Friday, April 25, 2014

Filling the gaps

I have wondered for some time how much my great-grandfather recalled from his childhood and how much contact he had with his siblings, if any.

Recently, some early issues of the Cameron County Press (PA) were digitized and made available through the Library of Congress project, Chronicling America. I did a few searches (okay, lots of searches because I have lots of family connections in Cameron County).

Among the items I found:

From 1902:



And from several months after his death in 1909:



So, in spite of receiving vague information back in 1976 about where Albert was born and who his parents were--eventually concluding he lost touch with his family--I now know he did have contact with at least his sister after lhe left NY when he was 21. Maybe there was a stronger family connection than I realized.

I wonder why, after 25 years, he went back to Auburn for a visit.  I wonder if the death of a daughter a few months before his trip motivated him to reconnect.


At any rate, digitized newspapers are a great resource. They help fill in the gaps with real life events and details. Can't wait for the next batch.