typical style of the
day. Paul, according to census and city directory records, is a carpenter. Elina’s
occupation is not listed. Having children seems to occupy quite a bit of her
time. Elina, as already mentioned, is the daughter of Anders and Bengta Swenson.
Of the children:
Amy Paulson (1881-1917), the oldest, is the girl standing at
the far right in the back. In photos to come you will recognize her by her
glasses (which she will soon be wearing all of the time) and her upright
posture. She will develop, perhaps she
already has developed, a love of photography. She will like to be both behind
the camera and in front of it.
Nellie Pauline Paulson(1883-1958) is just a year younger
than her sister. See her there in the
middle? You will know her by her gentle, shy expression, a slightly bowed head
in the photographs to come. In about 20 years, she will stop being an “old
maid” and marry a Minnesota farmer. But first she will help run a Sunday
school, work at Western Flour Mill in Davenport, and travel around a bit.
Possibly before her marriage, and definitely after it – she will take hundreds
of photographs of her life, of her children, and husband, and relatives. She
will develop them herself at home. But that is another story because most of
those photographs will be taken with the new film instead of the old glass. In
2011, her granddaughter will take the boxes of glass negatives that still
remain in the farm house and digitize
them.
John Edwin Paulson (1884-1964), the tall boy in the middle, is the third
child and the oldest son. He will make his own small museum (which the family
will neglect to photograph) and then go to medical school and become a doctor
and end up in California where he will have a large chair that his nephew will
remember sitting in years later.
The boy standing to far left is George Arthur Paulson (1886-1966).
He will also become a doctor. And in the spirit of adventure, he will set off
to Peru where he will work as a doctor for an oil company. Eventually he will come home, and like his
older brother will eventually make his way to California where his family still
lives today.
Edna Paulson (1891-1976) is sitting on her father’s lap. Swearing
she “will NOT be an old maid” like her older sisters, she will arrange to marry on the very last
day of her 24th year. She
will marry Furman Hawkinson, a Minnesota farmer, just a few months before her
sister, Nellie, marries Furman’s brother. The combined families will spend
their lives on adjoining farms sharing every celebration and many meals.
Paul Alvin Paulson (1889-1966) stands between his parents. Because
his name is “Paul” like his father’s, the family will call him Alvin. His
childhood will be a well documented one, as his family is going to be taking
his picture a lot! He will become a chemistry teacher in Chico, California. There
will be a rumor that he and his brother, John, left Minnesota to “get away from
their sisters.”
Sitting on Elina’s lap is Esther Maria Theresia Paulson
(1894-1992), born just a month after her sister Lillie’s death . In the
photographs to come you will note that she is pretty and usually smiling. She
will become a nurse, serving in World War 1. Afterwards she will marry and move
to Duluth Minnesota, taking her widowed mother, Elina, with her. Years later,
her great nephew will pull out the photographs and albums that Esther had kept
and among them will be this picture and more.
Not pictured is little Ruth Evangeline Paulson (1899-1996),
who will not be born until 1899. She will grow up, become a teacher, get married
and move to New Jersey. Ruth, like Paul Alvin, will be a frequent subject of
the family photography.
And of course, Lillie Paulson (1888-1893) is forever gone. (Lillie's grave)
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