What if the most exciting family history discoveries weren’t found in the past? What if they were hiding in plain sight in the present? I posted this ONE photo to our small, community Facebook group and couldn’t believe the response I got. Where did I find it – Family Search! Here’s the story of how a single photo uploaded to Family Search connected generations of descendants.
Morgan Family Home – Pictture from Family Search
Ever since moving to our city , I’ve been researching a line of my ancestors who lived in nearby town. But that’s for a another blog post! There’s something special about living in the area your ancestors lived and imagining what it was like for them. Sometimes I focus so much on my own line, that I forget to spend time on my husband’s as well.
One evening at my son’s soccer game, I had my husband’s phone. I happened to be on the the Family Search app and clicked on the Map My Relatives feature. Much to my surprise – my husband also had ancestors who lived in city! Many were buried in the cemetery across from where my son was playing soccer. They were so close and I had no idea.
When I drove down Main Street, I wondered which buildings had been there when they were alive. Every old home I saw piqued my interest. Could it be their’s? We took my mother in law to visit her mother’s grave at the local cemetery over Memorial Day and located many other ancestors as well. Again, my heart turned to them and their stories.
One morning I logged into my husband’s Family Search account and the picture at the top of this blog post appeared. A picture of the Morgan family home in our city! My heart literally jumped. I had to find out if it was still standing.
I uploaded the photo to our city’s community Facebook page and the response was OVERWHELMING! Within less than an hour, community members and friends were helping me narrow it down to several possibilities in town. Photography experts chiming in. Long-time residents speaking up. History lovers giving insight.
But then the magic happened. The CONNECTIONS started with questions like …
“What was your great-great-grandfather’s name?”
“His name was Elmer Morgan. I found the picture through his brother Andrew on Family Search. His parents are Elizabeth Prior and David Morgan.”
“He is my great-great-grandfather, too.”
Could it be possible we were surrounded by relatives this whole time we had been living in Spanish Fork? After learning how to use the Relatives Around Me feature of the Family Search App at RootsTech, I shouldn’t have been surprised.
And the connections continued to pour in …
“My great great grandmother was a Morgan, Sarah Morgan Boyack! After she married a she raised my great grandma and her siblings right up the street at XXXXX (edited for privacy) I bet there’s some relation there!”
“Oh there’s definitely a relation! I saw the last name Boyack this morning. Sarah is Elmer’s older sister! So I think this would have been her childhood home, too, maybe?”
The research suggestions were plentiful, too! Check in with the local Daughters of the Utah Pioneer museum. Visit the library (which I have and I found a book on our city’s early history that I am eager to read!)
One photo sparked 110 comments. Even those not related were interested in the homes history. History binds a community together!
Finding the home made history come alive for me, my family, and our community. Elmer Morgan became more of a real person to us as we passed his home when we were out driving errands.
Here are a few other ways we have fun working on family history!
Family Tree Matching Game for Kids
1 Comment
Del · March 14, 2019 at 8:03 pm
What a nice story. This is so inspiring to share that excitement of discovery . I pinned it to our Pinterest board.