Breathing new life into old photos since 2012.

Tag: 52 Ancestors (Page 3 of 3)

52 Ancestors, No. 3: John P. Boland


Maybe I’m front-loading my list with family superstars whom I truly admire. I think you’ll begin to see, however, that no story is too small, as Amy Johnson Crow will remind us. To the contrary, I think the heroism of my everyday ancestors will reveal itself once it is properly showcased beside the legends. All stories are big, in a way.

This week’s legend is Philadelphia Judge John P. Boland, a cousin of my paternal grandfather’s father. Continue reading

52 Ancestors, No. 2: Samuel Harmon Anflick, Big Band Violinist

I took an interest in my maternal grandfather’s family early on for three reasons: First, he died in in 1986, when I was five years old, so my memories of him are barely there. I could nary remember what he looked like before my mother showed my some pictures for my nascent genealogy project. Researching him and his family is a way to make up for lost time. Second, he was Jewish, whereas my other three grandparents were Catholic. I was raised Catholic, myself, so researching his family has been like adopting a new culture. Perhaps most of all, however, the name fascinates me. Continue reading

52 Ancestors, No. 1: Russell Hawkins


I’m going to try out the 52 Ancestor Challenge, of which I first caught wind from my inspirations at NoStoryTooSmall.com. I’d like to attempt a restoration for each entry. I may not actually have that many damaged photos of ancestors to restore, and I won’t wreck photos just to fix ’em, so many entries may just have cool stories. It should be fun either way. Let’s get started.

I can’t think of a better way to ring in the new year then with the rags-to-riches story of Russell Hawkins, who was my first cousin, four times removed. Specifically, he was the nephew of my paternal grandmother’s great-grandfather. Continue reading

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