Sisters Reunited - Sepia Saturday 766

Yesterday, opening another envelope of miscellaneous old photos taken by my grandfather, I found two of my grandmother Sally (in the middle above) with her sisters (+ brother-in-law) that I can't recall  having seen before. But they were obviously taken on the same occasion as the portraits below of my great-aunt Gerda proudly wearing a medal - previously posted on this blog in a post entitled Gerda's Medal, for Sepia Saturday 634, in August 2022.

That post was about my research to try and establish when and why Gerda was presented with that medal; and my conclusion was that it was probably after 30 years of service to the countess Estelle Bernadotte. Estelle was American (born Estelle Romaine Manville, 1904). She got married to the Swedish count Folke Bernadotte in December 1928; and  Gerda - by then 47 years old and an experienced lady's maid who had worked as such not only among nobility in Sweden, but had also lived in both America and France, and was well used to travelling - got  employed as lady's maid to Estelle from shortly before their wedding; and ended up staying with that family the rest of her life.

If Gerda got the medal after 30 years of service, that dates this photo to 1958. An alternative might be if she received it in connection with her 75th birthday, in 1956. (She was born in 1881, and lived to be nearly 92 years old.) Either way, it seems that shortly after Gerda was presented with this medal, not only did she visit my grandparents Sally and Gustaf, but they also managed a reunion with all four sisters still alive. 

The woman next to Gerda here must be her sister Ester, who was born 1876 (five years older than Gerda), and died in 1959. (So this may even be the last time they got together.) The one standing in the middle behind Ester is Hildur (born 1892) - older half-sister to Sally on their mother's side, and step-sister to Gerda and Ester. The man to the left is Hildur's husband Olle. (They lived only a few minutes walk away from my grandparents.) And to the right, my grandmother Sally (born 1900). 

Below to the right is a double portrait of Ester and Gerda together from their youth (some time before Gerda emigrated to America in 1902); and to the left, one of Ester on her own (obviously some years later, but I don't know the year). 

Linking to Sepia Saturday 766

I ett kuvert med foton märkt "efter 1930" fann jag två foton som jag inte kan påminna mig att jag sett förut, men som uppenbarligen måste vara från samma tillfälle som andra foton av min farmor Sallys halvsyster Gerda Ekman med samma medalj, sittande i mina farföräldrars vardagsrum. Jag har tidigare spekulerat kring dessa och årtalet för och anledningen till medaljen, i ett inlägg från augusti 2022, Gerda's Medal. (Text där på både engelska och svenska.) 

De nytillkomna fotona ovan visar att även Gerdas och Sallys äldre syster Ester Ekman, (1876-1959), var med vid den här syskon-träffen. Detta bekräftar väl också min teori att Gerda troligen fick medaljen antingen år 1958 efter 30 år i tjänst hos familjen Bernadotte; eller möjligen i samband med sin 75-årsdag två år tidigare.

Med på gruppfotona här är också min farmor Sallys halvsyster Hildur (1892-1964) och hennes man Olle Hellsten, som bodde bara ett par minuters gångväg ifrån mina farföräldrar. (Hildur var dotter till Sallys mor Selma från hennes första äktenskap; medan Gerda och Ester var döttrar till Sallys far Samuel Emanuelsson från hans första äktenskap.)