The coolest treasure trove

[Becca_Anne]

I was helping my stepmom go through my grandmother's things in storage to figure out what she needs at her new house (she moved up here from CA a year ago and her things just got shipped here) and we came accross a box of photos and movies! We are hoping the old tapes can be transferred to DVD (they are the reel kind) and that they weren't damaged by heat. Some of them were marked with 1973 and my name. I was 2 then, so I might get to see my own baby video LOL.

 

But in the box, there was a geneaology surprise! My great uncle Herbert Sherr was a war photographer in WWII which I did not know. He took amazing photos from the air, and on the ground. There was one incredible one of Paris from the air with the Eiffel tower in the corner. There were letters back and forth from the war, and best of all, a photograph of his parents! I had never seen them before since my grandfather was estranged I knew very little about them and had never seen a photo. I quickly snagged that one with permission to scan it! I am the family historian so I will borrow a few at a time to scan. My big project right now is scanning all the photos and burning them to DVD from my kids to my anscestors. I have had very little time so it gets done in tiny pieces. I really haven't been doing much digging in my family tree lately, so this was a real sweet bonus

[mistylady]

Fantastic! Congrats on the great finds!

[Momo]

Happy hunting you lucky girl!

[Homesteader]

That box of pictures was really a pot of gold BA. I know the more I dig the more addictive it becomes. Since my mom is 80 years old, she's the last one in her family that remembers anything. I keep drilling her for more information. She thinks it's fun talking about the past.

 

This year I want to create the monthly calendar for 2008. What I did last time was to feature an ancestor each month. I chose the calendar pages that had lots of room at the bottom for pictures and text. It turned out to be one of the nicest gifts my brothers and nephews ever received. They've been bugging me ever since to do it again.

 

I'm going to make it a point to make the calendars once again. It also keeps me digging for more information and photos.

 

 

[Snowmom]

Becca, that was such a great find. I hope you will be able to get the pictures put on DVD's and if you can, please let us know, as we have several of ours that we would love to get on DVD's.

 

Keep digging, and you may come up with more and more things.

 

Homey, isn't it great how you can get addicted to this.

 

Be sure to get all the stories you can from your mom. When peopole are willing to tell and you can put it down, that is so great. Most people are afraid to talk once the recorder comes out.

 

Those calendars are so great. Jerry made one for us just using pictures of the family and it turned out great. One of these days, years, I should do the calendars with family history on them.

 

Happy Hunting everyone.

[Deb2of9]

I love that calendar idea. I haven't done much work with genealogy lately my self. I got hung up on my great-grandmother who I only have a birth year and her name. I know she came from Ireland but her name is so common that I can't find anymore information. We are doing it as a family thing. When I get stuck, my sister or cousins will find something and we will all get started again.

 

 

I would have given anything for a find like those pictures. My grandmother was estranged from her family. ( They disapproved of her husband. It is a shame they were right as my grandfather left when my dad was only 2, but MerMer never did have contact with her family after that. So we don't have a whole lot of pictures and stuff from them. We did have key names and have traced that family line fairly far back. We also do not have anyone to ask about our family left. As scary as it is, my generation is the old generation now and the oldest of us is only 53!!!! We never got our family to talk much about family history or stories. We have lost so much of our past that way. So get all you can from her. You never know when you might lose the chance.

[anna]

What a wonderful find!! My dh's aunt asked me to find her grandfather's grave and she absolutely knew it was in Boone County, Iowa. I searched for several years without finding anything other than deeds, marriage records, births, his parents graves but no Grandfather Hill. One day my m-i-l had out boxes of pictures and I found an old album that had belonged to her m-i-l. Looking thru it I found a picture of a large gravestone with Hill's name on it plus the name of his daughter and granddaughter below. Since I knew the granddaughter was buried in Illinois and that she had died after they began keeping death records, I sent for her death certificate and found where GF Hill was buried. I wrote to dh's aunt and told her...and she said "I knew that." (Good thing she was several state away!!) Just when you're ready to give up along comes something like these pictures.

 

If you think Mary Fitzgerald is bad try searching for John Williams!!!!

[Becca_Anne]

I just found some more info out the other day. Apparently when her family fled Lithuania, instead of coming straight to the US they went to South Africa first, then to the US. Some family stayed in South Africa. I have pictures of them, but no names. However it gives me real hope I will now have a chance to figure out what ship they emigrated on, with a correct departure location! Also info that one uncle chose to go to Italy instead of the US.

[Snowmom]

 

That is really interesting, Becca. I hope you are able to find a lot of information.

 

Sometimes if you post pictures and ask if anyone knows these people you get answers. I've not done this, but it has been done.

 

Happy hunting.