Audrey Riis Gustafsson and daughter Bonnie, Floral Park, New York, 1952.
Category Archives: Classic Photos
Classic Photo: Break Time, 1907
Hans Christian Riis’ brother, Andrew (nee Andreas) Jensen Riis (1869-1936), owned a home construction company at 117th Street and Railroad Avenue (now Babbage Street) in Richmond Hill, New York. Here, some of Andrew’s employees take a break to pose for a photograph in 1907.
Classic Photo: Neighborhood Gathering, c1908
From top: Helene Andersen Riis, Thor Riis, Hans C. Riis, Alfred Riis.
The circumstances of this photo are unknown, but it appears to be summer (clothing, baseball bats) and, except for Hans C. Riis and his wife and children, I can identify no other relatives. My guess is that it’s a gathering of Queens neighbors for some special occasion (Fourth of July, perhaps?) in about 1908, judging by the ages of Thor (born 1904) and Alfred (born 1902).
Classic Photo: Family Gathering, 1929
Although the occasion is lost to time, the Riises and Andersens were gathered together in Queens Village in 1929 when this fantastic photograph was taken.
Pictured (left to right): Hans C. Riis, Helene Andersen Riis, Alva Lundquist Riis, Clifford A. Riis, Hans J. Andersen, Helene E. Riis (holding cat), Robert T. Riis, Warren A. Riis (infant), Ida Adams Riis, [Ane] Marie Andersen Gudmundsson, Ingvar Gudmundsson, Thor C. Riis. Not pictured: Alfred Riis, taking the photograph.
Classic Photo: Nā Pali Coast, 2012
August 6, 2012: Two days after Megan’s and Mark’s wedding, the extended Cherry and Gmelin clans and a contingent of close friends gathered in Port Allen, Hawaii, for a boat tour of Kauai’s rugged and beautiful Nā Pali coast. Festive company and some of the world’s most spectacular scenery made a day to be remembered always.
Classic Photo: Mother and Son, c1850
Portrait of my great-great-grandfather, Paul Heinrich Albert Gmelin AKA Albert Gmelin (1842-1903), with his mother, Christiane Luise Keppler Gmelin (1805-1867), c1850. At age 25, Albert left his native Pfullingen, Württemberg, arriving in New York on June 5, 1867. The first news he would have had from home was that his mother had died on June 2.
Classic Photo: Mystery Girl, c1890
One of the happiest moments in doing genealogical research is finding a photograph of a never-before-seen ancestor, while one of the unhappiest comes in possessing an old family photograph that can’t be identified. This pretty young girl in a fancy hat was discovered among a cache of family photos. Sadly, all we know now is that the photograph was taken in Manhattan, most likely between 1885 and 1900. She appears to be about 12. But who is she? The first rule of preserving family photos for future generations: write the names of the people in the photo on the back.
Classic Photo: Watching “The Jetsons”, 1963
(L-R) James Riis, Lisa Riis, Richard Riis, Massapequa Park, NY, February 1963.
