It’s the crulest kind of comfort. I cannot keep it. It’s too painful, but I cannot destroy it either. It’s all that remains of those poor children. Margaret stored the photograph in a trunk where it remained for 50 years until her death in 1957. Her daughter Catherine inherited it and kept it hidden, never showing it to anyone.
Catherine died in 1998, and the photograph passed to her son, James Hartwell, age 73. James was the one who finally sent it to the historical society in 2021. Helen managed to track him down through genealogical records and called him. I’m 94 years old. James told her, his voice weak, but clear.
My mother told me about that photograph when I was young. She said it was cursed, not by magic, but by love. She said it showed what love looks like when it refuses to let go. Even when letting go is the only mercy left. I’ve carried that photograph for 23 years since my mother’s death. I’m dying now. Cancer.
I don’t want my children to inherit this burden. Let history have it. Let someone else remember those girls. He died two weeks after sending the photograph. His obituary made no mention of the Davy’s sisters or the photograph. Dr. Helen Foster presented her findings to the Boston Historical Society’s board in April 2021. The response was divided.
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