Looking in the Mirror, and Beyond

Do you ever look in the mirror, and wonder who it is that is looking back at you? Not that you're having an identity crisis...but more like wondering who you inherited all those features from.

Whose nose is that? What person passed that chin on to me?

I am so glad for the wonderful invention of cameras!  Before that, we had no idea what our ancestors looked like. Unless you were fortunate enough to find a painting, or description of them, it was all up to your imagination.

I have been quite fortunate to have many older photographs to peruse, and I love looking through them for physical links between the generations.

Thanks to  www.sparksfamilyassociation.net, I am able to see a photo from my 5x-great grandmother, Elizabeth Weaver Sparks. Although it is not of the best quality (and therefore hard to take a close look at her features), this first photo of Elizabeth is my first look at this side of the family.

Elizabeth Weaver Sparks
(Source: The Sparks Quarterly, June 1973)

I wish I had photos of Elizabeth's children, and more of her grandchildren.  With no photos of these two generations besides one grandchild (not my line), it is hard to tell which features are inherited from Grandma Weaver Sparks.

Indiana Governor Winfield Taylor Durbin
(Source: Indiana Governors)

Did their grandchild, Indiana Gov. Winfield Taylor Durbin, inherit Grandma Weaver's features, or more features from his Durbin side? Of what I can see, I think he resembles Grandma Weaver Sparks quite a bit. 

I wish that I had a photo of Elizabeth's son, Hamlet, or his daughter, Mary R. Sparks. However, I do have several photos of Mary's daughter, Anna Moore Hillman. I choose to include this photo, because it shows her features at approximately the same age as everyone else. 

Anna is my great-great grandmother, and two generations removed from my first photo. And yet, I still see a strong resemblance (in the eyes and nose) to Elizabeth. It looks to me that Anna also shares the same eyes and nose with her mother's cousin, Winfield.

Anna Moore Hillman

As I look at the photo below of my Great-grandma Haessig, I also have many wonderful memories to go with it.  We enjoyed going to her house, and spending holidays with her. 

Although those eyes are hiding behind glasses, I can still see the resemblance to her mother (Anna), her grandmother's cousin (Winfield), and to her great-great grandmother (Elizabeth). I think the eyes and nose are still strong features in this family.

What do you think when you look at these past ancestors?  Do you see a resemblance?

Carrie Hillman Haessig

The following photo is of my father, Gene, and two of his 1st cousins.  With my father, especially, I think that the resemblance is still there. But I would like to see what your opinion is of the three of them.  Do you think that Elizabeth's genes are still running strong in the 21st century? 

I would love to hear your opinion on this.  I know that there are several other family genes that start running through each family, and vying for attention, too.

1st cousins ~ Ethel Mae, Gene, & Nancy

And, to bring this post to a close, I am including one last photo to show how strong the family ties can be sometimes.  At the recent family reunion, I was talking to my 2nd cousin's daughter, Kim. She never thought that she looked like her mother's side at all. She always felt like she mostly resembled her father's side.  

We have physical proof that she was wrong! Lol!  I found a picture on my tablet of her great-grandma Clara (L) and her grandfather's sister, Ethel Mae (R), taken over 50-60 years ago. 

Do you see a little bit of a resemblance between the woman holding the baby, and the woman holding the tablet?  Kim did, too! She said it was like looking in the mirror!

My 2nd cousin's daughter, Kim (in photo, Clara Goins,
 Ethel Mae Goin & unidentified baby)

So, who do you resemble?  How far back does those family genes go?  Share your stories with us! We would love to hear them!!