The Three Musketeers

As you can see this picture was taken at Sanders in Chicago, Illinois. This picture is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, I will give you the whole picture. This is a picture I received from Richard Budd. The woman on the right is Marie Christiansen-Johannsen, my great-great-great grandmother.


The woman in the second picture on the right is very obviously Marie. As a matter of fact, if you look at this image she is wearing the same dress or at least the same bodice. It looks like she just modified the sleeves to fit the fashion but the bodice is very much the same. This has given me several questions. Is the woman on the right in both images Marie? Is the woman pouring the beverage the same woman? What was so special about the women in the first image that they decided to repeat the same pose in the second sitting? Did one of the woman live in Chicago and repeat the pose with her Ohio friends/family on a visit? Assuming the first image was taken at the beginning of the puff sleeves and the second image at the end there could be as much as a 10 year aging between the two. Are they the same women or is this just a redo? Obviously the image from Chicago held some importance as Marie had it in her photo album yet she appears in the second image. Any suggestions? How does it strike you, that might give me some ideas?

Today's Birthdays: Eleanor Ball-Debo, Joseph Hunt, August Johannsen, William E. Johannsen, Gordon Joss, Marcia Lemmerman, Mildred Zura-Wolfe.

My Marie?!

I believe this is Marie Christiansen Johannsen. I have posted about her before but this is an unidentified picture so I am not 100% sure it is her. Let's start with a quick review. Last month I posted a picture of her that was taken in the late 1860's or very early 1870's. Earlier this month I posted one from the early 1900's, probably 1906. I believe this woman looks a great deal like Marie and would fall comfortably between the other two photographs. What do you think? Do I have another picture of Marie?

Timeframe: The tight sleeves, the flounce on the bottom of the skirt and the length of the bodice date this picture to the 1880's. I would guess late 1880's since the mid 1880's has a much larger bustle. A "Newton, William H." operated a studio in Port Clinton from 1885 to 1889. Assuming William H & William M are one and the same it would narrow it to between 1885 & 1889. In the spring of 1885, Marie would have been 62.

Where It Fits: Assuming this is Marie Christiansen, she married Wilhelm Johannsen in 1851 and they are the parents of Julius & August Johannsen. That would make Marie the grandmother of William, Marie, Adele, August, John, Nelson, Lilly, Paul, Lorenz, William E., Nettie & Emma.

Marie & Lorenz

This picture is actually from the collection of my grandmother, not my great grandmother. This picture was identified by her as her father, Lorenz/Lawrence Johannsen. The woman is his grandmother, Marie Christiansen Johannsen.

Timeframe: The photographers imprint on the bottom says it was taken by Andrews in Port Clinton, Ohio. According to the obituary of C. E. Andrews, he operated between 1896 & 1920. Lorenz was born in September of 1902. He looks to be about four so I assume this was taken about 1906 or so. It was no doubt taken before 1911 as Marie died that summer in one of the worst heat waves known at the time.

Where It Fits: Marie is the oldest daughter of Redlef Christiansen & Gude Boysen. Marie married Wilhelm Johannsen and together they had two sons, Julius & August. Julius is the father of Lorenz/Lawrence. Lorenz in turn married Velma Taylor and has two children, James & Joyce.

Sources: The obituary of C. E. Andrews

Marie Christiansen Johannsen

This is a huge picture. I actually had to take a picture of it because there was no possible way to get it on the scanner. If you look back to "A Johannsen Christmas" post you will see this image hanging on the wall in the background. In more recent years it hung on the wall at Velma Taylor & Lorenz Johannsen's house. When we compared the image to some identified images we identified this woman as Marie Christiansen, the wife of Wilhelm Johannsen. She was born in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany and died in Port Clinton, Ohio during a record breaking summer heat wave. After some research we discovered that more or less the whole nation had temperatures over 100 degrees for weeks at a time without any relief. There were a lot of deaths in 1911, especially older people and babies.

Timeframe: Between 1823 and 1911. :-) Oh wait, a little more? Okay, 1869 to 1874. Is that a little better? During that time frame the bodice closed in the front with buttons and a V-neck with ruffles was popular. The black neck ribbon with brooch and earrings and the braid coiled around the top of her head also suggest the same time period. She was very much in fashion for 1869-1874. Since she immigrated in 1871 I am guessing it was around then. In the Spring of 1871, when she arrived, she turned 48. Very possible age for this woman.

Where It Fits: Marie is the daughter of Redlef Christiansen & Gude Boysen. Marie married Wilhelm and they had Julius & August. She is the grandmother of William, Marie, Adele, August, John, William E., Nelson, Lilly, Nettie, Paul, Emma & Lorenz.