52 Ancestors: Week 6: "Favorite Photo" - Ethel Losee at Roosevelt, 1914

It is so hard for me to pick a single favorite photo. I have so many. And having recently acquired my grandmother's scrapbooks, I have ones that I have never seen before now. Like this one:

This photo was laying in between pages of one of my grandmother's scrapbooks, apropos to nothing really. This is apparently a picture my grandmother acquired from her husband's side of the family because I clearly recognize my Grandpa Earle's mother on the right, Ethel Mae Losee-Earle (February14, 1896 - May 27, 1960). I didn't know Ethel, she passed before I was born and my father only has vague recollections of her even though he was about 10 1/2 when she passed. I know it is her though because I have seen other images of her.

I also know that it's Ethel, in part, due to the label on the back. It doesn't include her name but instead states "Taken July 4th / 1914 at Roosevelt." Ethel was born and raised not far from the house I live in now. The area was once known as Greenwich Point and is at the very north end of the town of Freeport. It is now known as Roosevelt, named after President Theodore Roosevelt (October 27, 1858 - January 6, 1919) in about 1902. The area is so close to the boarder of Freeport though, that sometimes events in her life there are listed as having taken place in Freeport.

I also know that here, she was Ethel Losee as she did not marry her husband Abram Thomas Earle until June 1915.

What I love about the photo is their outfits. 

The late Edwardian elegance of the period was beginning to relax just before World War I. After the war began in Europe on July 28, 1914 (the United States did not enter until April 6, 1917), clothing gradually became simpler and more practical, paving the way for the dramatic fashion changes we all envision of the 1920s; low waistlines, higher hems, fringe, etc.

Here the women are still wearing the typically high necklines that were standard for daytime and the raised waistlines. Even though it is summer, their sleeves are relatively long and their shirts feature layers of lace, ruffles, pintucks, and lots of buttons. Hats were still pretty typical of everyday wear and it is hard to tell but Ethel's flat brim hat seems to feature flowers and there may have been a ribbon. As pretty as it is, I am glad this isn't the fashion of my time. I like the comfort of jeans and t-shirts.

I do not know who the two other women are in the photo. The young woman on the left could possibly be Ethel's only sister, Marion G. Losee-Childres (July 1900 - December 3, 1949), she looks about 14 years-old, but that is a uninformed guess on my part. I hope posting the image might result in a family member recognizing the other two women.

It's a favorite. I think going forward I might forego the weekly theme and just highlight favorite family photos.