Saturday, June 2, 2012

Sepia Saturday 128–Grandpa Iverson Plays his Mandolin



Sepia Saturday provides an opportunity for genealogy bloggers to share their family history through photographs.

Arthur Harry Iverson
This week's Sepia Saturday suggests a musical theme.  I love this photo of my paternal grandfather, Arthur Harry Iverson, playing his mandolin.  From what I’ve read about him and his family, they must have been musically inclined.  His older brothers, Christian Julius Iverson and Lawrence Nicholas Iverson played guitars and violins and also made the instruments as well.  This is fascinating to me, as my husband and I are the parents of five children, all of whom sing and also play or have played one or more instruments.

My paternal grandmother, Ingrid Anna Gilberg, Arthur’s wife, also came from a musical family.  Her vocal personal history recounts how her mother, an immigrant from Sweden, played the guitar and sang.  In this history Ingrid said,
“Another thing I’d like to tell you that mother played the guitar as a young girl in Sweden and she would play at gatherings with her friends and they would harmonize and sing all the songs they knew in Sweden.  When she came to America she continued this.  She played the guitar at home and with friends and she taught us Swedish songs.  And we learned to harmonize my sisters and I.  It was a beautiful gathering each time we would stand around our mother and she would play the guitar and sing Swedish songs.”
Ingrid’s twin sisters, Edith and Ida were called upon many times to sing solos in church.

To see more Sepia Saturday posts, click here.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

Copyright © Jana Last 2012

26 comments:

  1. What a great photo of your grandfather. So perfect for this week's theme.
    Amazing that they made their own instruments.
    Nancy

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    1. Thanks Nancy! I wonder whatever happened to these instruments they made. It would be awesome to see them or know that they are still in the family somewhere. :)

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  2. What a wonderful talent to have. My mother and daughter are both musical, but it passed me by. I love it it but I can’t read music or play an instrument.How lovely that all your children are musical.

    Jana you may like to consider switching off word verification as most of us have with no ill effects. It does make commenting difficult.

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    1. Thanks Little Nell! I will take your suggestion about word verification into consideration. I really don't want to make commenting difficult. :) Thanks for reading my blog!

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  3. That music gene is an interesting thing, especially when it displays itself so prominently throughout a family.

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    1. I agree Wendy, the music gene is a fun one to have passed down. It's fun to hear my son sit down and just play the piano.

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  4. Your family certainly have the music gene. I wish ours had.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by Bob! I'd say we have been blessed for sure. I love hearing my sons sing together. It's such a treat.

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  5. Oh wow, how very cool that was! Your grandpa was such a handsome man too...!

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  6. Nice picture of your grandfather and how wonderful to have your grandmother's personal memories recorded and have her voice on tape. It's interesting to trace musical talent back through several generations of a family. My husband can play by ear and doesn't read music, he can play five instruments and is a songwriter too. I've researched his family and learned his musical talent comes through his mother's side of the family. I'm impressed that your grandfather and uncle made their own instruments. My husband's bandmate makes violins, guitars and mandolins. It's very involved work and requires a lot of skill. Congrats on your talented children - your kids could start their own band. :)

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    1. Thanks Queen Bee! Wow! Your husband sounds like a very talented guy!

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  7. This is a great picture! And as many have said, I am impressed that they made instruments as well as played them. All of my kids, my siblings, my mom and several of her siblings played instruments of some kind. My husband's family - no one. My son played drums and while some people wince at the thought, it was "music to my ears!"

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    1. Thanks Kathy! One of my sons played in Winter Percussion, so I know what you mean about the drums. He often seemed to be "drumming" his hands on something even if it wasn't a drum. :)

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  8. How wonderful to have the music gene in your family. We got the art gene but I can't think of a single musician on either side of my family. Maybe Nancy can think of one.
    Barbara

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    1. How lucky for you to have the art gene! My dad painted, but sadly I didn't get the art gene at all. I'd rather sing than paint for sure.

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  9. This is a great picture! My dad's family were musically inclined as well. My dad and his father sang in the same university glee club and grandpa's father came to the US as a member of an orchestra. Then came me, can't carry a tune to save my life, oh well! You've inspired me - I'll have to dig out some of those glee club photos and play in Sepia Saturday this week-if I am a bit late.

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    1. A university glee club...how cool is that! Yes, you'll definitelely need to find those pics and post them. Better late than never. :)

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  10. There's lots of musical talent coming from Sweden (think Abba, Cardigans, ...).

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  11. My family wasn't very musical. The only thing I could play was the drum.

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  12. A great photo to share, thank you. It certainly conveys a relaxed atmosphere which must have been encoyraged in that musical family.

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  13. Isn't it nice to know where the musical talent came from? I have some talented musicians in my family but alas, that gene totally passed me by!

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    1. The art gene my dad possessed passed me by. Isn't it great that we are all talented in different ways? Makes life fun and interesting!

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