Thursday, August 21, 2014

Mothers and Their Daughters


The Sepia Saturday photo prompt features two Spanish ladies with their heads together, wearing mantillas and waving fans. They look like they may be mother and daughter.

I don't have any Spanish ladies in my family, but I do have a photo of a mother-daughter with their heads together. They are wearing cloche hats, probably from the late 1920s. The woman on the left is my great-grandmother Frances (Bye) Jackson, of whom I have written much about in previous posts. The woman on the right is her eldest daughter Signa, of whom I have written almost nothing. That is about to change.

Frances and her daughter Signa, c1927
Signa Aileen Jackson was born 23 June 1910 in Boston, Massachusetts. She was the eldest child of Harry Jackson and Frances Bye. Frances loved the camera and, as a result, I have many photos of her and her family. Signa seems to have been a favorite subject.

Frances and Signa, c1912-1913
One of my very favorites was this postcard of Signa sitting on a half moon holding her dolly. On the back of the postcard was written "Signa two-half years old taken in Boston."

     







Signa, who started going by the name of Jackie at some point, was an aspiring actress. I haven't been able to find any mention of her in the old Chicago newspapers, where she lived from about 1928 to about 1939, so I don't know what kind of acting jobs she was able to get. I do know that in the 1930 Census, she was a switch board operator at Illinois Bell Telephone. There are several glamorous head shots of her that seem to imply she was in show business. Signa wrote on the one below: "To my Buddy Boy From your Big Sister. Signa" Her Buddy Boy was their youngest, and only, brother Lee Jackson, who has been the featured in a few posts on my blog.
One of Signa's professional head shots.
 This photo, probably taken in the early 1930s, shows Signa with platinum blonde hair. This look was very popular in the 1930s in imitation of Jean Harlow. The photo below is the only one we have of Signa with the bleached blonde hair so I assume she didn't keep it for long. Which is a good thing because they used real bleach back then and it killed Ms. Harlow!

Signa and Frances, c1932
 Signa married Warren Pittenger in Chicago on 18 April 1931. They were divorced on 1 April 1939 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. That same day, Signa and Paul Bedillion applied for a marriage license. They were married on 4 April 1939.

Frances took a trip to Pennsylvania to visit her daughter sometime in the late 1940s. Here is a shot of the two of them on their way to Johnstown, Pennsylvania, perhaps to do some sightseeing but more probably to do some shopping.
Signa and Frances, c1945
This final mother-daughter photo was most likely taken during that same visit to Signa's home in Pennsylvania. It shows that Signa inherited her mother's playful nature.
Signa and Frances, c1945
Signa never had children, which is a shame because I think she would have been a really fun mother. I hope to write more about her when I've done more detailed research. She has fascinated my for years.

If you're curious about what others had to say about fans, faces, national costumes, hidden meanings, or two women with their heads together, visit the Sepia Saturday blog and click on the Mister Linky's links.



Thanks for dropping by.



19 comments:

  1. Oh my Sherri, your great aunt (?) sure did have an interesting life...and she was definitely beautiful. Thanks for putting together this collection and adding a cohesive narrative.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! And, yes, she was my great-aunt.

      Delete
  2. I especially like the postcard of Signa on the half moon with her doll.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is one of my favorites, too. I discovered that it was a rather common prop for photographs in the early part of the 20th century. You might be interested in this Pinterest board with some very interesting paper moon portraits. http://www.pinterest.com/brendajowers/paper-moon-vintage/

      Delete
  3. I can see why Signa was an aspiring actress -- she had the looks that Hollywood loved. Can't wait to read more about her.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She was very beautiful when she was young. I hope to learn more about her to write.

      Delete
  4. I would never have pictured those colorized cloche hats in those particular colors.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me neither. I don't know how true the colors were. The artist could have just chosen his own color mixes.

      Delete
  5. The picture of your great-grandmother & great Aunt Signa with their cloched heads together was a clever match for the prompt picture! And those hats are something else - the color especially as Kristin mentioned. I enjoyed all the other pictures as well & the story of Signa. She did certainly have Hollywood looks in those days.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Notice that only their faces and hats were colorized. Their dresses remained black & white/sepia. I suspect the artist got creative in his choice of colors.

      Delete
  6. I love that postcard with the moon!!! Can't wait to hear more about Signa. The name itself is intriguing to me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Signa's mother was born in Norway and came to the U.S. with her family when she was a baby. I suspect the name means something in Norway. For example, one of my great-grandmother's sister's name was Marie Elevine Bye. "Elevine" means the number eleven and I've been told that it was common practice in Norway to name the eleventh child "Elevine". When I first heard that, I had her documented as the 9th child. I have since found a missing child, making her #10. I know I am still missing a child in that family and need to keep looking.

      Delete
  7. Signa was the same age as my grandmother. The nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle" must have been popular in the early 1900s (in Australia too) as my grandmother has a card showing the moon but it is also showing a cat with a fiddle, a jumping cow and dish with spoon!

    Signa was very beautiful. An enjoyable post. Thank you

    ReplyDelete
  8. That was interesting about the name Elevine.. Such a practice would certainly make family history research a bit easier at times. As for those beautiful cloche hats, They look so right in your photo but I'm glad I don;t have to wear one !

    ReplyDelete
  9. The first photo is delightful and a very good match for this week's theme.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your great selection of images illustrates the way everything from colour and tinting, through to clothes, hairstyles, backgrounds and even facial expressions can be such good guides as to the dates of the photos.

    ReplyDelete
  11. A great lead in to an interesting post - I look forward to hearing more as your research progresses.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I do enjoy the way Sepiand raise and add on snippets of information. I was going to ask about the name too. Looking forward to seeing even more of Signa.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wonderful shots. Enthralled with the moon shot. Those are so very collectible. There's just something about them that makes them special. Fanciful and fun.

    ReplyDelete