It's Throwback Thursday again, and we have another appointment on Memory Lane.
First we're going back to 1900(-ish). Mike's unclear about the exact year, but the baby in this picture, seated on her mama's lap, is Gladys Neeld, who was Grandma Grace's mother (M's grandmother). Gladys was born August 24, 1899, and in the picture she looks about two years old. So maybe we're talking around 1901. The lady holding Gladys is Mary Emma Neeld, who went by Emma. Seated to her left is Gladys's youngest older brother, Paul Sawrie Neeld. (Mike's "Granny" was the youngest of the seven Neeld siblings. Originally there was an eighth child, Robert Jackson Neeld, who was born in 1890, but who died in 1892.) And to Paul's left is the family's daddy, William Pingree Neeld.
Standing behind them are Hattie Neeld Wilson (the eldest), Ben Edward Neeld, Ernest Downey Neeld, Botsford Chandler Neeld, and Katie Neeld Miller. Many years after this photograph was taken, Mike would have the pleasure of knowing all of these Neeld children except Ernest, who died in 1928. M doesn't know where this picture was taken, but judging from the backdrop it seems to be a studio portrait.
Now--here's where it's nice when families stick together for a while. Take a look at this next picture:
These are the very same people that were in the first photo, and arranged in the very same order. (Plus that ghosty apparition holding what looks like a push-broom, growing out of Uncle Ben's head!) This one was almost certainly taken May 24, 1924, and definitely at 802 West Henry Avenue, in Tampa. If there's something familiar looking about it, let's have another peek at a bigger family portrait we featured last Throwback Thursday:
Notice that the people in the (now) middle photo are wearing the exact same clothes as in this mega-portrait by Burgert Brothers (except that William P. Neeld has found his old straw "boater" hat to re-create the first picture.)
Since our post of April 23rd, M has discovered some interesting things about the "big" picture: First, it was, in fact, taken on May 24, 1924. Second, that date was a Saturday, which may help account for all 38 of those people being able to meet at that address at the same time. And third, five days before that--on Monday, May 19, 1924--William and Emma Neeld celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. We're thinking that most of the celebration was postponed until the following weekend.
Another thing we were pleased to learn (and this helped us know the actual date of the big portrait) is that while the one we posted came from our family archives, the original, complete with description, can be found in the Burgert Brothers Photographic Collection held by the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library.
Finally, to see what the house at 802 West Henry Avenue looks like today, just hop back in the TARDIS and follow this link.
