Leslie Allen Van Cleve, known to her family as Betsy, in the mid '20's. Part of a set of portraits that includes one of her brother John, and another of the 'little boys" Ray and Allen. Very beautiful photo, I think.
She is a stunner and also I can feel th communication coming through
her eyes quite markedly. I hope the end of this phase and the
transition to the next, whatever that might be, are as dignified and
trauma free as possible - both for both her and those who love her
She's so lovely. Adore that haircut! Love that style from the 20s and 30s and would pull it off if I could.
My Great Aunt Lillian is the matriarch of my mother's family and is ailing in her late 90s. She's the last thing holding our wide-spread family together: all family reunions are centered around her birthday, and no one else has stepped up to the plate to be the next matriarch/patriarch. Seems like that era of family solidarity is gone.
One reason we nieces and nephews care about her is that she always made an effort to connect with us - the other aunts and uncles really didn't that much, no doubt because they had families of their own. But Betsy never married, and I've noticed that people without children tend to reach out to their siblings' offspring. Maybe that's why people from all over the country have been trooping through Winston-Salem to see Betsy this past year.
So lovely! I have a special Aunt, too, who just turned 90. She never had children; she was really close with my mom (she is my father's sister) and I've always felt like we've had a special relationship, esp. after my mom passed away.
Lovely photo of a stunning lady. She definitely has a way of looking right at you from the page.
As a Lesley myself, I have never come across Betsy as a contraction. Is this an American thing, or did Betsy decide to call herself Betsy (it's better than Leslie any day!)
She's always been called Betsy within the family (origin of this is lost to history), but to all others she's Leslie. Is Lesley the UK spelling? Anyway I have to disagree with you; I've always thought it was a very pretty name.
In the UK, Leslie tends to be the masculine spelling, Lesley the feminine. And I guess it is not a bad name, just after going through school the Lesby Friends jokes got too much. Plus I knew many more men called Leslie than I did girls - I was the only one. So I sort of felt - odd.
Comments
She's so lovely. Adore that haircut! Love that style from the 20s and 30s and would pull it off if I could.
My Great Aunt Lillian is the matriarch of my mother's family and is ailing in her late 90s. She's the last thing holding our wide-spread family together: all family reunions are centered around her birthday, and no one else has stepped up to the plate to be the next matriarch/patriarch. Seems like that era of family solidarity is gone.
That is really an amazing photograph.
As a Lesley myself, I have never come across Betsy as a contraction. Is this an American thing, or did Betsy decide to call herself Betsy (it's better than Leslie any day!)