Friday, September 29, 2017

Just When You Least Expect It . . .

you receive a Treasure Trove.

Back in July I received an e-mail sent by a complete stranger from Oregon. She had found me on Ancestry.
Jul 30, 2017
Hi, I am __________ from Pendleton Oregon. I have a Bible that belonged to Mr. Barnett. It was given to him by his friend and my great grandfather Ance Wilson. I would like to pass it along to the proper descendant. In his handwriting is states his name and date and place of birth and his parents names.

 Aug 02, 2017
My grandfather lived with Babe for a time in Wallowa, but he and my great grandfather were friends of Babe for a long time. I never knew my great grandfather, Ance Wilson, but I think he was a religious man and gave the Bible to Babe. Inscription inside says by A Wilson. The rest of the info is in Babes handwriting.

I think he passed away while my grandfather Fonzy Wilson was living with him, and having no relation, grandpa sort of inherited his stuff. When my grandpa died, my Mom and I went to Wallowa (we lived in Elgin) and cleaned out the house. The Bible was among the things. 

She said one item was missing and I assured her that was not a problem. 
So when my Mom passed away last Aug. we were cleaning out her things and there was an old suitcase that belong to Babe I guess, it had a bunch of his stuff in it. The Bible among them. Mostly old checks and receipts and a pair of false teeth. My grandparents were carpenters, and one census record says Babe was a painter. I never met him, but I think my folds knew him.
We both had a laugh over that.

Fast forward to today and the arrival of the box. Not only does it include Uncle Babe's Bible but several letters, cards, and bank books to name a few of the other items.

I am especially thrilled to have received the personal letters and will be sharing the rest of the items over the next few days.











2 comments:

  1. How lucky that this Bible and other personal items have found their way back to you, courtesy of a kind Oregonian. Looking forward to hearing what you learn from these items!

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  2. How beautiful to have this treasure! I have done my family search and have managed to find my cousins on both my mother's and father's side of the family, and what a blessing to see all the photos! You have a lovely blog. Warm greetings from Montreal, Canada. :)

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