This is George McAfee, co-founder of our branch of the
family, in youth and old age. The tintypes (actually printed on tin plates) of
him as a child, and young man are not dated, but I found them wrapped up in a
baggie with a note in my mom's handwriting definitely identifying him as her
grandfather.
The older pictures of her "Grandpa McAfee" are
dated 1910 (wearing a high collar and a dapper straw boater hat, above), and 1940. In
the latter picture, he's carrying a box labeled as some kind of
"Chocolate" from Dorchester, MASS.
Barbara didn't know a lot about her McAfee ancestors, but she
told me she thought George McAfee was born in Scotland (possibly Stirling) and
moved to Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, as a young man.
On PE Island, George married Frances Elizabeth Cowell in
1887. Barbara thought Frances' mother was a Graham and her father a Cowell, and
that Frances might have been born on PE Island. Evidently, the young couple
later moved to Massachusetts.
George and Frances McAfee had four children:
Harold McAfee, born 1889.
Edna Alice McAfee (Barbara's mother, our grandmother), born
April 17, 1893, at Worcester, MASS.
Mary Ellen ("Minnie") McAfee, born 1895.
Wyman (George W) McAfee, born 1899.
In Barbara's things, I found a letter she wrote for me (but
never sent) about her mother's life. Edna, Barbara reports, "had rather a
double dose of church. Her father being Scotch Presbyterian & her mother
Episcopalian, she attended services at one church in the morning & the
other in the afternoon."
Barbara also writes, "My mother was brainy, beautiful,
and talented. She sang, played the piano well, and wrote poetry," and
"had a mischievous sense of humor. (She) was a lady—slightly dignified but
fun-loving. Her sister "Minnie" (Mary Ellen) was 2 years younger,
impish, and full of the dickens. The two sisters were pretty and popular."
Here's an early photo of Edna Alice McAfee (2nd from R,
standing, in the lighter dress), and some other bathing beauties, ca. 1910.
I'll be referring to Barbara's letter for information about
the courtship and marriage of Edna and Carl George Bader in an upcoming post.
Next up: enter the Baders! Stay tuned...
