The Mystery of “Mother"

Whose mother was she?

This is the most startling and haunting of the 216 glass negatives I found in the basement of a home I bought in Glenside, PA, in 1978.

A woman in a coffin. A wake. Possibly in a home instead of a funeral parlor.

The photo is from a 5 x 7 negative that was not in any envelope and was not identified. So I have no idea where or when it was taken. Or who the person was.

The only clue I have is what’s written on the sash of a wreath.

Mother. But whose? A detail on another item is an “M.”

Does that stand for “Mother”? Or maybe “McDermond”. The family name of the photographer who took the photo—John L. McDermond.

Was it John’s mother? Hannah Thomas McDermond died on January 12, 1898. The earliest of John’s photos in my collection was taken in 1905. And his earliest 5x7 shot was taken in 1910. And would John have left his mother’s photo unlabeled? Don’t think so.

I also considered that the photo was of the wife of John’s brother, Ulysses Simpson Grant McDermond. Emily Cooper McDermond died on July 28, 1911. She was 45 years old.

This woman seems to be older than 45.

Another mystery I can’t unravel is what the words on another sash say.

I took this element into Photoshop to see if I could make it more legible.

Is it a name? A saying? I can’t tell. Any guesses?

So, who is the mystery mother? Perhaps another member of John’s family or a friend who wanted him to memorialize the moment. It’s a mystery.

Having a wake for the deceased at home was a very common practice. In fact, when my grandfather died in the 1950s, I remember his coffin on display in my grandmother’s living room. I must have been three or four at the time. I don’t remember this part, but my mother told me that when I saw it, I said loudly, “What’s grandpop doing in a suitcase?” She quickly ushered me out of the room.

In a final note: I did try putting the mother’s wake photo through AI to see if it would help clear things up. But the results were so horribly, tastelessly wrong that I won’t post them here.

But our paid subscribers can see, if they like.