Tuesday, April 26, 2011

One Picture Leads to Another Leads to ...

This is the story of how one picture on the internet can lead to some rich discoveries.  

This is the family of Robert Clinton McLeod of Timmonsville, SC.  In front are Oswell Boyce, Robert Clinton, Aubrey, and Ellen Irene Jones McLeod.  In back are Kenneth Carroll, Reuel Carmen, and Mary Medley "Sehoy."  Boyce McLeod was my maternal grandfather.  I posted this photo on my Ancestry.com tree three years ago.  (An interesting aside:  notice the scenic background hanging on the side of the house.)


Recently I received a message on Ancestry from someone who had an old photo of a very large family gathering.  She said my McLeods were in it dressed in the same clothes as in the picture above !   
And there they are, over on the left. (Click on pictures to enlarge.) 

Besides the delightful discovery of the photo, finding a third cousin was a particular pleasure.  Many thanks to G. Dianne Floyd of Charlotte, NC, not only for sharing the photo, but for her keen powers of observation as well! 

This appears to be a reunion of the descendants of George Washington McLeod and Louisa Abegail Anderson (my 2-great grandparents).  Dianne's picture had "Mr. P. M. Jordan, Bethlehem, Aug. 19."  (Bethlehem was a community near Timmonsville.)  Mine had the year 1898 written on the back.   

The only other people identified so far are the man on the front row with the very long beard and the woman standing behind him.  They are Dianne's great-grandparents Peter Manley Jordan and Elizabeth Abbylona McLeod (my great-grandfather Robert Clinton's sister).  

I realize these people are on the opposite side of my tree from the Reeds, but I wanted to share with you how this came about.  Keep an eye out for photos you see on other trees on the internet.  You might find some surprises.  

I hope that someone surfing the net for these folks will find them here and help us identify some more of the family. 

From Dianne:  "The more people we show it, hopefully, the more we will find out about it. Please ask that anyone who can identify any one in the photo email me at DianneATDianneFloydDOTcom.  The whole point to this ancestry thing is to share the information, right?" 

1 comment:

  1. Great job cousin! Thanks for posting this. Who knows . . . we may find another cousin or two!

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