This lovely, pensive lady is my grandmother’s aunt, Anna Leibel Seiberlich Grace (1868-1955). Known as Annie, she was the first of my great-grandfather’s siblings born in Minnesota after the family left Bohemia, and she was the first to survive infancy. And today is the day I found out what she looked like.

Annie bore eight children by two husbands. First was Adolph “Ed” Seiberlich, and their 1889 wedding was the first-ever at St. Joseph’s in Lino Lakes, Minnesota. Ed died of consumption at age 33 in 1895. Their children were Josephine, Lillian, and Edward.

Her second husband was Michael Grace. The family name had been Gress until Mike changed it. Even Gress, I suspect, was an Americanized spelling of (perhaps) Gräß or Griß. Their children were Michael, Elizabeth, Marie, Joe, and William.

Annie died at the age of 87, a lifespan that was about average for her immediate family. My great-grandfather John was 85; there were sisters who lived to 88 and 89; a brother who made it to 91; and one sister, Gracie Gallagher, who lived almost four months past her 100th birthday.