Sending Orphaned Items Home

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In your research experience have you been contacted by someone who had a picture or other item that belonged to your family and they wanted to give it to you? If it was something you have sought for years, weren't you thrilled to finally have it and so grateful for the person who sent it to you?

Maybe you have been on the other side, instrumental in connecting an orphaned heirloom with its family. Didn't it feel great to make that connection?

I've had it happen a few times and I always feel so satisfied when I succeed. 

Several years ago I was researching the history of photography for a presentation I was doing for the society. I needed examples of antique photos because I didn't have very many in my own family. I went to antique stores and shopped on Ebay for good examples of very early photography. When people found a stray photo in their collections that they didn't want, they offered them to me for my use.

Making Trans-Continental Connections

One photo had been in the possession of one of our older members who had done a lot of research, pre-internet, without success. When she passed away, the photo and all of her notes were passed on to me. After following her meticulous research and trying various internet searches, I decided to try a different spelling--instead of the Fay family (which had lived in Kent), I tried the Foy family and hit pay dirt. With records at the state digital archives in Cheney as well as census records online, I was able to date the photo and follow the migration from Illinois through Nebraska and to Seattle by one of the older sons.


Next step was to go to Ancestry where I found someone researching the family. I sent him a message with a description of the photo, and got an immediate answer that he had a very poor photocopy of that picture and that the youngest son was his great-grandfather. He shared the story of the family's hard times after the death of their mother.

I sent him the photo, asking only to be able to use it as a case study for my steps in making the connection. A short time later I found a story on his website about "Heirloom photo comes home after 100 years." What a thrill!


Recently I re-found about a dozen photos belonging to another family. I've sent messages to Ancestry researchers off and on since 2009 with no answer.  I would really like to send them "home".

We received an email from a lady seeking information about the family of one of our deceased members and I tried to answer her questions. In doing so I learned that she was researching some of the people in that group of photos! I scanned the photos front and back and emailed them to her.  Her reply was that she had been looking for those photos for more than 5 years.

Do you have some orphan items?  Have you tried to find owners for them?  There are websites where you may post them.


MaryLynn Strickland  


 

Comments

  1. ValorieNovember 6, 2023 at 10:31 AM

    I often see images of photos and some basic genealogy research in various Groups.io locality lists, especially county or smaller state lists, so that's another place to search and/or post. If you want to post, it's best to subscribe the group first. https://groups.io/search to find your group of interest; you can usually search the group without joining.

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