An E-mail Surprise
With houseguests this week, I've had only a little time to blog or research family history. Late yesterday I responded to an Ancestry.com message from a woman in Sweden who was inquiring about someone who appeared in both our family trees. This morning I received an email back from her with more information. 
It's always exciting to find new contacts and uncover details about relationships. For me that's true even if the family line is only distantly related. Let me try to describe the situation in this case. My husband Bill's Swedish grandmother had a sister, Hilma, who married Johannes Sundin in Tangsta, Sweden, in 1890. They later emigrated to the United States with their young son. The woman who sent the recent messages to me is the great-granddaughter of Johannes Sundin's sister. Her line of the family remained in Sweden. In the photograph at left is the widowed Hilma with her three grandchildren in about 1935. The little boy pictured on the right is the only surviving grandchild of Hilma and Johannes. I found the photo among Bill's mother's belongings several years ago. Many hours of research went into figuring out who was pictured and what became of them. Last year Bill and I met the "little boy," who is now in his 80s. He and Bill are second cousins. Until we contacted him, he had no idea he had any relatives. Now perhaps I can help him connect with his grandfather's side of the family in Sweden. This morning I forwarded the email message to him - and shared the sweet photo with his Swedish second-cousin-once-removed.
It's always exciting to find new contacts and uncover details about relationships. For me that's true even if the family line is only distantly related. Let me try to describe the situation in this case. My husband Bill's Swedish grandmother had a sister, Hilma, who married Johannes Sundin in Tangsta, Sweden, in 1890. They later emigrated to the United States with their young son. The woman who sent the recent messages to me is the great-granddaughter of Johannes Sundin's sister. Her line of the family remained in Sweden. In the photograph at left is the widowed Hilma with her three grandchildren in about 1935. The little boy pictured on the right is the only surviving grandchild of Hilma and Johannes. I found the photo among Bill's mother's belongings several years ago. Many hours of research went into figuring out who was pictured and what became of them. Last year Bill and I met the "little boy," who is now in his 80s. He and Bill are second cousins. Until we contacted him, he had no idea he had any relatives. Now perhaps I can help him connect with his grandfather's side of the family in Sweden. This morning I forwarded the email message to him - and shared the sweet photo with his Swedish second-cousin-once-removed. 