Friday, March 7, 2014

Full Circle 83

Another Full Circle! 

This one began with  Jacqi finding some information and Iggy finding a WikiTree with a copy of this same photo. Aunt Lydia and Uncle Jim  Atlamta Iowa CP Number 1490

Photo Number 1490

James and Lydia Harris found the way home.

Iggy contacted the owner of theWikiTree.  He forwarded me her email. She also left a comment on the Photo 1490 blog post.

Her comment was this:

I've dropped a note to one of you who contacted me and yes, that is indeed James Austin Harris. The Harris clan is quite colorful and I have enjoyed putting together some of the WikiTree pages on them - one of which you found. I continue to work on those pages and it was the help of people like you that I have been able to put more meat on the bones of the Harris clan than we had earlier. The partial photo you spotted on my wiki was a scan sent to me by a cousin. Coming up with the actual photos has been somewhat difficult. Thanks for finding this! - Jackie

From Jackie:
James Harris's profile on WikiTree  Karl -  Good evening from the frozen tundra in Iowa. You can't imagine how happy your post made me!  James Austin Harris is my third great grand uncle. I descend from the Harris family through his brother Barnabus "Barney" Arthur Harris. The picture you see on my wikitree is what a cousin sent me for inclusion, but neither of us have the full photo. The Harris's were a family that seemed to believe in a lot of photos except for James (there is only one other of him that I know of) and another brother who joined the U.S. Cavalry during the civil war and was killed in an Indian fight while serving at Fort Laramie at the end of the war. (I am lucky on him in that another cousin did send me a copy of the one photo we know of in existence for him.  I would love to receive that photo - and of course reimburse for costs. And I would also love to know where it was found. The Harris clan and the Peacock clan intermarried several times with several of the Peacocks moving to Minnesota. My guess is that may have been how it might have migrated there. (I am guessing as to where it was found after taking a look at the webpage.)  And by the way - I can't remember who it was on that page that was complimentary of the Wiki writeup - but that just made my day. When I started the Wiki it was my intent to put some meat on the bones of the family members that I could find. Apparently this page succeeded a bit - and for that I am grateful.  Let me know what information you need - or feel free to pass along my address. I really appreciate you making the effort to contact me.  Jackie

I emailed Jackie:

Mar 3 at 9:10 PM

Hello Jackie,  Karl forwarded your email to me..he is a fantastic researcher!! I am more than happy to return the photo of Jim and Lydia Harris to you.  Photo Number 1490. 

I got the photo with a group of others from a fellow in California who came to dead ends searching for relatives.

Please send me names of anyone else that could be in this family group and I will keep and eye out for them.

Please email me your address...I can go to the PO tomorrow.  Connie at Forgotten Old Photos

She replied:

Connie -

I took a look around that website - what a wonderful thing you all are doing and the photos are just great.

I'm going to have you send this to me at work - I have a rather small mailbox at home and a rather stupid mail person who thinks folding anything is okay. I sort the mail at work so I know I'll get it.

Most of the family names you might find associated with him would be Butterworth, Harris, Johnson, Peacock, Chenoweth and Lamb but if you come across anything with Shelby, Audubon or Cass (Atlantic) county Iowa photos, let me know. That is my home stomping ground and I might be able to come up with something for you.

You cannot imagine how touched I was when I got Karl's email.  I started the Wiki in hopes of reaching out to other family members and it has proven very successful, but this was beyond anything I ever imagined.

I will be sharing the photo with others from the line on a Harris family list we have going. I know they will appreciate as much as I do.

Thanks again -

Jackie

I replied:

Hi Jackie, I mailed the photo today so you might have it Thursday or Friday.  With your permission I will write a full circle post after you have received the photo. 

Can you tell me a little about how your wiki works and about the process?  Thanks Connie

She replied:

Connie -

Thank you so much. I received the photo today and it is wonderful. I will be sending you a small donation for your time and effort - and hope it will help you reunite more of these old photos with their families.

WikiTree - through which your group found me - is a collaborative giant family tree. It operates much like those on Ancestry and other genealogy-oriented sites but I chose to use it over the other sites for a number of reasons. It's free. It allows me to source my tree using genealogical standards. It allows me unlimited space for information and photos and it gives me more control.  James Harris and his second wife, whose photo you sent me (http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Harris-5053) was one of those individuals whose bio you just really don't want to cut short. I have a large part of the backbone of my tree on WikiTree now - and each week I pick one family group to focus on. This week, needless to say, it will be the Harris clan again.

The Wiki has resulted in finding a lot of "cousins" I would have never found, but this was beyond my expectations!

I plan on having this copied and will be giving copies to a few others in my family who also do a lot of family history, so your find will be shared with a number of others.

Again thanks for all you do - and my thanks to the others who also help find the families of those who are featured in these photos -

Jackie

I want to thank both Iggy and Jacqi for their help finding this photo a home, you are both awesome!!

Thanks for stopping by.  Do come again.

7 comments:

  1. I'm blushing here.

    But seeing full circles is always rewarding and many-fold more so when the family is so excited!! :) I like Jackie's infectious enthusiasm - and I wish her the absolute best in her endeavors!

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  2. What you do is amazing. I have researched my own family and know how rewarding it can be to get that one little morsel of information that fits the pieces together. I new picture into the mix would just 'blow my socks off.'
    Kudos.

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  3. Fantastic!

    It is fun to read all the work that goes into a Full Circle.

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  4. It really is amazing how bits and pieces can end up making sense and can find a family. I found a relative the other day that was held by Indians and eventually ended up near the towns that I lived as a kid. It was probably one of those great great great uncle titles but I haven't done the study on paper.

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  5. How exciting! I am happy for the family to experience this reunion! And what a great team effort!

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  6. This is wonderful!!!

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  7. This was definitely a win-win scenario! I appreciate Jackie's explaining the WikiTree concept. It sounds like a useful resource, especially considering the ability to add as much information as the user has to share--and especially considering the material can be properly cited so others can trace those research steps and see how the conclusions drawn were supported.

    I think this Full Circle, all round, was one of the most rewarding to see! Glad it worked out so well. The biggest thanks go to Connie for continuing to make this resource and service available online. You've inspired a whole bunch of us to become part of the process!

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Hi, Thanks for the comments, your input on these old photos is appreciated! English only please! All comments will be moderated! Connie