Today I received a visit from a long-lost relative. His name was Frost Thorn Claghorn (try saying that out loud a few times; a lovely experience...) and he was born in 1880. The visit came via a photo postcard that he sent to his brother 93 years ago, which is now in my ownership, thanks to a woman named Marge who makes it her business to reunite photos with relatives. Frost's mother, Lillie E. Howland Claghorn, was the daughter of Sarah McCord Howland, who was in turn the daughter of Betsey Ann Van Valin McCord,who is the sister of my great-great-great-grandfather, Oliver Van Valin. Running that through the relationship calculator, that makes Frost my third cousin twice removed.
He isn't exactly my next-of-kin, but he is a member of the mystery family that I have been trying to ferret out of census records for the last few years. There is something about connecting a face to a name that make the genealogy pursuit take on a whole new realistic, personal dimension. I can imagine the brick Chicago home which served as backdrop for this picture still standing. I can look at the postmark and know that he had 32 years -- roughly half his years -- left to his life. Did he have any inkling that within five years he and his wife would divorce, and she would marry another man? (And did she have any inkling that the other man would be dead a year later?) And I wonder why, in the 25 words he penned to his brother, did he comment that his weight was 202 pounds? Were they in some sort of body building (or weight loss) competition?
My thanks to Marge and all those who rescue photos from antique shops. A word to the wise: even if you think there is no reason for it, please be sure to label all family photos with names and other identifying information! You never know who may be looking at them long after you leave them behind.
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