Fearless Females: Photograph

 Post a photo of one of your female ancestors. Who is in the photo? When was it taken? Why did you select this photo?

This is my grandmother, Ruth Brennan Combs.  It was taken in Washington, Indiana.  We are pretty sure it was taken to commemorate her first communion, in the late 1920s, but there is no information on the back of the picture.  I have very few images in my possession that are just my female ancestors.  However, I have several of Ruth from infancy to her later years. This is one of my favorites.

I found this picture in December 2011.  My dad has it, and showed it to me during my massive scan fest of the family pictures and documents.  I wish I had found it while she was still alive, there are so many questions I would have asked her about it.

Her picture is so beautiful; the white dress, hat, stockings and shoes are all perfect. Yet, nothing like I ever saw her wearing, or would have imagined her wearing.  She was always mucking around the farm, playing in the dirt, in her stories.  Getting her like this  must have been a real challenge for her parents.