Preserving the Past
Who are these people? Where are they? When did they get together?
We were recently in Billings, Montana to visit Gary’s family. It was the first time in many, many years that all of Gary’s siblings were together. We’re scattered around the country with vastly different schedules so someone is usually missing. This time Gary’s mom, Georgene, spent time with me going through family photos and identifying the people in the few photos that we have of her family. It is so important to label these people now so that we can pass this information on to future generations. I am digitizing these photographs, keeping one copy as is, and making another copy with names and whatever other information that I can.
My mother was very interested in her family history. She and first cousin once removed (who were about the same age) began to send family photographs back and forth to identify the people in them. She asked me to create a book of her family history with family photos. She also wanted help in determining if her grandmother gave birth to twins. There were rumors to that effect but her mother (who was the youngest, born in 1905) really had no idea if the rumors were true. Using only the free version of Ancestry and Family Search, I began to do some research and discovered that yes, my great grandmother Anthony gave birth to twins on October 13, 1897. Sadly, Christina died in 1989 and Otillia died in 1899.
My mother died on February 26, 2021. After her death, we discovered a CD that my Uncle Will created for her. My mother did not have a computer, only a tablet, so she did not know what was on it. I took it home with me and discovered a treasure trove of family pictures, most of which my mother did not have. In addition, when my uncle saved the photo he saved it with the names of the people in the photo as well as dates when he knew them.
This is one of the photos that he included which contains both of my mother’s grandmothers. It’s a special picture because there are very few of Sarah McLeod, my paternal great grandmother.
Using the information that Uncle Will included, I added the names directly on the photo for easy identification in the future.
Gary’s family has been good about sharing Coble family photos and someone labeled many of them which is helpful. This is a fun one of Gary’s grandfather.
I am thankful for the help of relatives who have helped me identify ancestors. I wish that I had been able to have deeper conversations with relatives about the past when I was younger. I hope that through the information I have and the research that I continue to do that I am able to help younger relatives learn about our ancestors.
The stories are so important. Through the stories of our ancestors we learn about their struggles and successes. We learn about the often harsh circumstances of their lives and learn the stories behind their survival. We are often in awe of what they went through and appreciate their perseverance and their triumphs.
I have been amazed at some of the stories that I have discovered through my research. Shortly after we retired, we moved to a 55+ community in North Las Vegas. I was one of the first members of newly established Genealogy Club. It was a wonderful mix of newbies and very experienced genealogists (a couple of members had been working on their research for 20 or 30 years). One member, Dave, inspired me with stories of his ancestors. He assured me that I would find the stories of my family when I started researching. This group was extremely helpful in providing some worksheets that aided me in focusing my research as well as organizing it. At this time I decided to get a paid subscription to Ancestry.com and MyHeritage so that I had more access to records. However, I still did not have a tree and had not done my DNA. Soon after, I came across Generations Cafe and 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.
When COVID-19 hit and we were all staying home, I took advantage of all the help that I’ve received and turned my genealogy research into a full-fledged serious hobby. In 2021 I completed the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge and created a blog for my stories. This year, I am doing the 12 Ancestors in 12 months challenge (though I sometimes write an additional story). I also got my DNA done and have started a tree for my family and recently one for Gary’s family. I discovered a family member through MyHeritage who lives close by and has been very generous with sharing his discoveries of our Anthony family. He has been very helpful in my journey.
What I have discovered is that the more I do, the more there is to do and learn. My next challenge is to try to find out if the Coble family legend of a Hessian deserter is true.