#74 - Small Man, John Joseph Lawrence Barnwell

John Joseph Lawrence Barnwell, Long Name, Small Man

When my father spoke of his grandfather, his mother's father, he _always_ said he was a small man "with bandy legs" (I don't know why the legs were mentioned). My dad was born in 1929 and by the time his grandparents were in his conscious life, they still had a brood of children at home in a cramped apartment in New York City or one of its boroughs.

I never saw a good photo of John JL Barnwell for this was the era when the the poor, and lower classes had precious few photos, and those they had were well-handled and often didn't survive for long. 
The photo I finally saw of him over 10 years ago was after his work accident which rendered him essentially crippled for life. He had to sit home while his wife was the superintendent and cleaner of the building. 

When I saw this photo below he looked (to me) that he was of average height.

John Jos Lawrence Barnwell; wife Agnes McCune abt 1940

John Jos Lawrence Barnwell, Agnes McCune @ relative's house in CT (early 1930s)

STOP! HOLD THE PRESSES!

But then I found this photo, jumped on My Heritage, uploaded it, colorized it and then enhanced it with their nifty tool.

John Joseph Lawrence Barnwell (L) & friend c 1920

In this photo, I know the man he's with is 5 feet, 4 inches, which puts them about the same height. And, thanks to camera capturing his feet, I now know what my father meant by "bandy legs."