Old Photo Sunday I

For no particular reason, here's a photo dated December 12, 1912. To the left is my dad's dad. I think the other guy is cousin George, but I've forgotten now.

Niks' dad was a Rev. Dr. who ended up as a college president down in North Carolina. In fact, Niks was born at the college and is pictured in one of the yearbooks as the unofficial class mascot for that year. Unfortunately, Granddad died at age 39 ~ my dad was about two years old, so he never knew his own dad. He grew up hearing ALL about him - I think Grandma used the Specter of Father liberally as she raised four sons by herself.



This photo isn't from a direct ancestor. It reads

Ann Catharine
consort of
Rev. Jacob Geiger (...etc.)

(Jacob is the sibling of a direct ancestor.) Anyway - this stone is in a church cemetery in Maryland, just over the Pennsylvania line. I'm drawing a blank as to the town name (darn migraine), but it's a Reformed church. All my ancestors on dad's side are German.

I find it really, really amusing that a Reverend has a Consort buried next to him next to a church. But I gather that Rev. Geiger was rather progressive:

"Notwithstanding the fact that Dr. McManus rightfully laid claim to pioneership in the practice of homœopathy in Maryland, his honor in that respect must be shared with Rev. Jacob Geiger, a Maryland pastor of German extraction and Pennsylvania parentage and birth, who had frequently been brought under the beneficent teachings of Allentown Academy and thus acquired a fair understanding of the principles of Hahnemann's school of medicine. In 1836, contemporary with Dr. McManus, Rev. Geiger took up the practice of medicine in connection with the pastoral charge of his flock, and continued both until the time of his death in 1848. This allusion to Pastor Geiger's medical endeavors is important when it is mentioned that nine of his descendants were graduates of homœopathic colleges and practitioners of medicine.

....Rev. Jacob Geiger introduced homœopathy in Carroll county in 1836,... "

Just to be clear - the cemetery is full of stones that read "wife of" and "husband of". This is the only stone that I saw that had "consort of" engraved in stone.