My Genie Angels, So Many Thanks, It Really Takes a Village

Copyright 2020, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

It has been a bit since I have posted anything here.  Something went terribly wrong with my blog late last year and I decided to sit it out and pray something would fix it without my intervention.  Keeping my fingers crossed, that may have happened. I trust you, my readers, will let me know if you cannot view photos or if other weird stuff happens.  Especially if you use a mobile device.  Thanks.

NOWWWWW, on to the important and exciting news I want to share today.

It takes a village and some generous genie angels to be really successful in this sport. I really don't know how one can have data bases with good information and lots of background information without volunteers and genie angels.  They go where I frequently cannot.  I have been so blessed in my years of research to have folks contact me about something I wrote here on Reflections, filling in huge blanks of information and answering my questions.  There is no way to thank them all enough.

Recently, a wonderful gal, SG, contacted me from one of my Find A Grave memorials.  That does not happen very often.  In fact, this may be a first for me, to have someone contact me from Find A Grave.  I am identifying her only as SG for now.  She shared photos and information I would have no other way to gather. Seems her family, way back in the day, and my great-grandparents, Joseph Eugene Bowen and his bride, Minnie Maud Remley Bowen were connected.  Not by marriage, but, by employment.  Joseph hired one of her ancestors to work on his poultry farm.  Her ancestor wrote some letters on the letter head of the Poultry farm, and SG had samples of 2 of those letter heads, one from 1932 and one from 1934. She also mentioned that Joseph would let her ancestor borrow his car.  

SG sent me photos of my great grandparents.  I only had one of Minnie, and that was not the most solid identification ever. In other words, was it really her?  We were reasonably sure, you know, genie sure?  The one SG sent, is of an older Minnie, but, is identified on the back of the photo!  Whooeee.  Here she is about 1932 or so.  Isn't she just the cutest thing ever? 

She also sent several photos of Joseph.  Members of her family were able to identify this as Joseph, identified positively, no doubt in their minds.  

Prior to SG contacting me, I had a grand total of ZERO photos of Joseph.  I had been told he was a "large" man, and indeed, now, I can say he really was a large man.  As far as I know, SG did not share a date of this photo. 

SG also shared that the farm house/poultry farm was eventually sold to two elderly sisters, and that the home burned to the ground in 1950, resulting in both of the sisters dying in the fire.  How very sad is that?  Update:  It is possible that Joseph actually rented the poultry farm from the sisters. The facts are a bit muddy, for now.  But, you know us genie types, we have a tendency to hunt down the truth if at all possible.  After the courthouses open back up - - - we might need to do a bit of snooping to clear this detail up.

I am forever grateful to SG and her family for these photos and the knowledge she shared. "Thank you" is such a short small phrase, and, seriously, it does not relay the gratitude, the emotion, the elation of finally seeing Joseph in photographic form.  It's been a couple of weeks and frankly, I am still stuttering and I am having a difficult time finding fitting words that express my emotions.  I have been researching since 1991, that is nearly 30 years.  Years that I had no idea what Joseph looked like.  Years of searching, wondering, figuring I would never see a photo of him.  And, then, SG emailed me.  From my Find A Grave memorial for Joseph.  It is simply, overwhelming.

Thank you SG, more than I can express.  You are indeed a genie angel.

Like I said - - 

It takes a village - - 

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