[Photo] Essay

July 5, 2026 / CynthiaEDay / Leave a comment

Did Princess Di take pics of her fam?

Public domain photo of Diana and the star of Grease

The most photographed woman in the world, while she still lived and breathed, was Princess Diana. If you were alive back in the 80’s and 90’s, you surely saw pictures of Diana and her children everywhere. It occurred to me recently to wonder if Diana ever had her own camera. Sure, it would seem redundant somehow for the most photographed woman in the world to have her own camera. But still. It matters who takes the photos and who fashions a collection of them. I’m shuffling through a collection of my own and it’s a bit of a walk on the wild side. I pondered whether Diana may have taken candid photos of her children. Might she have even taken selfies with them? Further, might the children have taken pictures of Diana, too?

Diana was known to have her own favorite photographer, Arthur Edwards, who took photos of her family to share out in the world. We’ve all probably seen the photos. They’re lovely. But I’m more interested in photos she may have taken with her own camera, if she had one, in the privacy of her family life. She must have had some modicum of a private family life, however infiltrated by household staff. I’m curious about what her photo collection might actually have meant to her, if she did indeed have one.

Why in bloody hell does this matter to ME, an American pleb?

Lately I’ve been on a mission to cull through twenty years worth of my own photo collection beginning with the birth of my son in 1986 and ending when I finally acquired a digital camera in 2006. I loved that 35 mm camera and loved the photos developed from film. “Loved” isn’t strong enough a word to describe how I’ve felt about those photos over the course of nearly forty years.

My son and I both have dozens of photos taken by professionals that are of superior quality to those we took ourselves. But I look at them and toss them aside. To be honest, I wouldn’t care if a flood came and took them away. The pictures we took of ourselves, by contrast, are so near and dear to my heart that I have spent hours and hours scanning them, labeling them, and sorting them. It’s truly a labor of love and I would not think to pay someone else to do it for me. Touching the photos, handling them as they go in and out of photo albums and envelopes, all the fuss over the images of my dear son are near to what it was like holding my baby and later seeing him run around, splash in the water, climb a tree, step onto the school bus, and drive off in my car.

All this brings me back to Princess Diana. Did she dare take her own photos? Or did she worry they might fall into the wrong hands? Might her sons have a collection of photos locked in a safe to keep them, well, safe? We all know she did not survive the 1990’s. Beyond the tragedy of a life cut short, there is the tragedy of missing out on the opportunity to look back at the unscripted moments in your life.

You may say, “But her life is recorded ad infinitum!” Doesn’t matter. Other people’s pictures of your children aren’t the same. You weren’t really “there.” You weren’t the one focusing the lens. You weren’t composing. You were passively observing, if you were there at all.

Every once in a while I come across a photo someone gave me of my son and it doesn’t hit the same. The child in photos taken by others isn’t the same as the child whose candids I snapped myself. I’m only beginning to decipher why this is. My photo collection has taken on a life of its own, with stories of its own to tell. How did this collection come to be?

First of all, reaching for the camera back in those days was a ritual undertaken by mysterious forces. It wasn’t like today when the iPhone is in our hands all day and we click, click, click every five minutes. Back then, the camera came out sparingly. Not every day, not every week, and not even every month. When was the last time any of us went a month without taking a photo? Think about it.

If the camera only came out once in a while, what impulse determined whether I would reach for the camera case? Everyone is different, but our 35 mm camera was mostly for fooling around. Sure, we captured my son blowing out the candles on his birthday cake. And we do have some group photos when family or friends posed together. But those types of photos are nothing compared to the gobs of shots taken as “play.” We mugged for the camera. Or we simply smiled our innocent smiles. Often the photos show merely a plaintive gaze or an unconscious moment going about daily life.

When I open my photo albums today, I’m often overwhelmed by a somewhat unholy wave of nostalgia. It doesn’t always feel good at first. I’m struck by the gulf of time between then and now. Though the gut punch of the first glance passes fairly soon, it leaves a bit of a mark. Still, browsing the photos I’ve collected reminds me of the luck I’ve had in life.

Upon my first glance at my newborn son, a feeling overcame me that may be akin to the feeling of winning the lottery. How had this gorgeous blob of “baby flesh containing a soul” come into my possession? You read that right: This child was my possession. Not that I didn’t consider him an awesome responsibility 99% of the time. But I also felt like the keys to happiness had been born to me and me alone. And boy did I feel lucky. I felt that feeling over and over again, day after day after day.

From the beginning, I wanted to record random precious moments to look back fondly upon later. Weeks or months later. And then years later. And then decades later. Every moment was precious, but I somehow restrained myself from snapping photos the way I do today with my grandchildren. The film had to be developed after all. Taking the camera out of its case was an act of participating in my own life in a certain special way. I would look at him, appreciate his beauty, feel the luckiness of having him in my life, and want to hang on to the moment.

Going through my photo collection, I’m struck by the gaps of not only weeks but months in which I failed to take any photos. Life interfered. I suppose I just got busy and forgot. We didn’t have the social media platforms to share photos with family and friends. I didn’t see other peoples’ photos every day and remember that I could snap photos of my own to share back. We were just living is all.

Similarly, I have barely any photos of my son and I doing things that, decades later, we routinely record on our cell phones. For instance, people take lots of pictures in the car, in restaurants, on the ski slopes, even shopping. I have only a couple of those from my son’s childhood. The camera was at home in a canvas case, zipped up safe and sound. Most of my photo collection consists of candid shots around the house or in the yard. Weirdly, those are some of my favorites. Did Diana take any like that?

Of course, I took plenty of pictures on vacations and to any trip involving a body of water, whether on a boat, on a riverside, on an island, or on the beach. I brought the camera to friends’ houses and to birthday parties, naturally. There are also lots of pictures of hikes on trails. The camera case was always packed along with water and snacks. Lots of mountain tops populate the photo albums. Those were great days. I’m not a princess, but I’d say I’ve lived a royal life.

The paparazzi never hounded me. My intimate moments were thankfully not splashed on the cover of tabloids. If my luck holds out, my death won’t be recorded either. I hope to go on in obscurity as a humble mom who loved her kid and snapped a bunch of shots of their simple life of love and silly smiles. My son has his own kids now and I view their lives via my phone via the apps via the tech platforms that plague my existence even as I log on to catch the latest glimpses of their family life.

It ain’t the same as my bloody crates of photo albums, though. I wonder if Diana would agree.

Post script:

An astute reader of my Substack newsletter informed me that a documentary about Princess Di by the BBC answers my query. Diana’s son are shown looking through her photo album discussing their memories. A few photos are shared on screen.

Diana, Our Mother, Her Life and Legacy can be found on You Tube.

My Substack is currently titled my name, Cynthia Day. Later, that may change.

My handle is @15photos.

Happy Father’s Day to Dearly Departed Thomas Blake Day, Legend in Everyone’s Mind.

June 14, 2025May 8, 2026 / CynthiaEDay / Leave a comment

Mom and Dad hardly ever made photo albums. Mom allowed me to sort through drawers of photos to fish out photos of both of them.

Mom and Dad and their friends. Hal and Joyce Young in front. George Gordon Knight on left in back.

That’s Aunt Phyllis Day in center. Wife of Tom’s late brother, Dick Day

Joyce, Hal, skip, GG, Mom, Dad in Burmuda

Mom’s childhood friends, twins Cindy and Susan, on the left.

Bunch of guys I don’t know except GG in front on right. Dad behind him.

Retirement party with grandson Marco and Andre Patenaude and Jack Colgan, his other grandson, in foreground. Marco is my son. Jack is my nephew.

Dad with Mom’s friend Cindy and her husband.

Guy in striped shirt lived in Dad’s freshman dorm at Cornell. Bruce and Nancy Steele.

Dad in truck while his backyard pool construction is begun

Dad with Kim (George Gordon Knight’s daughter) and her husband, John Casadante.

Dad with Jack Colgan, his second of three grandsons

Dad in Sanibel Island Florida prepping strawberries

Dad showing me something in the Vermont Atlas I think.

In my back yard on Mother’s Day. Tom Jr on right. Marco in back.

Dad being given a ballon that said “evil one” as he was proudly known by neighbor, Doreen. Tom Jr is to Dad’s right. Marco and I are over on the left.

Dad and Marco and a cat named Mork at log home in Hartland

Plowing as he often did. Arms open wide, smiling.

Sporting the golfer’s tan in his boat at Lake George

At Ponte Vedra with Rascal, his favorite dog

Nice golf course I’m sure he was enjoying

With a fraternity brother at Cornell. Late 1950’s.

At the Robert Day Deans Commissary on Long Island serving the kitchen help some wine. Or, on the set of the Sopranos? Mid 1960’s.

Dad at Eleazars, his nightclub in White River Junction, VT, in mid 1970’s.

Front of Eleazars back in the day. Dad made the sign in the TV room of our home in New York. Building burned down in the 2010’s.

Dad’s employees at his swimming pool construction company gave him a blow up doll named “Bubbles” for his birthday. 1980’s? It was a different time…

Dad liked talking on the phone. Wish I could call him up right now.

Found on Facebook. This is the waitress team at a Halloween event at Eleazar’s in the 70’s. Photo credit Joy Moffat

Facebook comments on the above photo. “Larger than life” comment came up at his memorial service too.

Here’s Eleazar’s. (A newly constructed building now stands there in 2026).
Route 4 in White River Junction, VT.

Here’s Dad inside with his new partner, Vern Hatt? They changed the name to Hatt’s Off. The distinctive barnsiding paneling brings back memories. If those walls could talk.

More Facebook comments. This one from Bobby Gagnier. “This incredible man”. Photo credit Joy Moffat.

Duncan Dunbar, Husband of Marion Evans Eaton Dunbar

June 3, 2025July 31, 2025 / CynthiaEDay / Leave a comment

This post is a mix of my grandfather, his family of origin, his ancestors, offshoots, his wife and a little bit of her family, and his own children. The “offshoots” take the form of my grandfather’s aunt’s family, the Parmly’s. They are a Vermont family. Some of them went to New Jersey. There’s a fascinating account of my grandfather’s second(?) cousins, one of whom married a man who’d been convicted of manslaughter. My mom wondered why her father never mentioned anything about that. And yet, not exactly a point of pride.

Duncan Dunbar, My mother’s father. (1894-1977)

Duncan Dunbar with his father, who was 65 when he was born. Wallace Dunbar was a wholesaler of red and yellow ochre.

Wallace Dunbar, my great grandfather. (1833-1911). Son of the Reverend (also called Pastor) Duncan Dunbar, below.

Pastor Duncan Dunbar, (1790-1864), grandfather of my grandfather, Duncan Dunbar. Pastor Duncan Dunbar was father of Katharine Dunbar, who was my grandfather’s aunt. She married a minister named Wheelock Hendee Parmly.

Reverend Duncan Dunbar wrote a book. Here is a bio of him.

Katharine Parmly
This is a granddaughter of Katharine Dunbar, (later Katharine Dunbar Parmly), wife of Wheelock Hendee Parmly. I’ve seen this girl’s name spelled Katherine, but her own photo album has Katharine as the spelling. Her parents were Duncan Dunbar Parmly and Carrie Johnson Parmly. And there’s a story about them!

My grandfather’s side of family, unsure who exactly. Is it Katharine Parmly?

Unknown, but she looks to me like Katharine Parmly, daughter of Duncan Dunbar Parmly and Carrie Johnson Parmly. Will link to interesting story about her family.

Probably my Great Aunt Margaret, Duncan Dunbar’s sister. Another picture of her below farther below with her siblings.

Elizabrth Parmly, daughter of Duncan Dunbar Parmly who was son of Katharine Dunbar and Wheelock Parmly.

Wheelock Hendee Parmly, D.D. This is the husband of my grandfather’s aunt, Katharine Dunbar. (I know it’s confusing to have two Katharines). They had named their son Duncan Dunbar Parmly. (Confusing to have so many Duncan Dunbars).

Here he is again. Died in 1894, the year my grandfather was born.

Here is Katharine Dunbar Parmly, my grandfather’s aunt. She died in 1877. She’s the grandmother of the three Parmly children in the story linked to elsewhere. The children’s names were Katharine, Henry, and Elizabeth Parmly.

Bio of Wheelock Hendee Parmly who married Katharine Dunbar, daughter of Pastor Duncan Dunbar.

Carrie Johnson Parmly (wife of Duncan Dunbar Parmly) and Katharine Parmly as an infant.

Katharine and Elizabeth Parmly, daughters of Carrie Johnson Parmly and Duncan Dunbar Parmly. Elizabeth married a man who had been convicted of manslaughter.

Here is the business associate of Duncan Dunbar Parmly, Henry G. Marquand. They financed electricity projects together all over the country. Duncan named his son after him: Henry Marquand Parmly.

Maybe Woods Hole, MA.
Marion Evans Eaton, my grandmother, on left, before she married.

And here is Duncan Dunbar Parmly, son of Wheelock Hendee Parmlee and Katharine Dunbar. He married Carrie Ella Johnson and they had Katharine, Henry, and Elizabeth.

“H.M.P.” I learned that this is Henry Marquand Parmly. He is the brother of the two girls pictured above. His middle name is due to his father’s association with a wealthy financier who is part of the story I’ll link to. Henry drowned as a young man.

Another picture of Katharine Parmly, the oldest of the three. She is the one who passed down the photo albums to my grandfather.

My mother’s parents, Marion and Duncan Dunbar (Grandson of Pastor Duncan Dunbar)

Unknown on the left, (Could it be Spencer Eaton?), unknown child, Duncan and Marion Dunbar, Helen Eaton on right (Spencer and Marion’s sister)

1925 Marion and Duncan Dunbar (My grandparents). My mother’s name is Beth Day.

Marion’s uncle, Daniel Emery Eaton, possibly at Marion’s wedding. Unknown child, perhaps one of Uncle Emery’s grandsons. Daniel Emery Eaton is grandfather of Elizabeth “Connie” Converse. See previous posts of the Eatons.

My grandparents, Marion and Duncan Dunbar

Either my mother, Beth, or Martha, her sister (who died before she was born), and their Uncle Spencer Eaton, who is their mother’s brother.

Left to right: My Great Aunt Margaret, my Grandfather (Duncan Dunbar), my Great Aunt Christina. Duncan’s father, Wallace Dunbar (namesake of his own son, farther below), married a twenty year old at age fifty with whom he had four daughters. At age sixty five, they had Duncan.

Wally, Duncan, Martha (who died when she was four), Marion, and Randy. Duncan and Marion would have one more daughter, Beth, several years later. Beth is my mother.

In rear: Duncan, Randolph, Duncan Jr, Wallace. In front: Beth (my mother), and Marion.

In rear: Randolph and Wallace. In front: Duncan, Beth, Marion, Duncan Jr.

Randolph Dunbar, my mother’s brother, who was named after Randolph Parmly, brother of Wheelock Henry Parmly. Randolph is the name of the town in Vermont where the Parmly’s lived. It’s 30 minutes from where I live now.

Another photo album recently discovered contains more pictures of the Parmly family. Here are Katharine and Wheelock. Below is Wheelock’s brother.

The original Randolph Parmly. Pretty sure he named a son Randolph, too.

Backs of heads: John and Alden Eaton (sons of Spencer Eaton). Standing: Duncan Dunbar. Seated by window: Randy and Ethel Dunbar. On right: Spencer’s wife, Eleanor. See previous posts about the Eatons.

Ethel Dunbar by window, Eleanor Eaton in center, Marion and Beth on the right. Backs of heads: John and Alden Eaton. Spencer was taking photo.

Randy, Wallace, and Duncan Dunbar, Brownie the dog, unknown Bunny.

Duncan Dunbar and Duncan Dunbar III, 1958?

Wheelock Hendee Parmly was presumably named after Eleazar Wheelock, founder of Dartmouth college. Wheelock Hendee Parmly, a pastor, married my grandfather’s aunt, the daughter of a pastor, Duncan Dunbar.

My mother, Beth Day, with her parents. 1940’s.

Marion Evans Eaton Dunbar (Part IV) including her niece, Connie Converse

May 25, 2025 / CynthiaEDay / Leave a comment

Scroll down for photos of Connie Converse as a child playing with Marion’s children. Howard Fishman wrote a book about Connie Converse published in 2023 called “For Anyone Who Ever Asks”. Her music is available on Spotify and Apple Music.

Daniel Brown Eaton and his first wife, my great great grandparents.

Daniel Brown Eaton and his granddaughter Marion Evans Eaton who is my grandmother

Martha Evans Eaton, future wife of Joseph Smith Eaton, mother of Marion, my great grandmother

Marion and Duncan Dunbar with first four of five children. Left to right: Duncan Jr, Wallace, Martha, Randolph. Martha died at age four. Marion and Duncan’s fifth child, Elizabeth Hathaway Dunbar, is my mother, Beth Day.

Marion who resembles her great great granddaughter, Hadley Day, in this photo. Aunt Julia Eaton is sister of Joseph Smith Eaton.

Marion and her father, Joseph Smith Eaton

Martha Eaton with Spencer and Marion who resembles Hadley Day in this photo.

This child bears a resemblance to Marion but I’m not certain it’s her. She’s usually in a dress in pictures. This is a boyish look. But Spencer had blond hair at this age. Could very well be Marion.

Duncan Dunbar Jr, Randolph Dunbar, and believed to be Evelyn Eaton Converse’s son, Phil Converse (sister of Elizabeth “Connie” Converse)

Martha Evans Eaton possibly with one of her grandchildren.

Martha and Joseph Eaton with Marion’s second son, Randolph Dunbar.

Duncan Dunbar Jr. in center, first son of Marion. Other boys believed to be Marion’s nephews. sons of Evelyn, who is daughter of Daniel Emery Eaton, who is brother of Joseph Smith Eaton. He was known to Marion as Uncle Emery. The older boy (on the left) would be Paul Converse. On the right in the front would be Phil. Converse.

Duncan Jr. in center, with his brother, Randolph crouched in front on left. Connie Converse on right. Two boys in boat on left are believed to be Connie’s brothers, Phil and Paul.

Same group of children as above. Left to right: Connie Converse, Phil Converse, Duncan Dunbar Jr, Randolph Dunbar, and Paul Converse in back.

Duncan Jr and Duncan Dunbar, Marion’s husband. Fishing.

Marion’s first four children. Left to right; Duncan Jr., Randolph, Martha, and Wallace. Martha died when she was four. My mother, Beth Day, was born a few years later. I knew these boys as Uncle Duncan, Uncle Randy, and Uncle Wally.

Left to right: Connie Converse’ sister-in-law, Connie’s brother, Phil Converse, Marion (who was Phil and Connie’s aunt), and Elizabeth “Connie” Converse.

Connie Converse’s mother, Evelyn Eaton Converse, cousin of Marion. She is daughter of Daniel Emery Eaton who is Joseph Smith Eaton’s brother.

Unknown child on far left. Connie’s brother (Paul), Connie Converse in center with blond hair, Randolph Dunbar, Duncan Dunbar, Connie’s other brother (Phil) on far right.

From Howard Fishman’s Instagram, a photo of Daniel Emery Eaton (Marion’s Uncle Emery) who is Joseph Smith Eaton‘s brother. He is the father of Evelyn Eaton Converse who is Connie Converse’s mother. So he is Connie’s grandfather. Evelyn is Marion’s first cousin.

Marion Eaton Evans Dunbar family continued

May 18, 2025 / CynthiaEDay / Leave a comment

Scroll to end for:

1-a letter to Marion from Joseph Smith Eaton about her mother’s grave sight.

2–a letter confirming Martha Evans Eaton as a Daughter of the Revolution, and

3-an ancestry.com list of the Eatons

Spencer Eaton, Martha, Helen, Marion clustered on left. The woman on far right is Ella Everett Eaton, wife of Emery Eaton who is Joseph Smith Eaton’s brother. The woman on step in the center is Aunt Dora Eaton (perhaps a sister of Joseph)

Martha Ellen Evans Eaton, Marion, and Martha’s sister, Elizabeth (Aunt Lizzie)

Marion with her father, Joseph Smith Eaton, in front of his garden (on west side of 20 Greylock Ave, Taunton, Mass.

Spencer E. Eaton, Taunton High School, ‘21

Martha Evans Eaton with her granddaughter, Martha Dunbar, daughter of Marion. Martha died at age four. Dated 8/26/33

Marion on left. Marion’s Aunt Julia standing in back, Martha Eaton seated on right. The grandfather, Daniel Brown Eaton, is seated. His second wife was Emily. Not sure the names of the other grandchildren but likely Evelyn, Everett, Blythe.

Spencer taking picture of his sister Helen Eaton

Martha Evans Eaton in her Cohanett Street home

Aunt Julia Ann Eaton, Martha Eaton, Joseph Smith Eaton

Letter to Marion from her father in 1949 about her mother’s grave

Letter to Martha from Daughters of the American Revolution

The following lists are spotty and not documentary proof but simply people on the internet entering info about the relatives on ancestory.com.

Daniel Brown Eaton was born October 20, 1823 in Weare, NH

Everett Jewell Eaton was born about 1891 in NH. He was son of Daniel Brown Eaton and brother of Joseph Smith Eaton.

Joseph Smith Eaton was born June 1, 1868, in Meredith, NH, and died in 1950.

Spencer Evans Eaton was born January1, 1901, to Joseph and Martha Eaton.

Still More Eaton Family via Marion Evans Eaton Dunbar

May 15, 2025 / CynthiaEDay / Leave a comment

Martha Evans Eaton and Joseph Smith Evans

Wedding of Duncan Dunbar and Marion Eaton with Helen Eaton on right.

Spencer, Marion, Helen with their mother, Martha Eaton

Joseph Smith Eaton and sister Julia at their father’s house (Daniel Brown Eaton)

Marion in back, second from left, Helen Eaton on right

Marion on left, possibly cousin Evelyn on right

Spencer, Helen, Marion, with their mother, Martha Eaton

Marion, her Aunt Julia, grandfather Daniel Brown Eaton at his home, mother Martha on the right

Left to right: Unknown, Spencer, Martha in back, Marion and Helen in front, unknown on right. In chairs: Unknown but possibly Martha’s parents.

Eaton and Evans and Dunbar continued

May 12, 2025 / CynthiaEDay / Leave a comment

Everett Jewell Eaton (son of Daniel Emery Eaton who was Joseph Smith Eaton’s brother and therefore cousin of Marion). Interestingly, this man became a banker in White River Junction, VT, near where Marion’s daughter, Beth (my mother), later lived. When my parents (Tom and Beth Day) moved to the area in 1972, my father’s business did its banking at the same bank Everett Jewell Eaton was still directing into his mid 70’s. Much later, around the year 2000 or so, his great grandchild(?) was in my son’s class at Hartford High School.

“Sanders home? Aunt Julia and Marion with ??” Not sure if this description is correct. (Julia is Joseph Smith Eaton’s sister). And no indication who woman in chair is. We think the man is Daniel Brown Eaton (Marion’s grandfather). Could the woman be his first wife? (She died when Marion was very young). Sign on the house says “post office”.

Marion on right in front. Looks like Helen in back on left. Probably Spencer front in center. Don’t yet know who other two children are.

Front: Spencer, Helen. Rear: Carrie Wilbur, Aunt Julia (sister of Joseph), Martha Eaton, Ruth Wilbur, Marion Eaton. 20 Greylock Avenue.

Spencer Eaton with his father, Joseph Smith Eaton

Grandpa Daniel Brown Eaton holding Helen, Marion standing, second wife of Grandpa (Emily) holding Spencer after is accident. Don’t know what the accident was.

Family group in front of Grandpa Eaton’s home. Left to right: Joseph Smith Eaton, Martha Evans Eaton holding Spencer (Helen wasn’t born yet) with Marion at her knee, Aunt Ella (wife of Emery) , Emily (second wife of Daniel), Daniel Brown Eaton, Julia Eaton (sister of Joseph and Emery). Seated on grass in front of Daniel and Emily: Everett and Evelyn. The child looking up at the stick is probably Blythe. Emery Eaton is holding the stick.
Daniel Smith Eaton is believed to have had seven children though a few did not survive childhood. (Note: Everett Jewell Eaton, Evelyn Eaton and Blythe Eaton are the children of Emery and Ella Eaton. Emery’s full name was Daniel Emery Eaton, but he was called Emery).

Unknown what this is about. There are a few pics in the collection of tents but nothing written on them. Could that be Marion on the left?

I think Marion is on the ground on the left. This is a double exposure and very mysterious.

Eleanor Way Eaton, wife of Spencer Eaton.

Aunt Christina or Aunt Margaret (sister of Duncan Dunbar, Marion’s husband)

Possibly a teacher because the tag he’s wearing says “summer school”

Possibly same guy as above on a different day. Tag also says “summer school”

Marion and Duncan Dunbar’s Wedding announcement 1925

Marion Evans Eaton Dunbar – My Grandmother

May 8, 2025May 8, 2025 / CynthiaEDay / Leave a comment

Still not sure who is in the chairs. But we think it might be Martha Evans’ parents. We haven’t looked up the names but think they might be in ancestry dot com. We don’t know who is on far right and far left.

Martha Eaton front left, then Spencer, then Helen. Marion Eaton upper right. We don’t know who the other three women are. The one on the left looks like someone in other pictures (not in this post) who might be Joseph Eaton’s sister. But not sure.

Marion Eaton center in white dress, skip one boy to right of her, then Spencer and Helen.
(Starting from left: Eaton cousins: Karl Trafron Taylor, Everett, Evelyn, Marion, Blythe, Helen. )

Martha Ellen Evans Eaton in her Cohannet (?) Street, Taunton, MA, home

Marion Eaton on far left. Unknown in middle. Possibly Helen on far right.

Marion with quart measure and apron in driveway of 20 Greylock Ave, Taunton, Mass.

Marion with her doll carriage in driveway at 20 Greylock Ave

Marion Eaton and Duncan Dunbar on their wedding day, September 12, 1925

Marion on left, Spencer in center, Sophie Boatright(?). We don’t know who she is. Or where this was taken. A ship?

Unknown on far left, then Spencer, Martha, Marion center front, then Helen. Unknown on far right. On chairs: not sure.

Joseph Smith Eaton, father of Marion. Presumably Taunton.

Martha standing behind child. Unknown who else in picture. The small children may be Marion and Spencer.

Grandchildren of Daniel B. Eaton. Left to right: Karl Trafton Taylor, Everett Eaton, Evelyn Eaton, Marion Eaton, Blythe Meredith Eaton, Spencer Evans Eaton, Helen Eaton.

Unknown but looks like Joseph Eaton home.

Probably Marion in garden. Probably Taunton. Around 1900.

Dr Edward (?) Everett home (?) (can’t read handwriting ) “Sammie”? Possibly Helen on left? (wild guess) Also: “Curtis home in Guilford”

Martha Evans Eaton with children on steps of Grandpa Eaton’s home on high Street, Meredith, NH.
Two unknown children (cousins?) and Spencer and Marion.

Living room flower decorations on wedding day, September 12, 1925. (Marion and Duncan’s wedding) “MED’s wedding setting”

Woods Hole friends. Front row: Ruth De Mings(?), Marion Beebe(?).
Rear: Isabelle Hunter, Marion Eaton, B. Gilman (?), Mildred Jaquis(?), Helen Eaton.

Marion playing in her driveway at 20 Greylock Ave, Taunton, Mass.

Duncan Dunbar and Marion before or after marriage unknown

Grandfather Daniel Brown Eaton (in back) with grandchildren. Left to right: Blythe, Marion, Evelyn. Probably Everett Eaton and Karl Trafton Taylor but names not listed on back of photo. Front row: Helen, Spencer on right in front.

My Dad’s Parents

April 26, 2025June 3, 2026 / CynthiaEDay / Leave a comment

Dad had these pics in his desk.

I think this next one was before she was married.

.This is my grandmother’s sister, Faye.

.And here’s my grandfather.

Pics send home from time in army during WW1 followed by later years reading NYT.

With friends? (Or Aunt Faye’s husband) on vacation somewhere?

They traveled a lot with friends during retirement.

My mom on left. My brother looking over at her. Me in my great aunt’s arms. My dad taking photo.

Me on left. Sister in Papa’s lap. Brother on right.

My parents’ graduation from Cornell. They married nine months earlier. My brother was born seven months after graduation.

My grandfather pretending to take a swig from his little bottle.

Papa was a retired caterer and often photographed carving roasts.

1959 Wedding

April 25, 2025 / CynthiaEDay / Leave a comment

I saw my parents’ wedding photos before I’d ever been to a wedding. I was so young that their wedding was less than ten years in the past (by the time I saw the photos) but I interpreted them as having been taken a hundred years ago. They’re in black and white! All the other photos I’d ever seen were in color.

Let’s take a look at these puppies.

The bride:

This is the first time I remember seeing my mom without glasses. And I approved. But I didn’t recognize her as the same person. 🤓

Always wondered what that woman on the left was doing and why she was even in the picture. And why the gloves?

Once again was never sure what was going on in the photo. Is my mother attaching a flower to my grandmother’s dress? My grandmother always wore plain, plain dresses and this one was shiny. I wished she would dress like that more often.

Why is my mom busy helping dress her parents when she’s the one getting married? Why does my grandfather not dress like that all the time? Duncan Dunbar was his name.

Now here are people I knew and loved: Aunt Phyllis (married to Richard Day) and Susie Day. My great grandfather, Grandpa Keeney, in the background, was gone by the time I was old enough to remember him.

I did recognize the second bridesmaid but didn’t know her well. She and I shared the same name. She passed away right before my father did.

Always loved this pic and wanted to get chosen to be a flower girl someday but I didn’t have a dress that fancy or hair that curly so wasn’t sure I could pull it off. Never aspired to be a bride though. That whole scene looked really awkward.

Everything about this scene looked nerve-racking to me. That it’s in black and white makes it more ominous.

Above is essentially the first and almost last time you see my father’s side of the family.

And finally you can really see the groom, Thomas Blake Day. I remember looking at the flowers and wishing church always had flowers. Church was a scary place to me.

They look marvelous.

Great pic of them both.

Where are they going? I always sort of wondered.

I never understood why this kid is seeming to take a confrontational stance with the bride’s maids. And who is he?

Why are all these guys kissing my mom? Ew. If you have to get kissed in public in a fancy dress, forget it. Ew.

I always wondered why my dad was yelling at this kid. Also, again, who is that kid?

Last time my uncles show up in a picture of this wedding. (They’re the two guys next to my dad. Richard Keeney Day and Robert Blake Day).

This pic always confused me. Is that guy flirting with my mom? Why is she striking that pose? That’s my grandmother on the right.

Always thought cutting cake in gloves indoors was an odd choice.

A kid who got cake of her white gloves would have been chastised.

Cake seemed to me like a good enough reason to go through the struggle of a wedding.

This made sense to me because my grandfather was a caterer and I knew that meant serving food. Plus my dad’s father always wore suits. Robert Blake Day of Robert Day Deans catering of New York City.

Always wondered where my dad was going.

Rare glimpse of my dad’s mother to right of bride.

Do people even have receiving lines anymore? In many ways it’s a nice tradition but I can see why it faded away.

As a kid I always thought this business of everyone standing around shaking hands looked unnerving. What are they talking about?

It’s a cute pic of my mom and I wondered what the woman had said to her to prompt that expression.

There was something about the black and white that always made this seem like a silent movie from a century ago.

I wondered if my mom was getting reprimanded by her mom. Could she have done something wrong? That’s one of my mom’s brothers (Wallace Dunbar) in the background. I don’t see the other two brothers in any of the pictures. (Their names were Duncan Dunbar, Jr. and Randolph Dunbar).

My grandfathers know each other? The two men were so different. What could they be talking about? Next time I saw them together was at my piano recital in about 1968. That was the last time.

When I was young I didn’t really see my dad smile a lot. He scowled. But then later on he seemed to loosen up. Then went back to scowling.

Here they are with both sets of parents. This is the only full on photo of my dad’s mom, Beatrice Keeney Day. Why does mother of the groom get short shrift?

Someone had to explain this to me. It looked dangerous and spooky to me. Also, first we’re in church and then we move into superstitions! 👀

I always wondered, Who would my grandmother need to be calling? Marion (Evans) Eaton Dunbar. She had been a librarian and I wondered if she needed to call the library. 🤷‍♀️
But why today? Why during a wedding?
And I guess you were allowed to take off your gloves to use the rotary dial on the phone.

This was one of the few pics that seemed true to life. A kid playing around away from the grown ups made sense. No pretense. Don’t know if my grandfather was in charge or just cruising by.

And there they go. Looking a little more “real” but still dressed up. And my mom still doesn’t have her glasses on. 🤓

Well that was a fun trip down memory lane.

Sixty-six years ago.

Of course now I see that the photographer was talented and was capturing the scenes in the tried and true methods. I get it. But as a kid I had no context. Weddings are play-acting, following traditions. This photo album was someone’s job.

And it was well done. 👏

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