My object is my maternal grandparents’ wedding album. My grandparents got married in 1962 in London. Both of them came from poor families. My grandmother was born in London and had five siblings. My grandfather was born in Dublin, one of twelve siblings. Neither of my grandparents had finished school. As they didn’t have much money, they didn’t own a camera themselves, and so there are very few photos of them. Also, because they both died before I was born, I didn’t get the chance to meet them in person. My mom gave the album to me so I can learn more about my family.  The wedding album was passed down to my mom before she immigrated to the United States. Many of my family on my mom’s side have passed away, and because I was young when I visited London, I didn’t learn much about my English culture or family members. Other families have a strong sense of culture, but mine is washed out. By flipping through the pages of the wedding album, I was able to learn more about family members I didn’t know about. The wedding album is also a symbol of my family’s  religion, which is Catholicism. Marriage is one of the seven sacraments and having a visual record of it is important. The pictures remind me how my family has worked their way up through the social hierarchy.

– Emily Boyer

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant