This is Emma Meyers. I knew her as "Auntie" although she is my great great-aunt. She passed away when I was 10 years old. She was born in Rochester, New York, in 1886. My parents lived with Auntie for a short time when I was a toddler. I remember her as a sweet old lady with white hair who wore flowered dresses and pearls. Her companion was "Uncle Fred" who I always assumed was her husband, until I learned the truth when I was well into adult hood.
My first inkling that there was more to Auntie than I knew was when I learned she had married as a young woman but her husband went insane and died in an asylum. Auntie never divorced him although he was hospitalized for over 30 years. To help make ends meet, Auntie took in boarders, and Uncle Fred was one of them. I don't know the exact nature of their relationship, but Uncle Fred always treated Auntie and her extended family well and he holds a warm place in their hearts to this day.
Emma's husband was Alfred E. Smith - they were married September 20, 1911 in Rochester. Alfred was born in Chicago, IL and was a salesman from Michigan City, Indiana. Here's their marriage record. Of course I was curious about the other folks listed, but the most surprising is the officiant, A. S. Crapsey. Algernon S. Crapsey was an Episcopal clergyman who was defrocked in 1906 after a heresy trial.
After his deposition he remained in Rochester and continued his pastoral work (outside of the church, obviously), but also started lecturing, writing books, teaching classes and traveling. He still officiated marriages and funerals. By 1912 he had become a socialist and spoke at a strike at a mill in Little Falls, NY, where he was arrested and jailed. This pastor certainly seems "Out of Place" in the life of my staid aunt!
I was going through a box of old family photos recently, and came across this startling picture.
Handwritten notes indicate that the person in the middle row to the left, with the pipe, is Alfred Smith, and his wife Emma Meyers Smith, is seated next to him. The photo is dated circa 1911, and this is 1 of 12 copies made.
The more I look at this photo, the more astounding and out of place it is. Why are the women dressed in men's clothes? Why are they all drinking and smoking? Who are the other people? Why are they gathered together? Was this picture taken at a studio or in someone's home? Why does Alfred's clothes have large patches of striped fabric sewn on them?
My Auntie's life certainly had some out of place parts!