Don't Give Up!

As a genealogist, one of the things that makes me sad is to see old family pictures sitting in antique shops.  As I pass through, I have to search through the piles in case I find a familiar name or face.  Occasionally if they are cheap enough, I will buy them and try to find a family member who would appreciate them.  This week I saw the fruits of that hobby.
   Late last year,  I was browsing an auction when I saw a marriage certificate from 1880 that had Carte de Viste photographs with it.  What a treasure!  I was convinced that if it was affordable enough, I would buy it and track down these people's family.  When I actually did purchase it.  I created a separate family tree (using census records and the info provided on the certificate) for these people on www.ancestry.com and posted their pictures on there. 
   This week, a descendant of those two contacted me, totally thrilled to find pictures of her ancestors.  I no longer had the certificate, but kept scans just in case and was able to send them on to her. 

   On a separate track, every family has pictures that are unmarked in it.  With enough research, and patience you can make a dent in identifying those pictures!  On one unmarked picture that my family had (ca. 1860s) I was able to find a cousin that had the exact same picture.  Hers was unmarked as well, but we narrowed down the branch that the man belonged to.
  One site that I absolutely love for old pictures is www.deadfred.com.  On this site you can upload old family pictures, even ones that are unmarked, and then search by surname, town, or photographer.  It is a wonderful resource!
  Don't ever give up on those unmarked photos, or give up hope of finding a picture of those elusive ancestors.  Someone out there may be able to help you put together the missing pieces of your puzzle.

A Round About Way to do Things

  I have been working on trying to prove my relationship to Jesse Isaacs for YEARS!  So far it's been following one rabbit trail after another.  It doesn't help that he died out in California, or that my ggg-grandpa Amos Isaacs did not have a great obituary that would state the names of his parents, and died before death certificates were common.  It's been a frustrating endeavor.  Therefore, this year I have started researching families that I am just as sure are children of Jesse and siblings to my Amos, trying to make a connection from that.
  One such hopeful connection is Sarah Isaacs who married Archibald Boular in Buchanan County, MO in 1853.  I picked Sarah as a possibility because she's an Isaacs living in Buchanan County, and she matches an age range I have for a child of Jesse's in the 1840 census, plus she lives most everywhere he and Amos live.  I am trying to find an obituary for her, but can't find a death date.
  Following her has led me to a fascinating character, her son, William Boular.  William apparently contracted spinal meningitis when he was 4 which left him deaf.  After Archibald died and Sarah moved to Atchison, KS, William was playing on the railroad cars down at the tracks, slipped and was involved in an accident which left him blind and without legs below his knees.  Now, when I found info about his accident in the 1880 census, I figured that the poor guy would not be the one that would lead me to any great discoveries.  WRONG!

This man, beyond all odds, went on to become a bricklayer, foundry worker, beekeeper, and was married 2x.  He was even featured in Ripley's Believe it Or Not in the 1930s for laying 45,000 bricks in 8 hours.  His 2 page obituary in the Atchison paper not only gave me some great insight into this family's early life, but was a wonderful biography of a wonderful man.  "Deafy" Boular is one of Atchison's heroes and even has a display dedicated to him in their historical society.  "Deafy" is buried in Mount Vernon cemetery in Atchison where Gov. Martin of Territorial Kansas is buried, along with Amelia Earhart's family.

  While we were there to find William's grave, we took time out to see the other monuments.

  Now like all great discoveries, my mom and I found his obituary just as the public library was closing, so we didn't get to follow up totally on this lead, but I am excited to see what else we can find!

How I got Started