Joining the Mission to Send More Photos Home

The quest to reunite antique photographs with family descendants starts with a passion for family history. And, just as that love of family history research is spreading, the number of researchers who want to put their skills to good use is expanding.

Just yesterday, I read of another such example, on a post by genealogy blogger Gail Dever. Gail, if you remember, was the key to connecting me with the help I needed to return a French language photo postcard to the descendants of a Quebec couple—a photograph I was sure would never make that last journey home to family.

This time, Gail has been approached by author and historian Ginette Guy who, sight unseen, opted to purchase a box of photographs through an online auction last May. It turns out the box, obtained in Ontario, Canada, may have originated in Scotland, and contains pictures and other items dating from the late 1890s through the mid 1950s. Ginette Guy is posting the contents bit by bit on her blog, Treasures to Share.

Once Gail Dever had posted an article on her blog concerning my own photo quandary, it took barely two days to receive enough information to locate current family members—descendants who were, incidentally, delighted to receive that darling picture of two young boys.

Now that Gail has, once again, shared the news of mystery photographs now found—one hundred fifty of them, this time—hopefully the turn around will be as rapid as before.

If you have any connections to the Uphall Station or Broxburn areas of West Lothian, Scotland, or any interest in the surnames Thompson, Gilchrist or Leishman, be sure to take a look at the photos Ginette Guy has already posted from her mystery box.

And while you are doing that, celebrate with me that more of us are taking enough concern in rescuing these photographic treasures of our heritage to make it possible to reunite them with families for whom these items hold great meaning. I know how I'd feel if someone sent my ancestors' photographs my way, and some of you have said as much in the comments here at A Family Tapestry. Even though each step one individual takes to help send these treasures home may seem tiny, put all together, our efforts can make a difference.