In The Beginning...... Year 3: Cousins and More

Today begins my third year in documenting our family history through blogging. The year of 2012 has started out with a bang and there are days I have to struggle to keep up with the momentum. I find myself behind on projects, both genealogy and non-genealogy, and I have yet to fulfill my goals of 2011. But that's OK, most of them can wait.

Blogging, social networks, and volunteerism on FindAGrave.com have certainly been a plus for running into cousins lately; cousins from both sides of my family who are thrilled to swap information and photos back and forth. 

One new paternal cousin, *Ginny, upon finding my blog, immediately sent me an e-mail with a photo attached. The second I saw it, I knew I already had a photo with some of the same people in it. I dug mine out. It was a photo from my paternal grandmother's collection that was unidentified. We knew it was of family but...who? 

My photo, previously unidentified. 

Well, Ginny's photo was completely identified on the back. Her's was a photo of my paternal great grandfather, Andrew Melvin Townsend, son of Lewis and Mary Ann (Patterson) Townsend, and all his living siblings. You can tell by the clothing and background that it was taken on the same day as mine, and you can tell from a camera glitch near the bottom center, that it was taken from the same camera.

Back row L to R: Emma Jane, Lewis Oscar, Olive M., Andrew Melvin, Margaret Ellen; Front row L to R:  Mary C., Theodore E., Sarah Elizabeth "Sadie"

My photo at the top has the three brothers and sister Sadie with unidentified women in the background. Those women are likely daughters or wives. Since I had no other photos of Andrew, I had no idea that the photo I already had was of Andrew and his brothers and one of his sisters. Now, I know! God bless cousin Ginny and God bless me!

Yes, my third year of blogging is starting out with lots of that mysterious stuff they call "serendipity". It could just be the power of the Internet. Or it could be something more....

*Ginny is the granddaughter of Lewis Oscar Townsend.


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