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James Dunnam home, near Brewton, Escambia Co., AL, circa 1900
(click to enlarge) |
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| The Yearling, N. C. Wyeth |
Sunday night I watched the wonderful 1946 film adaptation of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' The Yearling, the story of a rebel soldier and his wife, who after the Civil War, become pioneer farmers in Florida. Every time I see it, I am reminded of my great-great-great-grandparents, James Alexander Dunnam and his wife Sina Isabelle Morris, who farmed near Brewton, Escambia County, Alabama, near the Florida border, just after the Civil War. They raised nine children in this house, that looks so much like the one in the movie. I often wonder what similar hardships they suffered, and what "Old Slewfoot" stories they might have to tell. My great-grandmother, Ida Belle Lewis, is the little girl sitting on the left of the front steps, with her hand raised to shield her eyes from the sun. Notice the portrait of the Dunnam's deceased son, Enoch, her uncle, placed outside on the porch, as part of the family photo.
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| James Alexander Dunnam and Sina Isabelle Morris Dunnam, circa 1900 |
Oh, what a touching story here! Love your new header too.
ReplyDeleteArt imitates life?
ReplyDeleteThe practice of including the portraits of deceased family members in family shots was a common practice after the Civil War. It was part of that whole cult of mourning that started in Great Britain with Queen Victoria mourning her Albert all the way until her own death, and it made it's way over here just in time for the Civil War. It totally changed the way Americans viewed death, especially graveyards, which changed from places where bodies were basically dumped into parks with benches and shade trees so mourners could come and sit for a while with the beloved departed. Including pictures of the beloved departed in family portraits was a part of all that.
Roy, I've always been fascinated with the effect Queen Victoria had on mourning. A lot of extremes with all the mourning jewelry made of hair, etc. Interesting stuff.
ReplyDeleteI love family histories. Talked fam hist with my mom for weeks before she died. Can't wait to pass it on to my kids.
ReplyDeleteWillow, CROSS CREEK was the last book my son ever let me read to him, and we only made it half way through. I loved it though and the movie (or for TV) was good too. I think Mary Steenburgen played MKR. MKR was such a character; CROSS CREEK was sort of her autobiography as I remember.
ReplyDeleteThe portrait of James and Sina is a classic. They have the words 'Hard Graft' written all over their faces. Such character!
ReplyDeleteWhere do you keep finding all these gems? Bisou, Cro.
How absolutely fascinating. The first photograph could keep me occupied for most of the day, there is so much to see in it. Great Sepia Saturday fare Willow.
ReplyDeleteThat picture reminds me of my home, Columbus, Georgia and the country nearby. My aunt and uncle lived in Smith Station, Alabama and everyone used mules there for farming - they pulled plows and were used to grind sugar cane to make cane syrup, my favorite. I like that thick syrup way better than maple, mashed with butter, on my biscuits.
ReplyDeleteDear Willow, Like you, I adore old films but this one must have been particularly fascinating to you. The old photograph is most intriguing, as too is Roy's comment.
ReplyDeleteWhat an incredibly hard life it must have been though I think they probably handled life itself better than all those who have never known deprivation, modern medicine or all the trappings of the modern day 'good life'.
ReplyDeleteI worked for a newspaper in Alabama years ago and would look through the archives every-now-and-then and loved seeing the old photos and stories of days gone-by. When I read your posts about family history, I'm reminded of those old newspapers and the stories they told.
ReplyDeleteI find the trees in your old photo interesting. They are so barren.
I have a friend who grew up on an island in the Everglades. She's told me stories of her family's struggles. The people who went into wilderness to carve out a life amaze me. I love my air-conditioning! The title of this post makes me laugh deep in my soul!
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother (whose family was from Troy, AL and had connections in Brewton) read THE YEARLING to me. Those wonderful, light-filled illustrations still resonate with me.
ReplyDeleteMKR is one of my great loves. Yes, Cross Creek (to one of yr commenters) was a non-fiction book about her life in FLA. Later made into a movie that saved my life when I was despondent once. Rawlings really brought the landscape alive in her fiction too. The Yearling is wonderful, both book and film.
ReplyDeleteWillow, looking at that house from which your ancestors came is just humbling somehow. Hard life indeed. Makes me feel grateful for modern conveniences. I wonder if folks 100 years from now will look at pictures of ourselves on our front porches and say, wow how did they do it! What a hard life!
Just as well I was born in this time really. I would have hated to have squashed my curls in a bonnet like that.
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful pictures you have. I have always resonated with The Yearling for a different reason. My ex-husband was a native Floridian who taught me to love the old Florida lifestyle and not just the beaches. I also love Rawling's book Cross Creek where she describes her own life. I especially like a passage where she describes the joys of fresh caught blue crab in a cream sauce. Poetic!
ReplyDeleteDonna, Suki and Shari, I'm putting Cross Creek on my library list right now!
ReplyDeleteThe Yearling is wonderful, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteThe photo of James Alexander Dunnam reminds me of Bruce Dern. I can't imagine how grounding it would be to have photos of great great great grandparents. Or even grandparents. I like your photos and your writing about your family.
Willow ! Nice New Header! The First Photo Looks To Me Like The Wild West! I Could Imagine John Wayne Galloping Into View ! They Look Hardy Folk.Times Must Have Been Tough But They Carried Themselves With Great Pride.
ReplyDeleteHave A Fine Weekend.
Hello Willow,
ReplyDeleteWe can only admire all those pioneering folks who forged a life from almost nothing. And how random life was when some were lost so young while others lived well into old age?
Wonderful story and I have to say that I really admire the pioneer spirit. What a hard life.
ReplyDeleteLife was hard back in the day. Sometimes I feel so weak and puny compared to the people who had to work so hard just to survive. Wow.
ReplyDeleteReya, oh, I know. I'm so spoiled. I don't know what I'd do without my washer and dryer....or hair dryer.
ReplyDeleteSuki, I've often wondered the same thing about our future generations looking back at us and wondering how we made it through such hardships! Fascinating thought.
Wonderful photographs. Thank you for posting.
ReplyDeleteI have family stories of those hard times after the
'war between the states'.
French Fancy, speaking of lack of hair dryers and hair products, I guess we'd all be wearing those funny little bonnets!
ReplyDeleteI'm just amazed that you have all these old pictures.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed studying that first photograph. So many interesting details. The Yearling is read regularly in this household. It's my husband's favourite book from his childhood and he buys old copies whenever he sees them to pass on to friends.
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful photos, Willow! It would be something to have them in a room to ask them so many questions about what they lived through, wouldn't it! You've got the best photos. I have a lot of good ones, but yours are always fabulous.
ReplyDeleteps
ReplyDeleteI think it's so touching that they have the photo there as well. So proudly remembering him as part of the family...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWell...
ReplyDeleteYa-all got to be more careful
Talking like you do.
A lot of younguns don't know
What "tramped" on means.
Tee hee...
roofers tramped on my
Sepia Saturday sounds like it is less colorful than Monday through Friday
And Sunday too.
Robyn, a vintage copy of The Yearling is such a sweet and touching gift. I love that. Your husband sounds like a wonderful man.
ReplyDeleteAbe, oh, so you're Abraham Wesley now!
ReplyDeleteI know. I know. I'm always using words that date me. My kids just roll their eyes. I used the word tramping in the most innocent way, you know. Pure as the driven snow.
The house has a good roof! Funny how they didn't paint in those days...the porch full of family and a framed portrait too....photos were rare so everyone got in the shot! I like the fence around the house and the vine growing up the outside and the buggy off to the side...sweet story...pioneer families had such a tough life.
ReplyDeleteWillow, I love that movie and it brings tears to my eyes. Your family were the real salt of the earth, they were the real Pioneers of America.
ReplyDeletelove the post yvonne
These are fascinating photos. The top one is packed with people and things to look at. I was drawn to the trees, too. I wonder what kind they are. And I wonder who the baby is. You could spend a month just researching this one photo!
ReplyDeleteGreat image and family stroy, as usual fom my very likely Alabama cousin {wink}. Check the article in the April/May issue of GARDEN&GUN, page 65. The town of DeFuniak Springs, Fl is featured. It is in the area of the panhandle where THE YEARLING was set, but it is a far cry from the rustic farm home. WE drive through this little beauty in the way to Seaside, and pass by Brewton, AL on the way to Point Clear & the Grand Hotel.
ReplyDeleteThe tingling dna. Aha moments. It was Grade 9 required reading in Mr. Walton's class at Saunders highschool. I fawned over this book and the movie; pun intended. Why has no one yet mentioned the word "deer"? Oh. There is a lot more to this story than the yearling (which is a year old deer). I wanted a deer like that, but we all know the consequence of deer loving. Did not The Waltons tv show from the 70's(this IS getting synchronistic isn't it) have an episode regarding "The Yearling"? Yes they did. I remember Jim Bob and those cruel "you can't have wild animals" park ranger. Sad, sad movie. Yet incredibly indelible; so memorable and so iconic the book using the same transference method of permanent inking and what not. The Yearling is, I believe, one of my favourite top ten movies of all time. The history backstory is going to take me a long time to research; but an enjoyable long time!Let me in on the secret "tramping". It sounds so naughty and nice at the same time. Roofers do it and the "blank" in Abe's poem means? Spill the beans you two! Abe and Willow!
ReplyDeleteWas intrigued by the name Sina. I have never heard it before. Looked it up (quick internet search only) and it appears to be Persian and comes from a Hebrew word meaning: "explorer of knowledge". Also saw it could be an Irish girl's name. Fascinating. Do you know her descent?
ReplyDeleteThe Yearling was one of my favourite movies as a kid. I could totally identify with Jody, but now I feel for Ora. Funny how perspective changes with age!
ReplyDeleteChicco, it really is totally above board. Teehee. Abe posted on his hydrangeas today and I commented that the roofers tramped my one little plant nearly to death seven years ago. Anyway, it's blooming this spring! The word "tramped" must have tickled Abe's fancy.
ReplyDeleteLadyCat, Ida listed everyone in the photo on the back, which I scanned, along with all those photos I gave to Bach on that flash drive! :)
ReplyDeleteEverton T, I was thinking exactly the same thing about Sina's name as I typed up this post. I only know the names of her parents, Enoch J. Morris, born 1809 GA and Elizabeth E. Atkinson. I must check on the Irish possibility.
ReplyDeleteFireLight, daaaaling, thanks for pointing out that article on DeFuniak Springs in G & G. I totally missed it. Love that Florida's oldest library still lends out books.
ReplyDeleteA fascinating piece of history indeed and, as always, a wonderful post - I love the title :D
ReplyDeleteIt's a fabulous film.
ReplyDeleteAnd that is a mesmerising photograph. I have just spent five minutes or more poring over it. Thanks for a genuine insight into American history.
willow - i am always amazed at the access you have to the wealth of your heritage. my own goes back to the late eighteen hundreds and then stops as my family were at no time welathy enough to have portraits or photographs taken. steven
ReplyDeleteI adore when you share bits of your family history with us. Lovely!
ReplyDeleteOld photographs can tell us so much. Your Saturday Sepia series is interesting especially to hear the story that flows out from them. Nice Post!
ReplyDeleteHardships, I think, seem etched onto people's faces, especially in photographs from long ago. They make me curious, for the lives lived, the stories untold.
ReplyDeleteLove your historically seeped Sephia Saturdays (sounds like a tongue twister, doesn't it?).
I adore your header, a fabulous work of art.....very nice story as well!
ReplyDeleteKarena
Art by Karena
That is one of the most interesting photos I have ever seen. There is so much going on, and every little bit of the picture seems to tell it's own story.
ReplyDeleteThese are fantastic old photos. The house one is brilliant, I keep staring.
ReplyDeleteMy heart is so sick thinking about how life is changing for people in this part of the country now. People will start saying "before the oil spill" or "after the oil spill" when they tell their stories about our days now.
I am glad, I found you ( as some else I can see :).
ReplyDeleteIt is a certain age ( I don`t mean you ), when many of us start to think their ancestors even here, where families have lived in same place hundreds of years in this same country anyway except those, who lost their homes to Russia after the last war.
You photos tell so much, thank you!
Good weekend to you!
Wonderful photos Willow. You have an incredibly photogenic family.
ReplyDeleteAnd I love the new header, one of your best ever.
Excellent post! That's the power of a good film, isn't it-to evoke that feeling of kinship with the characters and place? I feel that way when I watch "Angela's Ashes". I know what my dad's early life must have been like.
ReplyDeleteKat
Kat, Angela's Ashes is such a powerful book/film. Fascinating the familial connection you have there. I haven't seen it in quite a while--gotta watch it again. Emily Watson is so good in it.
ReplyDeleteI loved the book The Yearling, too! What wonderful old photographic treasures you possess. The portrait at the bottom is fascinating; such strong, enduring faces.
ReplyDeleteEnlarging the photo helps me to enter into that lively scene..how brave and sensible these folks seem to me..
ReplyDeleteAnd an odd thing about old photos, how much similarity exists..the photo of Sina Isabelle looks very much like my Grandmother, Rebecca.
Love your header, Willow. Sounds like a wonderful movie that i will def think about watching on a quiet evening soon. Love that photo of James and Sina. . .
ReplyDeleteThe Yearling is one of my all time favorite books! I will have to get this old movie to watch from Netflix. Amazing the threads that link in our memories....
ReplyDeleteDear Willow I have so enjoyed your blog over the last year or so. I was into genealogy but due to many of the things I have read on your blog I have been to know about different movies and stories that depict times I have found in my research. I am not reading Maeve Binchy's books due to Tara Road and loving them. This is a marvelous SS today.
ReplyDeleteQMM
How wonderful to be able to write so vividly of very distant grandparents and have a photographic record.
ReplyDeleteI loved this...especially the photograph at the end!
ReplyDeleteIt is so wonderful that there was a book written about a family that so closely parallels your own family - at least as far as time period and location go. I love the photo of James and Sina. They look like a hardworking couple. Imagine them with smiles! (P.S. Not to offend but I noticed that James' eyes are closed and am wondering if the photo is a death photo....)
ReplyDeleteNancy, click on the pic of James and Sina to enlarge...his eyes are open! But it's said that Sina was actually blind in her old age.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, I see now that his eyes are open. Sorry for not observing more closely. I think I didn't enlarge the photos the first time looking. Now that I have... don't you think Sina would have been an adorable child, youth, and young woman? Except for the lack of a smile, she has a pixie-ish look about her. She has a very endearing face.
ReplyDeleteNancy, don't you wish we could see smiles in all these old photos? I know they were instructed not to smile, since they had to hold perfectly still for such a long time for the camera.
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos! I love Sina's outfit- the cute little capelette (if that's a word) and the bow tie. So much of their story is told in that one front porch story. I remember loving "The Yearling" but now can't remember much about it. I'll have to reread the book or get the movie or both.
ReplyDeleteThe detail about the photo on the porch is really remarkable--great photos.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to imagine what life must have been like then. Perhaps I need to rent the Yearling. It's amazing even to think of raising nine kids in a small house like that.
ReplyDeleteI almost missed this one. Wow, what neat info and photos. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic family photo.
ReplyDeleteI have read the Yearling waaay back when but have yet to see any film adaptation. I think I will need the rest f my days to catch up with you, Willow. LOL.