Contacting relatives to see if they have family photographs or other ephemera can take time. Sometimes there is no response or a response similar to “no and I don’t know of anyone who does.”

In my collection of family photographs and other items, I have a few pictures of first cousins of my great-grandparents and the first cousin’s family. I do not have a whole lot, but I do have a few. I was actually able to recently contact a descendant of one of these first cousins and ask them if they would like the photograph (after making digital images for myself). The correspondent was a great-grandchild of the mother and wife in the picture and I am a great-grandchild of the first cousin of the wife who had the picture.

Which means, for those who are keeping track, that my correspondent and I have great-great-grandparents who are siblings. I know I have not contacted my own relatives that far down the line to see what I have, but it’s possible some of them may have something. Now that I think about it, because of the materials from my parents and grandparents that I have collected, I have quite a few pictures of first cousins of my parents or grandparents and the families of those first cousins.

Reach out. Even if that person does not have anything, they may remember later that you expressed an interest if something ever comes their way and they are looking for a place to “get rid of it” instead of throwing it away.

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