The anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic

When I start creating a costume, I try to find an ancestor from that era.  I like geanology (thanks Dad) so using costuming as an excuse to learn more about my family is right up my alley.  

With the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic coming up, I’ve been doing a little research on clothing from the teens era.  I did a little checking and realized that my great-granny got married the year after the sinking.  So I started looking at her and all the info I could find on her. 

Several years ago on a trip to visit family in Texas, we discovered Granny's wedding dress at a cousin's house.  Unlike modern dresses, it isn’t white and I’m pretty sure she wore it more than once.  Granny was described as being "about 5 feet high and weighing no more than 120 pounds".  For reference the model is just under 5 feet tall (4'9") and weighed about 80 lbs at the time of the photo.  Now keep in mind that Granny would have worn a corset that slimmed the hips but didn’t cinch the waist. So, they are about the same size.  

I got to contemplating Granny's life, born in the 1874 she married at the age of 39 and had three children in the next 5 years.  It doesn't seem like much now, but you have to remember that there weren't regular doctors visits and over 100 years ago "advanced maternal age" wasn't something the folks watched out for.

You might ask why did she wait so long to get married and have children?  Well, looking at the history of the area - she was born only 10 years after the end of the Civil War.  She was the youngest of 11 children.  (Yes, eleven)  As the youngest the duty of caring for her elderly father fell to her.  In a unique move, she bartered with him.  She promised to live with him and never marry if he promised her an education.  She apparently had many suitors and eventually the agreement was mutually dissolved. In December 1913 marry she did and to a man that would move in with her and her father.

If Grandpa Thomspon was bothered about moving in with his wife and her elderly father and (probably) crazy sister, he never let on.  A gentleman farmer (weren't they all?) he took over managing the farm which was at that time approximately 4,500 acres which included a portion of the Callaway Dean grant from the Republic of Texas.  The grant had been given to Dean for his service to the Republic during the War for Independence (in Texas that is).  

Granny passed away in 1959.  She was born in, and lived for much of her life, a home that had no indoor plumbing nor central heat but she lived to see automobiles, airplanes, telephones, and the founding of NASA.

Always makes me think - what will I live to see?  How many more amazing things would Granny have seen if the over 1,500 people who lost their lives had made it to New York?