The Gardners

 An entry to Sepia Saturday. "Using old images as prompts for new reflections"

There appears no extravagant facial hair in the Gardner family album for  this week's theme of the hirsute. There are quite a few bushy black beards, but instead I'll start with the mutton chop

 

just because I like the look of him and his nonchalant pose.   The cap is military but the jacket looks as though it should be on board a ship. I have no idea who he is. There were three thick family albums of the Gardner family which on my Grandparents 's death would have gone to my three uncles but only two went that way as my Uncle Stanley had disappeared without trace (he recently made contact from Australia, after fifty years, to much family rejoicing) so my mother as the eldest received the third and now I have it.  There are lots of gaps where it looks as though photos have been removed but still enough to browse through for beards.

 

The striped effect. These two look as though they have a story to tell, wearing her tea-cosy hat and day dress
 she looks a no nonsense type of person.  Their clothing looks late Victorian., with his beard and twinkle he could make a great Father Christmas.  Lastly here is

 

 the chinstrap.  An unknown hand has written underneath the photograph Tom Gardner, Grandfather and mother (on reverse of photo "Joseph Cross, Photographer, Lancaster").  Looking on my cousin Alan's family tree I thought this was my Great, Great Uncle, only drawback was he had never married, try again.  I had to do a bit of my own research and added another Great onto that Uncle and came up with Thomas born in 1819 in Quernmore and married to Grace Winder (christened in Christ Church, Wyresdale 1822) and married on 25 August 1844 at St Mary's, Lancaster so our sitters now have names AND I noticed Grace has a finger inside a book, gosh I could have used this the other week for the Sepia Saturday books theme.  They lived at Crag End Farm, Ellel.  Yes shake a Gardner and a farmer will fall out, even those whose parents who have come away from the land go back to it, must be in the DNA.  Thomas (1819-1892) and Grace (c1822-1900) had six children and are both buried at Quernmore Methodist Church.  This was a surprise I had always looked at this my maternal family as high church (Church of England) whereas my fathers family were nonconformist. Guess these two were the exception, the little Wesleyan Methodist Church in Quernmore  with its graveyard was only built in 1877.  Lastly a photograph for no other reason other than I like the lettering on the lynch gate at the Lancashire church where my Great, Great, Great Aunt Grace was christening which says

"I am the door of the sheep"

        Sometimes called 'The Shepherds Church'