Mother's Day

In honor of Mother's day, I thought I'd post a few pictures of my mother, Grace (Hamill) Babish through the years.  Grace was born February 14, 1914 and died October 8, 1998.  Her parents were Richard Hamill (b. August 27, 1870, d. April 7, 1924) and Sophie Bettinger (b. November 28, 1874, d. January 14, 1943).

The first picture is marked on the back with the year 1917, and shows Grace at about age three with her parents.

Grace Evelyn Hamill with parents, Richard Hamill and Sophie (Bettinger) (Hamill) Hamill

Next, Grace is pictured with her mother and step-grandmother, Ann (Fulton) Hamill in 1926.  Ann Fulton was the second wife of Grace's grandfather, Thomas Hamill.

Ann (Fulton) Hamill, Grace Eveyln Hamill, and Sophie (Bettinger) (Hamill) Hamill

Grace married my father John Babish on December 30, 1939.  This is her wedding picture.

Grace Eveyln (Hamill) Babish

Grace had four brothers and two sisters.  One additional brother was stillborn a year after Grace's birth.  The photograph shows all seven siblings with their mother in the early 1940s.

Front row, left to right, Albert Hamill, John Hamill, Richard Hamill
Back row, left to right, Marie (Hamill) Papirnik, Lillian (Hamill) Pickens, Sophie (Bettinger) (Hamill) Hamill, Grace (Hamill) Babish, and Herbert Hamill

Eventually, I came along in 1952.  This is a photograph of Grace and me on the day of my pre-school graduation, about 1957.

The final picture is of Grace and her sisters, Lillian and Marie, and brother Herb in 1973.  It appears to have been taken in my Uncle Herb's yard in Iselin, New Jersey.

Marie (Hamill) Papirnik, Lillian (Hamill) Pickens, HerbertHamill, and Grace (Hamill) Babish

Source: Babish Family Photographs original photographs; privately held by Daniel Babish, Columbia, Maryland, 2013.