Remembering Mamie

My memories of my great-grandmother, Mamie, are hazy and few. Her husband had died decades before I entered the picture.

My earliest recollection brings to mind a very old lady seated in a dark mahogany rocker, her apparent antiquity evidenced not only in appearance, but in the scent of old age. The past era’s glow dimmed along with Mamie’s demise, yet the essence of another time hung unwaveringly like a guest who overstayed his welcome. Mamie regularly wore a somber long dress and tasseled black or white shawl, wrapped snugly like her taut white bun  and braids clutching her head. Youth undeniably colored my impressions of Mamie. The article from the 1935 “Birmingham News” enhanced her image into more dimension than my memory had preserved. I was only seven when she died.

From another newspaper article:

Montgomery Advertiser

Sunday August 31, 1941

Bibb Home is Mellow with Age and Traditions

"The drawing room to the left of the front door excites the imagination with its perfect blending of period furniture. The subtle soft pastels of the upholstery and old paintings vie for first place along with the glistening patina of antique mahogany, rococo, and Waterford. Several long settees or sofas are of carved mahogany. The intricate design of the Chippendale mirror shown on this page is evidence of the quality..."

Under a picture accompanying the article:
"Rosewood Table. Early Victorian with blue-veined marble top. The marble mantel in the background is Victorian and the vases at each end of the mantel shelf are Dresden."

The mirror mentioned in the article is partially shown in the photo of Mamie. The baby in the portrait is William George Bibb, Mamie's husband, and the other portrait is George Rockingham Gilmer, brother of Sophie Bibb who, along with her husband, built the house in 1828.