Clay Irwin and Harrison Irwin - Brothers of Ancestor Robert Winslow Irwin

We have a new picture of the brothers of our ancestor, Robert Winslow Irwin, taken near Oakland Tennessee.  Robert Winslow Irwin (1837-1906), had two brothers who lived to adulthood, Clay and Harrison.  This picture, taken 9 Dec 1893, shows them both with their wives and some of Clay's children.  See the attachment for a larger view of this photograph.  It was in the possession of a great great grandson of Clay.  It was taken in front of Clay's house near Oakland, Tennessee.  Notice that there is an open hallway in the center of the house.  This was used in the 19th Century in the south to help keep houses cool in the summer.

From left to right standing:

Harrison Irwin (Eli Harrison Irwin), age 52, with his wife, Emma Robinson Irwin, age 36.  They had been married for only one year, and I believe this was the first marriage for both of them.  They would go on to have three children between 1894 and 1905.  Notice the bandage on his right index finger.  This was in the days before you went to a doctor for stitches to sew up your laceration.  This is the first time we have seen a picture of Harrison Irwin and his wife, Emma.

The third from the left is Allie Irwin (Albena Persis Irwin), age 17, daughter of Clay Irwin.

The fourth person is Willie Irwin (William Robert Irwin), age 5, Clay's youngest child.

After Willie Irwin is Birdie Robinson (Georgia Ola Robinson), age 24.  She was the sister of Harrison Irwin's wife, Emma.  Four years later, she would go on to marry Miles Irwin (standing second from the right), who is age 19 in this picture and was the son of Clay Irwin.  Miles's children and Harrison's children would be both first cousins and first cousins once removed (double cousins).

The sixth person from the left is Birta Griffin, age 23, and a cousin of Clay Irwin's children. 

After Birta, in a matching dress, is Nettie Yancy, age 17, who is a neighbor and is not related.

On the right side standing are Miles Morrow Irwin, age 19, son of Clay Irwin, and Clay Irwin (Richard Clay Irwin), age 55.

On the chairs in front, from the right, are Mollie (Mary Virginia Griffin), age 51, Clay's wife.

To the left of her is Mollie's mother, Persis Herring Griffin, age 70.

On the chair to the left is a picture of Mollie's brother, Robert Griffin, who died in 1878 at the age of 23.

There seemed to have been a lot of intermarrying of families in this community.  The other two siblings of Harrison and Clay, Robert Winslow Irwin (our Robert) and Rosie Irwin (Rose O. Irwin), married a brother and sister, Catherine Lucretia Crawford (our Catherine) and Thomas R. Crawford.  This was a sparsely populated area and in those days, they tended not to marry someone unless they belonged to the right church and often would not marry outside of their ethnic (Scottish-Irish) group. 

Here is another picture of Clay and Mollie Irwin, probably taken around the time of their wedding in 1871.

 

There are very few pictures of the Irwins taken before 1900.  Below is a picture that you have seen before of our ancestors, Robert Winslow Irwin and Catherine Lucretia Crawford, taken in 1865.  This is the only picture that we have of Catherine, who died in 1877.  We have only three pictures of Robert, who died in 1906.