[chrisinhouston]

I was reinfected with the genealogy bug the other day and decided to do some research on some branches of the family and was at the Ancestry.com site looking at other members public trees that include some of my family. I happened upon a picture of my Japanese great grandmother and 2 great aunts at a picnic near Foochow, China at the turn of the last century. How cool is that? What is more I had never seen this one before but have a picture of my great grandfather that was taken at the same picnic. Turns out a cousin found it in her late mother's belongings and posted it.

Anyway, I like how everyone is so dressed up for their picnic out in the fields except the Chinese coolies and bearer's of their sedan chairs. And the ladies are drinking tea out of nice China cups and the guy who I think was a great uncle looks like he's having a beer or a bottle of wine. From what we know of him he was an American and my great aunt seated in the middle eventually divorced him as he became involved with smuggling along the China coast. It was taken by my great uncle using a Kodak 5x7 camera with glass plates!

Anyway, Great Grandma is the one in the black dress. Her husband forbid any Japanese customs in his house after they were married so she became quite westernized. But I think they had a happy marriage as they were quite well off and had 8 children.