My grandparents, S. Ellsworth Hall and Agnes Maud Biggs Hall, were as much a part of my growing up life as my parents were. I saw them almost daily until I went to college in 1963. When they died – my grandfather in 1968 and my grandmother in 1970 – they left me photos and letters and memories and a feeling of being connected to a world that came before me.
My grandmother also left her gold beads. First they came to my mother, and then, when I married, my mother passed them on to me. They were probably a wedding present to Agnes when she married Ellsworth in 1913.
“Gold Beads,” Carol Crump Bryner, colored pencil, 2014
My great-grandmother wrote about the wedding in her journal:
December 27, 1913 – “A fine clear cold day. Ellsworth’s wedding day. Married at four o’clock in the afternoon to Agnes Maud Biggs by the Episcopal minister, Mr. Reynolds. The two families present including the brothers and sisters. A fine supper served by Mrs. Biggs at her home. House prettily trimmed with evergreens. All had a good time. The bride looked nice in her pretty white silk dress, also in her traveling suit. The groom very nice.” – Lydia Jane Hall
Ellsworth and Agnes Hall on their wedding day, 1913
December 28, 1913 – “Cold night Saturday night, cold today. Ellsworth a married man. Spent the night with his bride in Springfield. His birthday today – thirty-two years old today. He has always been one of the best of boys to us all, and hope he may be blessed in all his ways that are good.” – Lydia Jane Hall
For their honeymoon my grandparents went to Stowe, Massachusetts, where this photo of them rabbit hunting (they called it rabbitting) was taken. They spent seven days away from the farm.
Ellsworth and Agnes rabbit hunting in Stowe, Mass., 1914
January 3, 1914 – “Cloudy and cold. We are wishing the bride and groom would come home. We want to see them.” – Lydia Jane Hall
January 7, 1914 – “Nice day – Ellsworth and Agnes came home. Looking well and happy. They had a very pleasant trip. We had oysters for supper. We all enjoyed them.” – Lydia Jane Hall
They came home to the farm and rarely left for the next fifty-four years. My grandfather couldn’t bear to be away from “wife,” as he often called her, and would succumb to fits of anxious burping and unhappiness when she was gone overnight. Someone, maybe my cousin Tom, took this picture of them in front of the farmhouse sometime in the early 1960’s. My grandmother wears her gold beads, just as she did all those years ago on her wedding trip. She wore them often on the farm, and I was used to seeing them around her neck. Now, when I wear them, I think of her, and the beads feel warm and comforting against my skin.
Ellsworth and Agnes Hall, around 1960
On Wednesday: Cows
Just seeing this photo brings back their voices to me. I am transported to sitting in their kitchen with you, and your grandfather comes in and he and your grandmother talk the easy daily shorthand talk of long married couples and I feel enveloped. Lovely memory.
THanks, Cuz. Yes – they did talk in a kind of shorthand. And always, as I remember it, a very affectionate patter of talk.
What a handsome couple! They look sharp and happy on their wedding day, while “rabbitting” and still in the 60’s. Now there is an original way to spend your honeymoon! There are some strong family features that I see in Agnes, your Mom and you. Nice to look back and see where you came from. The gold beads are icing on that family cake.
Is it possible to reconstruct a timeline of who lived in the family home ? There has been lot of overlap among the generations, it seems, and it would be interesting to think about who was interacting with who as they made the farm work.
Keep it coming. This is wonderful.
It would be fun to construct a timeline. Nice idea. Thanks, Mike.
Hi Carol
When I get the chance I have been reading some of your memories. I am with my parents in Ithaca NY now and treasuring the time together. They have been divorced for many years but now have both lost their second spouses and seem to be softening toward one another. They live in the same retirement community so they are not far in distance from one another but have grown far apart except for the 4 children they raised for 20 years together who visit them individually and occasionally at a family function. God is the author of the seemingly impossible. I am so thankful for my husband and you must be for yours. Marriage for a lifetime is a wonderful thing and we are grateful for John and Caroline’s example to us. Love Becky
So wonderful to hear from you Becky! And you and Jeff are, I know, a wonderful example for your kids and for your ever-growing generation of grandchildren. You are lucky to still have your parents and to be able to visit them. And I love hearing from your lovely Laura once in awhile. My love to you all!
That is such a sweet legacy. Having seen your grandmother wear the gold beads frequently only enforces the fact they were very important to her. It must give you a “warm fuzzy” every time you put them on.
Thanks, Karen. It’s nice to have something that a person you loved treasured.
It’s so nice to read this story of such a long happy marriage. And handing down a piece of jewelery such a perfect way to remember someone. Now, when you pass those beads on, they’ll come along with an illustrated story!
And I’m so very grateful to you for urging me to do this, so that I have these stories to pass along. Thank you!
Oh my ! The beads, the story ! The pic of Uncle Ellsworth & Aunt Agnes this is how I remember them in my minds eye. You have such a amazing writer & story teller…memories for generations to come!!! Thanx, our families were truly loving, caring & a fine example of how people should live…thanx 🙂 Carol 🙂 your cuzin’ Donna